The global market for video‑game software has been expanding at a modest compound annual growth rate of roughly three percent over the past four years, and analysts expect that momentum to persist for another four‑year horizon. Despite this steady financial growth, player behaviour tells a different story: about two‑thirds of gamers still gravitate toward familiar franchises or sequels, while only one in five actively seeks out brand‑new titles. These findings 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 revealed a pronounced dissatisfaction with what the researchers labelled the "unfocused middle" – games that are overly generic, safe, and shallow, and therefore fail to capture attention in a crowded marketplace.
To illustrate the contrast, Bain & Co highlighted two recent releases: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Concord. Baldur’s Gate 3 succeeded by aiming at a narrowly defined audience that craved deep role‑playing experiences, while Concord entered an already saturated hero‑shooter segment and struggled to persuade players who were accustomed to free‑to‑play models to part with a $40 price tag.
The report’s analysis of public data on 100 titles launched since 2023 showed that 83 % of games with a clear, focused target audience achieved commercial success, compared with just 50 % of titles that tried to appeal to everyone. Player preferences for genre are similarly fragmented.
When respondents were asked which type of experience they preferred – story‑driven narratives, open sandbox or user‑generated content, or multiplayer competition – no single category attracted more than 26 % of the vote. About 20 % said their choice depends on mood or that the categories are roughly equal for them, while 17 % either selected "none of the above" or mentioned other niche genres. The report also identified two major pressures reshaping the industry: rising player expectations and the rapid adoption of generative AI.
Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating their playtime on a smaller set of platforms, with Roblox singled out as the emerging "centre of gravity" for the entire gaming ecosystem over the last five years. Regarding AI, Bain & Co observed that developers are increasingly leveraging generative tools to accelerate production pipelines.
However, the firm cautioned that without a well‑defined player persona, AI can simply amplify the wrong bet: "it lets you scale the wrong bet faster." The consultants argue that the studios that will thrive in the coming years will not necessarily be those with the deepest pockets or the most sophisticated AI stacks, but rather those that commit early to building for a player they can describe in a single sentence. Player sentiment toward AI in game development has become more favourable over the past twelve months. Forty‑two percent of surveyed gamers said they feel more comfortable with AI usage now than a year ago, another 44 % said their comfort level remained unchanged, and fewer than one in seven indicated they were less comfortable.
Acceptance is especially high among the youngest cohort: 59 % of players aged 13‑17 reported increased comfort with AI, 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 representative noted.
The firm also highlighted how AI can deepen developers’ understanding of their audiences. Emerging analytics tools can dissect engagement patterns, surface the elements that resonate most with a target segment, and create tighter feedback loops between creators and the community.
Personalisation is a direct outgrowth of these insights. Tailored communications, bespoke advertisements, and custom in‑game content can be delivered to individual players, a strategy that Bain & Co found boosts spending, especially among teenagers. In fact, 86 % of teens 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 players in their 70s. These activities encompass purchases of new games, downloadable content, subscriptions, and streamer tips, but exclude hardware such as consoles or VR headsets.
Direct purchases from developers’ own web stores are also on the rise. Nearly half of all gamers said they bought something straight from a developer at least once in the past year, and 27 % do so repeatedly. The trend is strongest among the youngest gamers: 40 % of those aged 13‑17 reported multiple direct purchases within the last twelve months.
Anders Christofferson, global lead for Bain’s Video Game sector and partner in the Media & Entertainment practice, summed up the strategic shift: "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." 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." In summary, the Bain & Company Gaming Report paints a picture of an industry where growth is steady but player attention is increasingly selective.
Success appears to belong to developers who define a narrow, passionate audience, leverage AI to serve that audience efficiently, and personalise the experience to foster deeper engagement and higher spend. The data suggests that the future of gaming will be less about casting a wide net and more about crafting tightly focused experiences that resonate strongly with a well‑understood player base.