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 expect this trajectory to continue for the next four-year period. Despite this healthy overall growth, player behavior shows a strong preference for the familiar: about two‑thirds of gamers say they gravitate toward existing franchises or sequels, while only around 20 percent actively look 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 asked participants about their recent gaming habits, preferences, and attitudes toward emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence.
One of the most striking findings was the widespread dissatisfaction with what the report calls the "unfocused middle" of the market. Respondents described many new releases as overly generic, safe, and shallow—games that fail to differentiate themselves or offer a compelling reason to try them. To illustrate this point, Bain & Co compared the market reception of two recent releases: *Baldur’s Gate 3* and *Concord*.
*Baldur’s Gate 3* succeeded by deliberately targeting a narrowly defined audience of role‑playing enthusiasts who value deep narrative and complex mechanics. By honing in on this specific segment, the game generated strong word‑of‑mouth buzz and high sales. In contrast, *Concord* entered a saturated hero‑shooter space already dominated by free‑to‑play titles.
The game struggled to convince players, who were accustomed to zero‑cost experiences, to spend a full $40 price tag, leading to modest commercial performance. Bain’s analysis of public data for 100 titles launched since 2023 reinforces this pattern. Focused games—those that aim at a clearly identified player type—achieved commercial success in 83 percent of cases, whereas only half of the unfocused, broadly targeted titles managed to turn a profit.
This gap underscores the importance of a precise market definition in today’s crowded ecosystem. Player preferences for genre and experience are also highly fragmented.
When asked which type of gameplay they most enjoy—story‑driven narratives, open‑world sandbox experiences with user‑generated content, or competitive multiplayer—no single category attracted more than 26 percent of respondents. About 20 percent indicated that their choice varies with mood or that they treat the categories as roughly equal, while 17 percent either selected "none of the above" or mentioned other niche genres. The report also highlights two major forces reshaping the industry: escalating player demand for deeper experiences and the rapid adoption of generative AI in development pipelines.
Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating their playtime on a smaller set of platforms, with Roblox cited as a prime example. Bain describes Roblox as having become "the centre of gravity for the entire gaming ecosystem" over the past five years, reflecting how a single platform can dominate attention and spending. On the AI front, developers are leveraging generative tools to accelerate content creation, level design, and even narrative scripting. However, Bain warns that AI alone does not mitigate risk unless it is applied to a well‑defined player target.
As the firm puts it, AI "lets you scale the wrong bet faster" if the underlying audience is unclear. "The developers that come out ahead over the next several years won’t be the ones with the biggest budgets or the most sophisticated AI capabilities. They’ll be the ones that commit—earlier than their competitors—to building for a player they can describe in a single sentence," the report states.
Player sentiment toward AI in game development has become more favourable over the past year. Forty‑two percent of surveyed gamers said they feel more comfortable with AI usage in games than they did twelve months ago, another 44 percent reported no change, and fewer than one in seven expressed increased discomfort.
Acceptance is especially high among the 13‑to‑17 age group, where 59 percent indicated greater comfort with AI, and 33 percent said their view remained steady. Bain’s senior partner Anders Christofferson interprets these findings as a clear signal for studios: "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." Beyond perception, AI offers concrete benefits for understanding and engaging players. A growing suite of analytical tools can track engagement patterns, surface the content that resonates most with a target demographic, and create tighter feedback loops between developers and their communities.
This capability enables highly personalised marketing—tailored messages, targeted advertisements, and bespoke in‑game offers—that can boost spending, especially among teenagers. Indeed, the report finds that 86 percent of teenagers report spending money on gaming‑related activities each month, compared with just over half of players in their 50s, 36 percent of those in their 60s, and 27 percent of those in their 70s. "Gaming‑related activities" encompass purchases of new titles, downloadable content, subscription services, 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 gamers said they buy directly from a developer at least once a year, and 27 percent do so repeatedly. The trend is strongest among younger players: 40 percent of those aged 13‑17 reported making multiple direct purchases in the past twelve months.
Christofferson sums 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.
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."