In-app purchases in the German gaming industry are on the rise, according to research by BIU. In-app payments for virtual goods and other add-ons within games in Germany totalled 659 million Euros in 2016, up 17% on the previous year. The largest increase in in-app spend was seen in mobile gamers, compared to PC and console gamers. At the same time, revenues generated by paid-for games went down. The results suggest that while gamers in Germany are becoming more reluctant to pay for games upfront, they are becoming more open to paying for extras within the games themselves. It seems that game developers targeting the German market would therefore be wise to produce games that are free to play but have plenty of in-app purchase opportunities. The country currently has 3.9 million players of free-to-play games.Â
