The global market for video‑game software has been expanding at a modest but steady pace, posting a compound annual growth rate of roughly three percent over the last four years. Analysts expect this trajectory to persist for the next four‑year horizon as well. Yet, beneath these aggregate numbers lies a striking pattern in player behaviour: about two‑thirds of gamers tend to gravitate toward familiar experiences—sequels, franchise entries, or titles that feel similar to what they already know—while only one out of five actively seeks out brand‑new games.
These insights come from Bain & Company’s annual Gaming Report, which gathered responses from more than 5,300 players spanning a wide range of regions, ages, and gaming platforms. The survey asked participants to describe their attitudes toward the current catalogue of games and to evaluate recent releases they had played.
A recurring theme among respondents was frustration with what the firm labels the "unfocused middle" of the market. This term refers to games that aim to appeal to everyone but end up being overly generic, safe, and shallow, failing to distinguish themselves in a crowded field. To illustrate the contrast, Bain & Co highlighted two recent titles: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Concord.
Baldur’s Gate 3 succeeded by deliberately targeting a narrow, well‑defined audience—hard‑core role‑playing enthusiasts who appreciated deep narrative and complex mechanics. In contrast, Concord entered a saturated hero‑shooter segment and struggled to persuade players who were already invested in free‑to‑play ecosystems to spend a full $40 on the game. When the analysts examined public data for 100 titles launched since 2023, they discovered that 83 % of games that were sharply focused on a specific player archetype reached commercial success, compared with only 50 % of titles that lacked a clear focus. This suggests that a well‑articulated player profile can be a decisive factor in a game’s market performance.
Player preferences for genre and experience are also highly fragmented. When asked which type of gameplay they preferred—story‑driven adventures, open‑world sandbox experiences with user‑generated content, or competitive multiplayer—no single category attracted more than 26 % of respondents. About 20 % said their choice varied depending on mood or that they enjoyed all three roughly equally, while 17 % indicated they favored other or niche genres not listed in the survey.
The report also identified two major forces reshaping the industry: escalating player expectations and the rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence. Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating their playtime on a smaller set of platforms, with Roblox singled out as a focal point. Bain & Co describes Roblox as having become "the centre of gravity for the entire gaming ecosystem" over the past five years, drawing massive daily engagement and influencing broader market trends.
On the AI front, developers are increasingly leveraging generative tools to accelerate content creation, streamline art pipelines, and even prototype gameplay mechanics. However, the consultancy warns that AI alone does not mitigate risk if a game lacks a clear target audience.
As one analyst put it, "it lets you scale the wrong bet faster." The firms that are likely to thrive in the coming years will not necessarily be those with the deepest pockets or the most sophisticated AI stacks, 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 shifted positively over the past twelve months. Forty‑two percent of surveyed gamers reported feeling more comfortable with the industry's use of AI than they did a year ago; another 44 % said their comfort level remained unchanged, and fewer than one in seven expressed increased discomfort.
The trend is especially pronounced among teenagers: 59 % of respondents aged 13‑17 indicated greater comfort with AI this year, while 33 % said their opinion stayed the same. Bain & Co interprets these findings as a signal that studios hesitant about AI due to perceived reputational risk may have a window of opportunity, particularly with the younger demographics that will shape the market over the next decade. AI can also serve as a powerful analytics engine, helping developers decode player engagement patterns, surface the features that resonate most, and create tighter feedback loops between creators and their communities. One practical application of AI‑driven insight is hyper‑personalisation.
By analysing individual player behaviour, studios can tailor communications, advertisements, and in‑game content to each user. The report notes that such personalised offers tend to boost spending, especially among teenage players. Indeed, 86 % of teenagers said they spend 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 gamers in their 70s.
Gaming‑related expenditures encompass purchases of new titles, downloadable content, subscription services, and tips for streamers, but they exclude hardware such as consoles or VR headsets. Another notable observation is the growing propensity for gamers to buy directly from developers’ own web stores.
Nearly half of all respondents reported at least one direct purchase per year, and 27 % said they make such purchases repeatedly. This behaviour is most prevalent among younger gamers; 40 % of those aged 13‑17 reported multiple direct purchases in the past year. Anders Christofferson, global lead for 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 about reaching the right players, in the right way, and gaining greater ownership over that relationship." He added that studios that pull ahead are those that have made a deliberate decision about who they are building for and have aligned every resource—including AI, distribution channels, and personalisation—behind that singular focus.
In summary, the Bain & Co Gaming Report underscores a clear message for the industry: success increasingly hinges on specificity. Games that define a narrow, passionate audience and tailor their design, marketing, and post‑launch support to that cohort are far more likely to thrive than those that chase broad, generic appeal. At the same time, generative AI offers tools to accelerate development and deepen player understanding, but its benefits are maximised only when paired with a well‑articulated player vision.
As player expectations continue to evolve and younger generations become more comfortable with AI, studios that combine focused creativity with data‑driven personalisation are poised to capture both loyalty and revenue in the years ahead.