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 that momentum to continue for another four‑year stretch. Despite this overall health, player behaviour reveals a striking conservatism: about two‑thirds of gamers stick with familiar franchises or sequels, while merely one‑fifth 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. The survey highlighted a pervasive sense of disappointment with what respondents called the "unfocused middle" – games that are overly generic, safe, and lacking depth, and therefore fail to capture attention.
To illustrate the point, Bain compared the market reception of two recent releases: *Baldur’s Gate 3* and *Concord*. *Baldur’s Gate 3* succeeded by honing in on a clearly defined audience, delivering an experience that resonated strongly with fans of deep, story‑driven role‑playing.
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 the full $40 price tag. When Bain examined public data for 100 games launched since 2023, the results were stark. Focused titles that targeted a specific player segment achieved commercial success in 83 % of cases, whereas only half of the unfocused, broadly aimed games managed to turn a profit.
Player preferences for genre also appear highly fragmented. When asked which type of experience they preferred – narrative‑driven adventures, open‑world sandbox or user‑generated content, or multiplayer competition – no single category attracted more than 26 % of respondents. About 20 % said their choice varied roughly equally or depended on their mood at the time, and 17 % indicated they either did not play those genres or preferred something else entirely.
The report also identified two major forces reshaping the industry: growing player expectations and the rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence. Younger gamers, in particular, are devoting more of their playtime to a narrower set of platforms, with Roblox singled out as becoming 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, Bain cautions that without a crystal‑clear target audience, AI merely speeds up the wrong bet: "it lets you scale the wrong bet faster." The firm argues that the studios that will thrive in the coming years won’t necessarily be those with the deepest pockets or the most sophisticated AI stacks.
Instead, success will belong to the teams that, early on, define their player in a single concise sentence and rally all resources – from technology to distribution – around that definition. Player sentiment toward AI in game creation has softened over the past year. Forty‑two percent of surveyed gamers now feel more comfortable with AI’s role in development than they did twelve months ago, 44 % remain unchanged, and fewer than one in seven feel less comfortable.
Acceptance is especially high among the youngest cohort: 59 % of respondents aged 13‑17 report increased comfort with AI, while 33 % say their view is unchanged. "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 noted. The firm also highlighted how AI can deepen developers’ understanding of their audiences. New analytical tools can map engagement patterns, surface the elements that resonate most with a target segment, and create tighter feedback loops between creators and players.
These capabilities enable highly personalized experiences – from custom communications and adverts to bespoke in‑game content tailored to individual preferences. Bain’s research shows that such personalization drives higher spending, especially among teenagers. Eighty‑six percent of teens report 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. Gaming‑related expenditures include purchases of new titles, downloadable content, subscription services, and tips for streamers, but exclude hardware such as consoles or VR headsets.
The study also found that nearly half of gamers buy directly from developers’ online stores at least once a year, and 27 % do so repeatedly. This direct‑to‑consumer trend is strongest among younger players: 40 % of those aged 13‑17 reported multiple direct purchases in the past year. Anders Christofferson, global lead of 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."