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. Yet, despite this healthy financial outlook, player behavior reveals a strong preference for the familiar: about two‑thirds of gamers gravitate toward existing franchises or sequels, while only 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 gamers across a broad range of regions and demographics. The survey highlighted a pervasive sense of disappointment with what the firm calls the "unfocused middle" of the market – games that are overly generic, safe, and shallow, and therefore fail to capture attention.
To illustrate the contrast, Bain compared the reception of two recent releases. "Baldur’s Gate 3" succeeded by targeting a very specific audience with a clear value proposition, whereas "Concord" entered an already saturated hero‑shooter arena and struggled to persuade players who were accustomed to free‑to‑play models to spend a $40 premium price. This case study underscores the advantage of a well‑defined player persona.
When Bain examined public data on 100 titles launched since 2023, the results were striking: 83 % of games that were narrowly focused on a particular player type reached commercial success, compared with just 50 % of titles that took a broader, less defined approach. In other words, clarity of purpose appears to be a decisive factor in market performance. Player preferences for game genres are also highly fragmented.
When asked which experience they favored – story‑driven narratives, open sandbox environments with user‑generated content, or multiplayer competition – no single category attracted more than 26 % of respondents. About 20 % said their choice depends on mood or that the categories are roughly equal for them, while 17 % indicated they prefer other types of games or could not specify a preference. The report also identified two major forces reshaping the industry: rising player demand for deeper experiences and the rapid adoption of generative AI technologies.
Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating their time on a narrower set of platforms, with Roblox singled out as a "center of gravity" for the broader gaming ecosystem over the past five years. On the AI front, developers are increasingly leveraging generative tools to accelerate production pipelines. However, Bain cautions that without a sharply defined target audience, AI merely amplifies the speed of a misguided investment: "it lets you scale the wrong bet faster." The firm argues that the studios that will 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 softened over the last twelve months. Forty‑two percent of respondents said they are more comfortable with AI usage than a year ago, 44 % feel unchanged, and fewer than one in seven are less comfortable. Acceptance is especially high among the 13‑17 age group, where 59 % report increased comfort and 33 % say their view remains 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," noted a Bain spokesperson.
The firm also highlighted that AI can deepen developers’ understanding of their audiences. Emerging analytics tools can track engagement patterns, surface what resonates with specific segments, and create tighter feedback loops between creators and players. These capabilities enable highly personalized offers – from tailored communications and advertisements to custom in‑game content – that have been shown to boost spending, especially among teenagers. In the survey, 86 % of teens 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. Bain 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 behavior is most pronounced among younger players: 40 % of those aged 13‑17 reported 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.
"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."