PC Gaming Decline in Germany: Player Numbers Drop 20% Since 2019, Now at 13.1 Million

Alright, let’s dive into this, like, totally human redo of the original article. Picture this: I’m talking out loud here, somewhat distracted by a fly circling my coffee. Anyway—right, the gaming scene in Germany. So there’s this whole spiel about PC gaming taking a nosedive since 2019. We’re talking a solid 20% drop—yikes. Meanwhile, consoles are like that overachiever in class who can’t stop winning prizes. I’ve got Game.de (which is this German games association thing) saying consoles have been holding up, like, really well.

Why? Maybe ’cause Microsoft’s, Sony’s, and Nintendo’s pressure-cooker competition keeps heating up. Those companies keep shoving out updated consoles—think PlayStation 5 Pro or Nintendo Switch OLED. Oh, and Nintendo spills the beans on a new Switch 2—big surprise there, right? Well, maybe not.

And the figures—20.5 million console peeps in Germany—almost tickling the number of smartphone gamers at 22.9 million. Wait, what was I saying? Oh, yeah, with smartphones, they shot up in 2019-2020 in gaming usage but then went kinda flat, like a pancake.

Now, back to PCs. They’re in retreat, like some medieval army. Numbers say PC gaming’s slid down by 20% since 2019. Still, there were 13.1 million PC gamers in 2024. Sounds like a lot until you realize it’s 400k less than the year before. Meanwhile, consoles jumped from trailing PCs at 15.9 million to a solid lead—over 7 million ahead now. Oh, and a cool fact: about 19 million German gamers are multi-platform jugglers.

But why this PC sadness? Game.de kinda shrugs, talks about 2024 being an off year. Game sales? Down 17%. Hardware? Down 10%. Online gaming services? Well, they had a bit of sparkle with a 12% rise, so that’s something, I guess.

Maybe it’s ’cause new PC parts are meh or hard to snag. The entry to mid-range gear, especially, isn’t all that thrilling. Oh, wouldn’t it be great to see similar data for the U.S. or worldwide? But nah, Game.de’s tight with YouGov for German specifics.

And hey, just click on Tom’s Hardware on Google News if you want to keep up with all the tech gossip. Alright, I think the fly’s finally gone. Where was I? Oh well, catch ya later.