The global market for video‑game software has been expanding at a modest but steady pace, with revenue climbing at an average compound annual growth rate of roughly three percent over the past four years. Analysts expect this trajectory to continue for the next four‑year horizon, suggesting a stable, if unspectacular, expansion of the industry. Yet, beneath these macro‑level figures lies a striking behavioural pattern among players: roughly two‑thirds of them gravitate toward titles they already know—whether sequels, franchises, or familiar genres—while only about 20 percent actively seek out brand‑new experiences.
These insights come from Bain & Company’s latest annual Gaming Report, which gathered responses from more than 5,300 gamers spanning a wide range of ages, regions, and playing habits. The survey asked participants to evaluate their satisfaction with the current game landscape and to describe the kinds of experiences that most capture their interest. A recurring theme emerged around what the firm calls the "unfocused middle": a swath of games that are perceived as overly generic, safe, and shallow, failing to stand out in an increasingly crowded market.
To illustrate the impact of focus, Bain & Co contrasted two recent releases. "Baldur’s Gate 3" succeeded by deliberately targeting a narrow, well‑defined audience of role‑playing enthusiasts, delivering deep narrative and complex mechanics that resonated with that cohort.
In contrast, "Concord" entered a saturated hero‑shooter segment and struggled to persuade players already invested in free‑to‑play ecosystems to part with a $40 price tag. The divergent outcomes underscore a broader trend identified by the consultancy: among 100 titles launched since 2023, 83 % of games that were sharply focused on a specific player segment achieved commercial success, whereas only half of the unfocused titles reached similar financial performance. Player preferences are also highly fragmented. When respondents were asked which type of experience they preferred—story‑driven adventures, open‑world sandbox or user‑generated content, or multiplayer competition—no single category captured more than 26 % of the vote.
About one‑fifth of gamers indicated that their choice depends on mood or that they treat the categories as roughly equal, while 17 % selected "none of the above" or offered alternative descriptors. This dispersion suggests that a one‑size‑fits‑all approach is unlikely to resonate with the broader audience. The report also highlights two major forces reshaping the industry: escalating player demand for deeper engagement and the rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence in game development.
Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating their playtime on a limited set of platforms—Roblox being a prime example. Bain & Co describes Roblox as having become "the centre of gravity for the entire gaming ecosystem" over the past five years, reflecting how a single sandbox can dominate attention and spending. On the AI front, developers are leveraging generative tools to accelerate content creation, level design, and even narrative generation.
However, the consultancy warns that AI alone does not mitigate risk unless it is applied to a well‑defined target audience. As one Bain analyst put it, "it lets you scale the wrong bet faster." The firms that are likely to thrive are those that commit early—before their rivals—to building for a player persona that can be described in a single, concise sentence.
Player sentiment toward AI in game production appears to be warming. Over the last twelve months, 42 % of surveyed gamers reported feeling more comfortable with the industry’s use of AI, another 44 % said their comfort level remained unchanged, and fewer than one in seven expressed increased discomfort. Acceptance is especially pronounced among teenagers: 59 % of participants aged 13‑17 said they are now more comfortable with AI, while 33 % said their view has not shifted.
Bain & Co’s senior partner Anders Christofferson interprets these findings as a clear signal for studios: the window to adopt AI responsibly is open, particularly with the younger demographics that will shape the market over the next decade. He adds that AI can also serve as a powerful analytics engine, helping developers understand engagement patterns, surface the elements that resonate most with a target audience, and create tighter feedback loops between creators and players. Personalisation, powered by AI, is already influencing spending behaviour. Tailored offers—such as customized communications, targeted advertisements, and bespoke in‑game content—have been shown to boost monetary contributions, especially among teenage players.
In the survey, 86 % of teenagers reported spending money on gaming‑related activities each month, compared with just over half of those in their 50s, 36 % of players in their 60s, and 27 % of those in their 70s. These activities include buying new titles, purchasing downloadable content, subscribing to services, and tipping streamers, but exclude hardware purchases like consoles or VR headsets.
Direct purchases from developers’ own web stores are also on the rise. Nearly half of all gamers said they buy directly from a developer at least once a year, and 27 % do so repeatedly.
The propensity for direct buying is strongest among the youngest cohort: 40 % of 13‑ to 17‑year‑olds reported making multiple direct purchases in the past year. The overarching lesson for gaming executives is no longer merely about expanding the size of their audience. It is about identifying the right audience, engaging them in the right way, and establishing a stronger ownership of that relationship. As Christofferson emphasizes, "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, Bain & Co’s research paints a picture of an industry at a crossroads: steady revenue growth coupled with a player base that prefers familiar experiences, a clear advantage for games that hone in on a specific niche, and a transformative potential for AI—provided it is deployed with a laser‑focused understanding of the intended player.
Studios that can marry precise audience targeting with intelligent, data‑driven personalization are poised to capture both loyalty and higher spend, especially among the younger generations that will drive the future of gaming.