Gamescom 2025: Germany’s Biggest Game Companies’ Headcount Snapshot

With Gamescom 2025 underway, a new headcount snapshot of Germany’s biggest games companies is drawing attention for two reasons: the sheer concentration of jobs among the top employers, and how some major publishers have stopped sharing reliable staffing figures—especially after layoffs touched European offices.

Key takeaways

• Germany’s largest games employers collectively account for nearly 3,000 workers out of about 12,000 professionals in the core market (development and publishing).
• The industry’s total in-country revenue is listed at €9.4 billion, with several major console and platform businesses generating more than €800 million each in the Frankfurt area.
• Nintendo of Europe leads the updated headcount ranking with 980 employees in Frankfurt.
• Stillfront Germany climbed to third place with a cumulative 435 staff across Hamburg and Berlin after re-grouping related studios.
• Microsoft is not included in the overview because no dependable numbers were available, despite active operations in Munich, Berlin, and Frankfurt.

Big concentration of jobs—and why the numbers matter

Headcount reporting has become harder across the German games industry. The updated overview highlights that, in the wake of major job cuts—including those affecting European Microsoft offices—some large international groups have either stopped publishing staffing figures or provide only consolidated totals that cover multiple locations.

The practical impact is significant for evaluating individual studios and for job seekers. The report notes that the difference between an employer having 50, 100, or 150 people can matter in hiring and assessment contexts.

The updated list is compiled to support a more serious evaluation of separate sites by focusing on comparable companies headquartered in Germany that develop and/or market computer, console, and mobile games. It explicitly excludes agencies, event organizers, esports organizations, service providers, media organizations, and retail.

Ranking and the latest adjustments to how companies are counted

The newest edition of the German rankings arrives with changes made as of August 1, 2025, including additional studios and publishers “added back in” after earlier omissions. It also includes a correction to how Stillfront is represented.

Stillfront’s Berlin studio, previously listed separately as Sandbox Interactive (linked to Albion Online), is now treated as part of the same German corporate group. That group also includes Goodgame Studios, Playa Games, Twin Harbour Interactive (formerly Bytro Labs), and New Moon Production—so the headcount is presented as a single combined total.

That same grouping logic is described as consistent with other cases in the industry where previously separate entities are shown together (the report points to examples such as Ubisoft’s Blue Byte, Travian, Gamigo, and Kalypso).

Top employers in Germany (updated)

Here are the top companies by employee count in Germany, using the updated list:

1. Nintendo of Europe (Frankfurt) – 980
2. Ubisoft Blue Byte (Düsseldorf / Berlin / Mainz) – 650
3. Stillfront Germany (Hamburg / Berlin) – 435
4. InnoGames (Hamburg) – 350
5. Crytek (Frankfurt) – 340
6. Gameforge (Karlsruhe) – 300
7. Wooga (Berlin) – 300
8. Gamigo (Hamburg / Berlin) – 230
9. Kalypso Media (Worms / München / Gütersloh / Darmstadt) – 160
10. Plaion (München) – 150

Stillfront headcount note: includes Goodgame Studios + Playa Games + Twin Harbour Interactive + Sandbox Interactive + New Moon Production.

More headcount tiers, plus the missing Microsoft situation

Beyond the top 10, the overview also lists companies by staffing bands. Examples include Gameduell and Travian Games at 140, Electronic Arts in Cologne at 130, and both Sony Interactive and several other teams clustered around 120 and 110. The list continues down to smaller studios in the 30–49 range, including Black Forest Games at 45 and Zenimax Germany at 30.

The most notable absence is Microsoft. In an update dated July 31, 2025, the overview states that Microsoft “is missing” for reasons tied to the lack of reliable numbers after layoffs that affected European offices. It also clarifies that Microsoft is still active in Germany—citing Microsoft Deutschland in Munich, King’s Candy Crush Saga operation in Berlin, and Zenimax / Bethesda in Frankfurt.

For King’s Berlin site, the report says no dependable staffing figure is available after the latest round of cuts. The previous year’s figure for that office was 100 employees, but whether that has changed is described as unclear. The report says that if a new staffing level is communicated, an update will follow.

Revenue context and what the industry’s biggest companies earn

The overview also provides an economic backdrop. It states that the top six companies alone employ roughly every fourth worker in Germany’s core games market, and it estimates their combined role in a major share of the sector’s in-country revenue—€9.4 billion in total.

Highest domestic earnings are attributed to console makers’ local branches in the Frankfurt region, with each listed at more than €800 million. Nintendo of Europe is described as supporting the entire continent for Switch hardware, accessories, and games, and is cited as generating over €3 billion. Sony Interactive Entertainment Germany is listed as responsible for the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) and is described as approaching the revenue billion mark.

Meanwhile, for development studios, Germany is just one market among many. The report identifies Wooga as the top in-country games developer by revenue at €215 million, followed by InnoGames at €170 million.

How the data was gathered and the current status

The employee figures were reportedly requested directly from the companies themselves, with very few exceptions using the most recent annual report. Values may be rounded up or down in individual cases. The overview’s current status is listed as August 1, 2025, and it notes that omissions or outdated information are still possible, inviting tips via email.

Companies that do not provide headcount on request

• Gunzilla Games (Frankfurt am Main)
• HandyGames (Giebelstadt) — parent: THQ Nordic / Embracer
• King (Berlin) — parent: Microsoft
• Popcore (Berlin) — parent: Take-Two Interactive