The global 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 expect that momentum to continue for at least another four‑year stretch. Despite this healthy financial backdrop, player behaviour tells a different story: about two‑thirds of gamers stick with familiar franchises or sequels, while only one in five actively looks for brand‑new titles.
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 dubbed the “unfocused middle” of the market – games that are overly generic, safe, and lack depth, making them easy to overlook. To illustrate the point, Bain compared two recent releases: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Concord.
Baldur’s Gate 3 succeeded by honing in on a narrowly defined audience that craved deep role‑playing experiences, while Concord entered an already crowded hero‑shooter arena and struggled to persuade players who were accustomed to free‑to‑play models to pay the full $40 price tag. By analysing public data on 100 titles launched since 2023, Bain discovered that 83 % of games with a clear, focused target audience reached commercial success, versus just 50 % of titles that tried to appeal to everyone.
Player preferences for genre also appear highly fragmented. When asked which type of experience they favoured – narrative‑driven adventures, open‑world sandbox or user‑generated content, or competitive multiplayer – no single category captured more than 26 % of the vote.
Another 20 % said their choice depends on mood or that the categories are roughly equal for them, while 17 % selected “none of the above” or mentioned other niche genres. The report also highlights two major forces reshaping the industry: soaring player demand for a narrower set of experiences and the rapid adoption of generative AI in development pipelines.
Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating their playtime on a handful of platforms such as Roblox, which Bain describes as having become the "centre of gravity for the entire gaming ecosystem" over the past five years. On the AI front, developers are leveraging generative tools to accelerate production, but Bain warns that without a well‑defined player persona this speed can amplify the wrong bets.
"It lets you scale the wrong bet faster," the firm noted, emphasizing that the winners of the next few years will not necessarily be the studios with the deepest pockets or the most sophisticated AI stacks. Instead, success will belong to those who can articulate their target player in a single, concise sentence and commit to that vision earlier than their rivals. Player sentiment toward AI in game creation has softened over the last twelve months. Forty‑two percent of respondents said they feel more comfortable with AI usage in games than they did a year ago, another 44 % said their comfort level remained unchanged, and fewer than one in seven expressed increased discomfort.
Acceptance is especially high among the youngest cohort: 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 firm also points out that AI can deepen developers’ understanding of their audiences. Emerging analytics tools can parse engagement patterns, surface what resonates with a specific segment, and create tighter feedback loops between creators and players. Such capabilities enable highly personalised marketing – from custom communications and targeted ads to in‑game content tailored for individual users.
Bain found that this level of personalization drives higher spending, especially among teenagers. Eighty‑six percent of players aged 13‑17 reported spending money on gaming‑related activities each month, compared with just over half of those in their 50s, 36 % of those in their 60s, and 27 % of those in their 70s. Gaming‑related expenditures encompass purchases of new titles, downloadable content, subscription services, and streamer tips, but exclude hardware like consoles or VR headsets. The report also notes that nearly half of gamers buy directly from developers’ web stores at least once a year, and 27 % do so repeatedly.
This direct‑to‑consumer trend is strongest among the youngest players: 40 % of 13‑ to 17‑year‑olds reported 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 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."