The global 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 horizon. Yet, despite this healthy financial trajectory, player behavior reveals a strong preference for familiar experiences. According to Bain & Company’s latest annual Gaming Report, which gathered responses from more than 5,300 gamers across a variety of regions, two‑thirds of players gravitate toward sequels or titles that feel familiar, while only about 20 percent actively seek out brand‑new games. Survey participants voiced frustration with what the firm describes as the "unfocused middle" of the market – games that are overly generic, safe, and lacking depth, making them difficult to distinguish from the crowd.
To illustrate this point, Bain & Co contrasted the market reception of two recent releases: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Concord. Baldur’s Gate 3 succeeded by honing in on a narrowly defined audience that appreciated its deep role‑playing mechanics and narrative richness. In contrast, Concord entered a saturated hero‑shooter arena and struggled to persuade players who were already comfortable with free‑to‑play alternatives to part with a $40 price tag.
When the analysts examined public data for a hundred titles launched since 2023, the numbers reinforced the importance of focus. Eighty‑three percent of games that targeted a specific player segment achieved commercial success, compared with just fifty percent of titles that attempted to appeal to everyone.
This pattern underscores a broader fragmentation in genre preferences. When asked which type of experience they favored – story‑driven adventures, open sandbox or user‑generated worlds, or multiplayer competition – no single category attracted more than 26 percent of respondents.
About one‑fifth of gamers said their choice varied roughly equally or depended on their mood, and 17 percent indicated they preferred other or no particular genre. The report also highlighted two major forces reshaping the industry: rising player demand for deeper engagement and the rapid adoption of generative AI tools. Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating their playtime on a narrower set of platforms, with Roblox cited as a growing "center of gravity" for the ecosystem over the past five years.
At the same time, developers are turning to generative AI to accelerate production pipelines. However, Bain & Co warns that AI alone does not mitigate risk unless a clear target audience is defined. As the firm puts it, AI can "scale the wrong bet faster" if developers lack a precise player profile. Looking ahead, the consultants predict that the studios that will thrive are not necessarily those with the deepest pockets or the most sophisticated AI stacks.
Success will belong to the teams that, early in the development cycle, can articulate their intended player in a single, concise sentence and align every resource – from AI tools to distribution channels – around that vision. Player sentiment toward AI in game creation has softened over the past year: 42 percent of respondents feel more comfortable with AI usage now than they did twelve months ago, 44 percent remain unchanged, and fewer than one in seven express increased discomfort. The shift is especially pronounced among teenagers.
Among gamers aged 13‑17, 59 percent report heightened comfort with AI, while 33 percent say their view has stayed the same. Bain & Co interprets this as a signal that the window for studios to adopt AI without alienating their core audience is open, particularly for the demographic that will shape the market in the coming decade. Beyond production efficiency, AI offers new ways to understand and engage players.
An expanding suite of analytics tools can dissect engagement patterns, highlight what resonates with specific audiences, and create tighter feedback loops between developers and their communities. These capabilities enable highly personalized marketing – customized communications, targeted advertisements, and bespoke in‑game content – which the report finds can boost spending, especially among younger users. Spending data supports this claim: 86 percent of teenagers report monthly expenditures on gaming‑related activities, compared with just over half of players in their fifties, 36 percent of those in their sixties, and 27 percent of those in their seventies.
"Gaming‑related activities" encompass purchases of new titles, downloadable content, subscriptions, and tips for streamers, but exclude hardware such as consoles or VR headsets. Moreover, nearly half of all gamers buy directly from developers’ own web stores at least once a year, and 27 percent do so repeatedly. This direct‑to‑consumer trend is strongest among the youngest cohort, with 40 percent of 13‑ to 17‑year‑olds making multiple direct purchases in the past twelve months.
Anders Christofferson, global lead for Bain & Co’s Video Game practice and partner in its Media & Entertainment group, 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 that studios pulling ahead are those that have made a deliberate choice about who they are building for and have aligned every resource – AI, distribution, personalization – to serve that defined audience.