German League of Legends player BrokenBlade lifts the LEC Summer 2023 trophy with G2 in Riot’s Berlin studio (Photo by Michal Konkol/Riot Games)
The German Games Industry Association (aka GAME) has outlined its ambitions to make Germany ‘the best esports location’ in its 2023 annual report.
This was one of its ten demands, with others including ‘more commitment for games professionals’, ‘digital infrastructure for all’ and ‘sustainably promote Germany as a games location’.
The report – published around the association’s fifth anniversary – stated: “We want to make Germany the best esports location. In view of the high social, cultural and economic relevance of esports, the framework conditions must be designed in the best possible way.
“In particular, the valuable work of clubs offering esports must be promoted and not further disadvantaged. They must therefore be recognised as non-profit organisations in the tax code. Whether esport is a sport or not is not decisive.”
German Games Industry Association
“At the same time, there needs to be more support for young talent and events in the states and local communities so that we in Germany can participate in this international phenomenon at a world level.”
The German Games Industry Association 2023 annual report also stated that revenues from online gaming services had risen 20% year-on-year from 2021 to 2022, to €866m, and it recognised the value of competitive titles within this.
“On PCs and laptops, the majority – 70 per cent – of revenue can be attributed to in-game purchases, with popular multiplayer and esports titles like Counter-Strike or League of Legends clearly making a significant contribution,” the report stated.
Overall, the German games market generated revenues of €10bn (£8.6bn) in 2022. To compare, the UK’s games industry generated some £7bn in 2022.
The number of games companies in Germany has also increased by a further 15.5% in the past 12 months, and the number of employees by around 7%.
The association’s members include development studios, publishers, esports event organisers, educational institutions and more.
Investments, gaming venues and calls for increased use of games in schools in German Games Industry Association 2023 report
Germany is home to several esports tournaments, from Counter-Strike’s IEM Cologne, to Riot’s Berlin studio which hosts the League of Legends LEC, plus German players can take part in the DACH Prime League (the EMEA Regional League, below the LEC).
There was the Dota 2 Berlin Major earlier this year too, the recent Rocket League World Championship in Düsseldorf – and several major Valorant events have taken place there.
Germany has also produced some top esports talent in a range of other games, also including the likes of FIFA, Dota 2 and Fortnite, with orgs including G2 Esports, BIG, SK Gaming, Mouz, Unicorns of Love and more.
Outside of esports, Germany hosts Gamescom (co-organised by the German Games Industry Association) every year in Cologne, a major trade fair for the games industry that draws 265,000+ visitors in-person and millions online.
The German Games Industry Association mentioned some investment efforts in the space, in game development and elsewhere.
“SchleswigHolstein, for example, has implemented a games funding programme for the first time, in which €4m are to be made available to game development studios in the state by 2027,” the report stated. “BadenWürttemberg has raised the volume of its state funding programme to the level of €1.1m. Bremen’s plan for game companies to be able to take part in a state funding programme in the future fills in another previous blank spot on the funding map.
“Meanwhile, Berlin and Brandenburg have allocated funds totalling €3.6m, more than ever before. Berlin’s new state government, a coalition of the political parties CDU and SPD, also plans to reinforce numerous additional areas – from the House of Games to the Computerspielemuseum and the International Computer Game Collection (ICS).
“The coalition agreement between the political parties CDU and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in North Rhine-Westphalia takes a similar approach, calling for the increased use of games in schools and in vocational training, and for the further strengthening of the Fusion Campus in Düsseldorf and the Esports Player Foundation.
“And Bavaria has responded to the federal funding application stop by appropriating remaining funds of €1m above the existing level for the games industry from mid-2023.”
The work of Germany’s Esports Player Foundation, including a partnership with Deutsche Kreditbank for the DKB Diamonds free agent LoL team
Aside from the Esport-Bund Deutschland (ESBD), aka Esports Federation Germany, there’s also the aforementioned Esports Player Foundation (EPF), which was founded in January 2020 and is featured in the latest report of the German Games Industry Association (who are also shareholders of the federation).
The EPF currently works with 200 players in CSGO, League of Legends, Brawl Stars, Valorant and FIFA, and aims to provide players with a support programme like those offered in traditional sports, including sports psychology, fitness and nutrition consultations, tax and financial coaching, help with contracts and more.
“It is a programme for esports players that has yet to be matched anywhere in the world,” the report said. “In addition, it teaches the values of good sportsmanship, and participants are empowered to serve as positive role models for millions of ambitious players.
“In the future, the foundation hopes to be able to provide comprehensive support to every talented player in every relevant esports game. As a start to this endeavour, the EPF joined forces with Deutsche Kreditbank in early 2022 to establish the DKB Diamonds, a League of Legends free agent team that offers talented young players the opportunity to gather game experience and attract attention through their play in the Prime League,” the report mentioned.
“The DKB Diamonds now play in the Prime League’s second division. On the basis of their success, an academy team, the DKB Diamonds RAW, was additionally founded in early 2023. This team consists of very young players who will likewise seek to prove themselves in the Prime League.”
Together with the EPF, the state of North RhineWestphalia has decided to expand its activities in the area of esports and to provide targeted support to talent from NRW. The Esports Academy NRW added 30 of the state’s top esports players to its promotional programme.
In 2021, the EPF joined with Deutsche Telekom and SK Gaming to launch the Equal Esports initiative, which works to achieve greater diversity and equality of opportunity in esports.
Swedish League of Legends player Caltys, who recently took part in the Svenska Onlineligan Charity Showdown, is a part of the Equal Esports initiative.
The Esports Player Foundation also publicly takes on the issue of hate speech and toxicity on the internet, with its campaign ‘Speak Up Esports’ and with the ‘FIFA Fairplay Guide’ for football esports players.
The Annual Report of the German Games Industry 2023 can be downloaded here. There’s also more about the esports market in Germany on the Esports Insider website.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
