The worldwide market for gaming software has been expanding at a steady compound annual growth rate of roughly three percent over the last four years, and analysts anticipate that this momentum will continue for the next four-year horizon. Yet, despite this overall growth, the preferences of players reveal a striking reluctance to explore new experiences. According to Bain & Company’s latest annual Gaming Report, which gathered responses from more than 5,300 gamers across the globe, two‑thirds of participants said they gravitate toward titles they already know—sequels or familiar franchises—while only about 20 % actively seek out brand‑new games.
Survey respondents also voiced a clear frustration with what the firm calls the “unfocused middle” of the market. This term describes games that are overly generic, safe, or shallow, and therefore fail to capture attention in a crowded marketplace.
To illustrate the impact of focus versus breadth, Bain & Co highlighted the contrasting receptions of two recent releases: *Baldur’s Gate 3* and *Concord*. *Baldur’s Gate 3* succeeded by aiming at a narrowly defined, highly engaged audience that appreciated deep role‑playing mechanics and narrative depth. In contrast, *Concord* entered a saturated hero‑shooter arena and struggled to persuade players who were already invested in free‑to‑play ecosystems to spend a $40 premium price.
The consultancy examined public performance data for 100 games launched since 2023. The findings were stark: 83 % of titles that were deliberately targeted at a specific player segment achieved commercial success, whereas only half of the more broadly aimed, unfocused games reached similar profitability thresholds. This suggests that a clear, well‑defined audience is a far stronger predictor of financial results than sheer production volume. Player preferences for game genres also appear highly fragmented.
When asked to choose between story‑driven adventures, open‑world sandbox experiences with user‑generated content, or competitive multiplayer modes, no single category attracted more than 26 % of respondents. About one‑fifth of the sample reported that their choice varies depending on mood or that they treat the three categories as roughly equal, while 17 % indicated they prefer other types of games or could not specify a favorite. Bain & Co identified two overarching pressures shaping the industry today: escalating player expectations and the rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence. The report notes that younger gamers are concentrating their playtime on a smaller set of platforms, with Roblox highlighted as a growing "center of gravity" for the broader gaming ecosystem over the past five years.
This concentration intensifies competition for attention and underscores the importance of delivering experiences that resonate deeply with a defined demographic. On the AI front, developers are increasingly leveraging generative tools to accelerate production pipelines. However, the consultancy warns that without a precise target audience, AI can merely amplify a misguided bet: "It lets you scale the wrong bet faster." The firms that will thrive in the coming years, according to Bain, will not necessarily be those with the deepest pockets or the most sophisticated AI stacks, but those that commit early to building for a player profile that can be summed up in a single sentence. Player sentiment toward AI in game creation has softened over the past twelve months.
Forty‑two percent of respondents indicated they feel more comfortable with AI‑enhanced development than they did a year ago, another 44 % said their comfort level remained unchanged, and fewer than one in seven expressed increased discomfort. The shift is especially pronounced among teenagers: 59 % of gamers aged 13‑17 reported greater comfort with AI this year, while 33 % said their view stayed the same.
"For studios worried that AI adoption carries reputational risk with their player base, this data suggests the window to move is open, particularly with the audiences who will define the market over the next decade," a Bain spokesperson explained. The report also highlights how AI can deepen developers’ understanding of their audience.
Emerging analytics tools can parse engagement patterns, surface the elements that resonate most with a target segment, and create tighter feedback loops between creators and players. Such insights enable highly personalized experiences, ranging from customized communications and advertisements to bespoke in‑game content tailored to individual preferences. Bain’s analysis shows that personalization drives higher spending, especially among younger gamers. Eighty‑six percent of teenagers reported spending money on gaming‑related activities each month, compared with just over half of players in their 50s, 36 % of those in their 60s, and 27 % of those in their 70s.
These activities encompass purchases of new titles, downloadable content, subscription services, and streamer tips, but exclude hardware such as consoles or VR headsets. The study also found that nearly half of all gamers buy directly from developers’ own web stores at least once a year, and 27 % do so repeatedly. The propensity for direct purchase is strongest among the youngest cohort: 40 % of 13‑ to 17‑year‑olds reported making multiple direct purchases in the previous year.
"The question for gaming executives is no longer solely about reaching more players. It's reaching the right players, in the right way, and getting more ownership over that relationship," said Anders Christofferson, global lead of Bain’s Video Game sector and partner in its Media & Entertainment practice. He added, "The studios pulling ahead are the ones that have made a deliberate choice about who they are building for and are aligning every resource behind that answer; AI, distribution, and personalisation alike."