New data released Tuesday reveals evolving gaming habits across Germany, demonstrating widespread participation and nuanced preferences. The survey, conducted by industry association Bitkom, indicates women, on average, spend 2.2 hours daily engaging with video games – nearly 20 minutes more than men, who average 1.9 hours. Importantly, the proportion of female gamers (52 percent) mirrors that of their male counterparts (also 52 percent).
Gaming prevalence spans generations. The 16-29 age demographic reports the highest participation rate at 87 percent. Notably, gaming is increasingly popular among older adults, with 20 percent of individuals aged 65 and over participating at least occasionally.
Across all demographics, the average daily gaming session lasts two hours, with the vast majority (84 percent) playing for under five hours. A smaller segment, approximately 7 percent, dedicates five or more hours each day to gaming. Competitive motivation is prevalent, as over half of gamers (54 percent) express a desire to excel at their chosen games, prompting 33 percent to favor player-versus-player formats.
Casual games currently lead in popularity, played occasionally by 76 percent of gamers. These are followed by entertainment-focused games like platformers and puzzle games (65 percent) and action titles (58 percent). Strategy, management and simulation games are particularly widespread (68 percent), closely followed by social and messenger-based games (60 percent).
The data is based on a telephone survey of 1,209 individuals aged 16 and above residing in Germany, including 626 identified gamers. The interviews were conducted between the 20th and 23rd calendar weeks of 2025.
