The worldwide market for gaming software has been expanding at an average compound annual growth rate of roughly three percent over the last four years, and analysts anticipate that this momentum will continue for another four‑year period. Despite this steady financial growth, player behaviour shows a strong preference for familiar experiences: about two‑thirds of gamers gravitate toward sequels or titles they already know, while merely one in five actively looks for brand‑new games.
These insights come from Bain & Company’s latest annual Gaming Report, which gathered responses from more than 5,300 players across the globe. The survey revealed a widespread dissatisfaction with what respondents labelled the "unfocused middle" of the market – games that are overly generic, safe, and lacking depth, and therefore fail to capture attention. To illustrate the contrast, Bain & Co compared two recent releases.
"Baldur’s Gate 3" succeeded by targeting a narrowly defined audience that craved deep role‑playing mechanics and narrative richness. In contrast, "Concord" entered an already saturated hero‑shooter space and struggled to persuade players who were accustomed to free‑to‑play models to spend a $40 premium price.
This example underscores the report’s central thesis: specificity matters. When the firm analysed public data on a hundred titles launched since 2023, it found that 83 % of games with a clear, focused positioning achieved commercial success, whereas only half of the more unfocused titles managed to turn a profit. The data suggest that a well‑defined player persona dramatically improves the odds of a successful launch.
Player preferences for game genres are also highly fragmented. When asked to choose between story‑driven adventures, open‑world sandbox experiences with user‑generated content, or multiplayer‑focused titles, no single category attracted more than 26 % of respondents. About 20 % said their preferences shift depending on mood or context, and another 17 % either selected "none of the above" or listed alternative types of games.
The report also identified two major forces reshaping the industry: rising player expectations and the rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence. Younger gamers, in particular, are devoting more of their playtime to a narrower set of platforms – with Roblox highlighted as a new "centre of gravity" for the gaming ecosystem over the past five years.
On the AI front, developers are increasingly leveraging generative tools to accelerate production pipelines. However, Bain & Co warns that AI alone does not mitigate risk if the underlying audience is ill‑defined: "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 can articulate their target player in a single, concise sentence and commit to that vision earlier than their rivals.
Player sentiment toward AI in game development has softened over the last twelve months. Forty‑two percent of surveyed gamers now feel more comfortable with AI usage than they did a year ago, another 44 % remain unchanged, and fewer than one in seven expressed increased discomfort.
Acceptance is especially high among the youngest cohort: 59 % of players aged 13‑17 reported greater comfort with AI this year, while 33 % said their view stayed 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," said Bain & Co. The consultancy also highlighted how 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 the community.
These capabilities enable highly personalized experiences – from bespoke marketing messages to tailored in‑game offers. Bain & Co discovered that such personalization boosts spending, especially among teenagers.
Eighty‑six percent 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 encompass purchases of new titles, downloadable content, subscription services, and streamer tips, but exclude hardware like consoles or VR headsets. The report also noted that nearly half of all gamers buy directly from developers’ own web stores at least once a year, and 27 % do so repeatedly. This direct‑to‑consumer trend is strongest 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 & Co’s Video Game sector and partner in its Media & Entertainment practice. He added, "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 personalization alike."