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 the next four-year cycle. Despite this healthy financial backdrop, player behaviour shows a strong bias toward the familiar: about two‑thirds of gamers say they prefer established franchises or sequels, while merely one in five actively seeks out 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 uncovered a widespread frustration with what respondents labeled the "unfocused middle" of the market—games that are overly generic, safe, and shallow, 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 zeroing in on a narrowly defined audience that craved deep role‑playing experiences, whereas *Concord* entered a saturated hero‑shooter space and struggled to persuade players already invested in free‑to‑play ecosystems to spend a full $40 on the product. When Bain examined public data for 100 titles launched since 2023, it found that 83 % of games with a sharply targeted player profile reached commercial success, compared with just 50 % of titles that took a broader, less focused approach.
Player preferences for genre are also highly fragmented. When asked which type of experience they favoured—story‑driven narratives, open‑world sandbox/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 mood, while 17 % indicated they preferred other or no particular genre. The report also highlighted two major forces reshaping the industry: growing player demand and the rapid adoption of generative AI.
Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating more of their playtime on a limited set 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 pipelines.
However, Bain warns that without a clear target audience, AI merely speeds up the wrong bet: "it lets you scale the wrong bet faster." The firm predicts 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, but those that can articulate their ideal player in a single sentence and commit to that vision earlier than their rivals. Player sentiment toward AI in game creation has improved over the last twelve months. Forty‑two percent of surveyed gamers said they feel more comfortable with AI usage now than a year ago, 44 % said their comfort level is unchanged, and fewer than one in seven expressed increased discomfort.
The shift is especially pronounced among teenagers: 59 % of respondents aged 13‑17 reported greater comfort with AI this year, while 33 % said their opinion remained 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 pointed out that AI can help developers gain deeper insight into player behaviour. A growing suite of analytical tools can surface engagement patterns, highlight what resonates with a target segment, and create tighter feedback loops between developers and their communities.
These capabilities enable highly personalized offers—customised communications, targeted advertisements, and bespoke in‑game content tailored to individual players. Bain’s research shows that such personalisation drives higher spending, especially among younger demographics.
Eighty‑six percent of teenagers reported 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, subscriptions, and streamer tips, but exclude hardware such as consoles or VR headsets. The report also found that nearly half of gamers buy directly from developers’ own web stores at least once a year, and 27 % do so repeatedly. This direct‑to‑consumer trend is strongest among the youngest cohort, with 40 % of 13‑ to 17‑year‑olds reporting multiple direct purchases in the past year.
"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. 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."