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 another four‑year cycle. Despite this overall growth, player behavior reveals a strong preference for the familiar: about two‑thirds of gamers say they gravitate toward sequels or titles they already know, while only one in five actively seeks out brand‑new experiences. These insights come from Bain & Company’s annual Gaming Report, which gathered responses from more than 5,300 players across a broad range of regions and demographics. The survey highlighted a widespread dissatisfaction with what the firm calls the "unfocused middle" of the market – games that are overly generic, safe, and shallow, and therefore fail to capture the imagination of players.
To illustrate the contrast, Bain & Co compared the market reception of two recent releases: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Concord. Baldur’s Gate 3 succeeded by targeting a narrowly defined audience of role‑playing enthusiasts, delivering deep narrative and complex mechanics that resonated strongly with that segment. 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.
This case study underscores the report’s central thesis: focus matters. When Bain & Co examined public performance data for 100 titles launched since 2023, the numbers were stark. Eighty‑three percent of games that were deliberately aimed at a specific player archetype achieved commercial success, compared with just fifty percent of titles that lacked a clear focus.
In other words, a well‑defined target audience appears to double the odds of a game’s financial viability. Player preferences for genre and experience are also highly fragmented. When respondents were asked to choose their preferred type of gameplay – story‑driven adventures, open‑world sandbox environments with user‑generated content, or competitive multiplayer – no single category captured more than 26 % of the vote.
About one‑fifth of gamers said their preferences shift depending on mood or that they enjoy all three equally, while 17 % indicated they favor other or niche experiences. The report also identified two major forces reshaping the industry: escalating player demand for deeper engagement and the rapid adoption of generative AI technologies. Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating their time on a relatively small 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 cautions that AI alone does not mitigate risk unless it is applied to a well‑defined player profile. As the report puts it, AI "lets you scale the wrong bet faster" if the underlying concept is unfocused.
The firms that will thrive, according to Bain, are those that commit early to building for a player they can describe in a single sentence, rather than those with the biggest budgets or the most sophisticated AI stacks. Player sentiment toward AI in game development has softened over the past year. Forty‑two percent of surveyed gamers now feel more comfortable with AI usage than they did twelve months ago, 44 % remain unchanged, and fewer than one in seven are less comfortable. Acceptance is especially high among younger cohorts: 59 % of players aged 13‑17 report increased comfort with AI, while 33 % say their opinion has stayed the same.
Bain & Co’s analysts argue that this shift opens a window of opportunity for studios hesitant about reputational risk. "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," the report states.
Beyond risk mitigation, AI can enhance developers’ understanding of their audiences. A growing suite of analytical tools can parse engagement patterns, surface the elements that resonate most with a target segment, and create tighter feedback loops between creators and players.
This capability enables highly personalized experiences, ranging from customized in‑game offers to tailored marketing communications. Personalization appears to have a measurable impact on spending, especially among teenagers.
Eighty‑six percent of players aged 13‑17 report making at least one gaming‑related purchase 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 activities" in the study encompass buying new titles, downloadable content, subscriptions, and even streamer tips, but exclude hardware purchases such as consoles or VR headsets. Direct purchases from developers’ own storefronts are also on the rise.
Nearly half of all gamers said they buy directly from a developer at least once a year, and 27 % do so repeatedly. This behavior is most pronounced among the youngest cohort, with 40 % of 13‑ to 17‑year‑olds reporting multiple direct purchases in the past year. Anders Christofferson, global lead of Bain & Co’s Video Game sector and partner in the 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."