The global market for video‑game software has been expanding at a modest but steady compound annual growth rate of roughly three percent over the past four years, and analysts expect this trajectory to persist for the next four years as well. Despite this overall growth, player behavior remains heavily skewed toward the familiar: about two‑thirds of gamers say they gravitate toward sequels or titles they already know, while only one in five actively looks for brand‑new experiences.
These insights come from Bain & Company’s latest annual Gaming Report, which gathered responses from more than 5,300 players across a broad range of regions and demographics. The survey uncovered a pronounced dissatisfaction with what respondents called the “unfocused middle” of the market—games that are overly generic, safe, and shallow, and therefore fail to capture attention. To illustrate the point, Bain & Co contrasted two recent releases: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Concord. Baldur’s Gate 3 succeeded by targeting a narrowly defined audience that craved deep role‑playing mechanics and narrative depth.
In contrast, Concord entered an already saturated hero‑shooter space and struggled to persuade players who were accustomed to free‑to‑play models to spend a $40 premium price. This comparison underlines a broader pattern that the firm identified when it examined public data on 100 titles launched since 2023. Of the games that were clearly aimed at a specific player segment, a striking 83 % achieved commercial success, whereas only half of the more broadly aimed, unfocused titles met their sales expectations. Player preferences for genre also appear fragmented.
When asked which type of experience they favored—story‑driven adventures, open‑world sandbox or user‑generated content, or multiplayer competition—no single category captured more than 26 % of the vote. About 20 % of respondents said their preference shifts depending on mood or that they consider the categories roughly equal, while 17 % indicated they either play none of these types or prefer other, less common formats.
The report also highlighted two major forces reshaping the industry: rising player expectations and the rapid adoption of generative AI. Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating their time on a narrower set of platforms, with Roblox emerging as a central hub that now anchors much of the gaming ecosystem.
Bain & Co describes Roblox as having become “the centre of gravity for the entire gaming ecosystem over the past five years.” On the AI front, developers are increasingly leveraging generative tools to accelerate production pipelines. However, the firm warns that AI alone does not mitigate risk unless it is paired with a clear player focus. As one Bain analyst put it, AI “lets you scale the wrong bet faster.” The companies that will thrive in the coming years, according to the report, will not necessarily be those with the deepest pockets or the most sophisticated AI stacks.
Instead, they will be the studios that commit early—ahead of competitors—to designing for a player persona that can be described succinctly in a single sentence. Player sentiment toward AI in game creation has become more favorable over the past twelve months. Forty‑two percent of survey participants said they feel more comfortable with AI’s role in the industry than they did a year ago, another 44 % said their comfort level remained unchanged, and fewer than one in seven expressed increased discomfort.
The trend is especially pronounced among teenagers: 59 % of respondents aged 13‑17 reported heightened comfort with AI, while 33 % said their view stayed the same. “This data suggests that studios worried about reputational risk from AI adoption have a window of opportunity, particularly with the younger audiences who will shape the market for the next decade,” said a Bain spokesperson.
“AI can also help developers understand their players more deeply. A growing suite of tools can analyze engagement patterns, surface what resonates with a target audience, and create tighter feedback loops between developers and the community.” One practical application of these tools is personalized marketing—tailored communications, ads, and in‑game content that speak directly to individual players.
Bain’s analysis shows that such personalization drives higher spending, especially among teenage 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 include buying new games, in‑game items, subscriptions, and tipping streamers, but exclude hardware purchases like consoles or VR headsets.
The report also uncovered purchasing habits related to direct sales channels. Nearly half of all gamers said they buy directly from developers’ web stores at least once a year, and 27 % do so repeatedly. This behavior is most common among younger players: 40 % of those aged 13‑17 reported making multiple direct purchases in the past year.
Anders Christofferson, global lead for Bain’s Video Game sector and partner in its Media & Entertainment practice, summed up the strategic implication: “The question for gaming executives is no longer solely about reaching more players. It’s about reaching the right players, in the right way, and gaining greater ownership over that relationship.” 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—AI, distribution, personalization—behind that answer.”