The global market for video‑game 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 horizon. Yet, despite this healthy financial backdrop, player behaviour reveals a striking reluctance to explore unfamiliar titles. In fact, Bain & Company’s latest annual Gaming Report, which gathered responses from more than 5,300 gamers around the world, shows that two‑thirds of players gravitate toward familiar franchises or sequels, while only one in five actively seeks out brand‑new experiences. Survey participants voiced a particular frustration with what the consultants labelled the "unfocused middle" of the market – games that feel overly generic, safe, and shallow, and therefore fail to stand out in an increasingly crowded catalogue.
To illustrate the contrast, Bain & Co compared the reception of two recent releases: *Baldur’s Gate 3* and *Concord*. The former succeeded by targeting a narrowly defined, highly engaged audience that craved deep role‑playing elements, whereas *Concord* entered an already saturated hero‑shooter arena and struggled to persuade players accustomed to free‑to‑play ecosystems to part with a $40 price tag. When the firm analysed publicly available performance data for 100 titles launched since 2023, the results were stark. Focused games that were built for a specific player segment achieved commercial success in 83 % of cases, compared with just 50 % for titles that lacked a clear target audience.
This suggests that precision in audience definition is a stronger predictor of financial outcomes than sheer budget size or production polish. Player preferences across genres also appear highly fragmented. When asked which type of experience they most enjoy – narrative‑driven adventures, open‑world sandbox or user‑generated content, or competitive multiplayer – no single category captured more than 26 % of respondents.
About one‑fifth of gamers said their choice varies roughly equally among the three, often depending on mood, while 17 % indicated they either do not fit into these categories or prefer something else entirely. The report identified two overarching pressures reshaping the industry today: escalating player expectations and the rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence. Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating their playtime on a narrower set of platforms, with titles like *Roblox* emerging as a de‑facto hub for the broader gaming ecosystem over the past five years.
Bain & Co describes *Roblox* as the "centre of gravity" for modern interactive entertainment, highlighting how a single platform can dominate user attention and spending. On the AI front, developers are increasingly leveraging generative tools to accelerate content creation, level design, and even narrative scripting. However, the consultants warn that AI alone does not mitigate risk unless it is applied to a well‑defined player segment. As they put it, "it lets you scale the wrong bet faster." The firms that will thrive in the next few years, according to Bain, will not necessarily be the ones with the deepest pockets or the most sophisticated AI pipelines, but those that commit early to building for a player they can describe in a single sentence.
Player sentiment toward AI in game development has warmed over the past twelve months. Forty‑two percent of respondents indicated they feel more comfortable with AI usage than 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 teenagers: 59 % of players 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 noted.
The firm also highlighted how AI can deepen developers’ understanding of their audiences. Emerging analytics tools can parse engagement patterns, surface the features that resonate most with a target segment, and create tighter feedback loops between creators and the community. Personalisation, powered by AI, is already influencing spending behaviour.
Tailored communications, bespoke advertisements, and custom in‑game content can drive higher conversion rates, especially among younger gamers. Bain’s research found that 86 % of teenagers 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 players in their 70s. These activities encompass buying new titles, purchasing downloadable content, subscribing to services, and tipping streamers, 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 reported buying directly from a developer’s website at least once a year, and 27 % do so repeatedly. The trend is most pronounced among the youngest cohort: 40 % of 13‑ to 17‑year‑olds made multiple direct purchases in the past twelve months.
"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," said Anders Christofferson, global lead of Bain’s Video Game sector and partner in its Media & Entertainment practice. "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 data paints a picture of an industry where growth is steady but player attention is increasingly selective.
Success appears to hinge on a clear, focused audience strategy, the judicious use of AI to enhance—not replace—creative vision, and a commitment to personalised, direct relationships with gamers. Studios that can synthesize these elements are poised to capture the most lucrative slices of the market in the years ahead.