Hamburg swells to 3,000 game jobs

Hamburg’s games sector now employees 3,000 professionals, according to the regional network for the German games industry.

Findings from the annual industry survey conducted by Gamecity Hamburg show that there are 3,016 permanent employees at 155 companies.

An additional 490 freelancers and 495 employees work for businesses based outside Hamburg bring the figure to 4,001 jobs in total.

Hamburg has been the only German federal state to regularly collect job market data on the games sector since 2009.

The number of online game developers has increased steadily. They now represent the largest group of employees out of the 85 developers and publishers based in Hamburg.

There are currently five companies in Hamburg with more than 100 staff members each. A total of 113 businesses with ten employees or less were recorded in this year’s survey – 11 more than in the previous year.

Commenting on the results, Gamecity Hamburg managing director Stefan Klein said: “We have a sympathetic ear for both the heavyweights and the small enterprises, and will address their concerns equally. This well-balanced mix of company sizes and specialisations makes Hamburg a unique location in Europe.”

The report also stated that Hamburg is expected to grow by an additional 410 jobs by the end of 2012.