Turnover from board games and puzzles in Germany rose by 14 percent in 2023
In Germany, revenue from board games and puzzles from January to the end of August 2023 increased by 10 percent compared to the same period last year. This was announced by the Verband Spieleverlage.
The industry seems to be making up for the revenue decline in 2022. In 2022, revenue from board games and puzzles fell for the first time in eight years, by 5 percent. In the Corona year 2020, the industry still celebrated a 21 percent increase, and in 2021, revenue rose by 4 percent.
The revenue growth from January to the end of August 2023 mainly came from games, which saw a 6 percent increase. Another revenue driver was strategic trading cards. Thanks to the ongoing Pokémon trend, they recorded an increase of over 45 percent compared to the previous year. This is a significant rise, especially considering that the figures for Lorcana, Ravensburger’s new trading card game (TCG), are not yet included in the statistics. For the 2023 Christmas business, game publishers expect a positive development. Traditionally, the toy trade generates about 40 percent of its annual revenue during this period.
In addition to the classic family and children’s game segments, the number of casual players has increased significantly, partly due to positive experiences during the Corona period. While families spend time together, casual players are increasingly playing in groups with friends. This is particularly true for Kidults, the age group of 14- to 35-year-olds. According to game publishers, party games and/or crime and puzzle games remain on trend here.
During the business closures in the Corona period, online retail saw significant growth. Currently, revenue at major online shops is rather declining. Some providers have recently felt this development. The second-largest online shop in the children’s and toy sector, myToys, will cease operations at the end of the year and attempt to redirect parts of its business to its parent company otto.de. The self-administered insolvency of the Haba Family Group, which has been struggling with internal problems and resulting revenue declines, also came as a surprise.
The games market in Germany has been growing for years
Since 2014, the games market in Germany, as well as in many other countries, has developed significantly. Revenue from games and puzzles has almost doubled. The range of games has expanded and become more internationalised across various segments. Many start-up publishers have emerged, and crowdfunding platforms have added new sales channels. The online market has also contributed to a significant broadening of the market. Furthermore, games and puzzles have become popular items beyond the toy trade, now offered in bookshops, stationery stores, concept stores and museum shops. They can even be found as impulse items in fashion stores.
The traditional toy trade is also increasingly focusing on games and puzzles, which are now the strongest product category there. With the “Hoher Spielwert” initiative, around 36 game shops with 48 toy stores have joined forces to form a network to bring good games to the public. Classic specialist retailers are also seeing higher footfall in their stores. Retailers are offering on-site events to give customers opportunities to get to know games. Many brick-and-mortar specialist shops used the Corona pandemic to expand their online offerings, reach new target groups and grow their customer base. The supply chain and transport problems of recent years have largely been resolved. The high fluctuations in raw material prices have also normalised. Major producers have expanded their capacities and invested in modern machinery. The average price for games and puzzles has only increased slightly during the same period.
Toy industry to become part of the government’s “Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaft” initiative
The strong performance of games and puzzles so far in 2023 is indirectly confirmed by the latest survey from the Deutscher Verband der Spielwarenindustrie (DVSI) on the socio-cultural relevance of gaming. For almost 3/4 of respondents, gaming is “social glue”. 92 percent of respondents therefore see the anchoring of the “Value of Play” in public discourse as a fundamental human phenomenon as an important or very important goal to strengthen the societal relevance of games.
The DVSI and the Spieleverlage association, which is organised within the DVSI, are therefore advocating for the toy industry to be included as the 12th sub-market in the government’s “Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaft” initiative. The cultural and creative industries currently include the architecture market, book market, performing arts, design industry, film industry, art market, music industry, press market, broadcasting industry, software/games market and advertising market. The aim of the government’s initiative is to strengthen the competitiveness of the cultural and creative industries and to further exploit their job creation potential. “The industry survey shows there is a gap between the practical relevance of gaming in everyday society and the importance we assign to gaming and toys in public discourse. The Value of Play is often underestimated or taken for granted in politics,” says DVSI managing director Ulrich Brobeil.