Bain & Co Report: Only One in Five Gamers Actively Pursues New Releases

The latest annual Gaming Report from Bain & Company reveals a striking paradox in the worldwide video‑game market. While global gaming software revenues have risen at a steady compound annual growth rate of roughly 3 % over the past four years – a pace that the firm expects to hold steady for the next four years – player behavior is far less adventurous.

Two‑thirds of gamers say they gravitate toward familiar franchises or sequels, and merely 20 % admit they actively look for brand‑new titles. The findings are based on a survey of more than 5,300 players from a broad range of regions, ages and gaming platforms.

Respondents voiced a common frustration with what Bain & Co. calls the “unfocused middle” of the market – games that are overly generic, safe and shallow, and therefore fail to capture attention. To illustrate this point, the consultancy contrasted the market reception of two recent releases: *Baldur’s Gate 3* and *Concord*.

*Baldur’s Gate 3* succeeded by aiming at a narrowly defined audience that craved deep role‑playing experiences and narrative complexity. In contrast, *Concord* entered a saturated hero‑shooter space and struggled to convince players who were already invested in free‑to‑play ecosystems to spend the full $40 price tag. When Bain & Co. examined public data for 100 titles launched since 2023, they discovered that 83 % of games with a clear, focused target audience achieved commercial success, whereas only half of the unfocused titles did.

Player preferences for genre and play style are also highly fragmented. When asked which experience they favored – story‑driven single‑player 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 respondents said their choice depends on mood or that the categories are roughly equal, and 17 % indicated they prefer other or niche types of games.

The report identifies two major forces reshaping the industry: rising player expectations and the rapid adoption of generative AI. Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating their playtime on a narrower set of platforms, with Roblox highlighted as the emerging "centre of gravity" for the gaming ecosystem over the last five years. At the same time, developers are turning to generative AI to accelerate production pipelines.

Bain & Co. warns that AI alone does not mitigate risk unless a clear player profile is defined: "It lets you scale the wrong bet faster." According to the consultancy, the studios that will thrive in the coming years will not necessarily be those with the deepest pockets or the most sophisticated AI tools. Success will belong to teams that can articulate their target player in a single, concise sentence and commit to that vision earlier than their competitors. This strategic focus appears to be gaining acceptance among gamers themselves.

Over the past twelve months, comfort with AI in game development has risen: 42 % of surveyed players say they are more comfortable with AI use than a year ago, another 44 % feel unchanged, and fewer than one‑in‑seven are less comfortable. The trend is especially pronounced among teenagers: 59 % of respondents aged 13‑17 report increased comfort with AI, while 33 % say their opinion remains the same.

Bain & Co. interprets this shift as a signal that the window for studios to adopt AI responsibly is open, particularly for the demographic that will shape the market over the next decade. "AI can also help developers more deeply understand their players.

A growing set of tools can analyse engagement patterns, surface what's resonating with a target audience, and enable more effective feedback loops between developer and player community," the report notes. One practical application of AI‑driven insight is hyper‑personalised offers – custom communications, targeted advertisements and bespoke in‑game content tailored to individual preferences. The consultancy found that such personalization boosts spending, especially among younger gamers.

Eighty‑six percent 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 those in their 70s. These activities include purchasing new titles, downloadable content, subscriptions and streamer tips, but exclude hardware purchases like consoles or VR headsets. Purchase behavior also shows a move toward direct developer channels.

Nearly half of all gamers buy directly from a developer’s web store at least once a year, and 27 % do so repeatedly. The propensity for direct purchases is strongest among the youngest cohort: 40 % of players aged 13‑17 reported making 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," says Anders Christofferson, global lead of Bain & Co’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 Bain & Co. Gaming Report underscores a clear market signal: players are increasingly selective, gravitating toward titles that speak directly to their interests.

Developers who combine a sharp, focused audience definition with AI‑enabled personalization and direct‑to‑consumer distribution are poised to capture the most engaged and highest‑spending segments of the gaming community.