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 this momentum to persist for the next four-year horizon. Despite this healthy overall growth, the majority of players remain loyal to familiar experiences: about two‑thirds of respondents said they gravitate toward sequels or titles they already know, while only one in five actively seeks out brand‑new games.
These insights come from Bain & Company’s most recent annual Gaming Report, which gathered responses from more than 5,300 gamers across a broad range of regions and demographics. The survey uncovered a pronounced dissatisfaction 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 & Co compared two recent releases. Baldur’s Gate 3 succeeded by aiming at a narrowly defined audience that craved deep role‑playing and narrative complexity.
In contrast, the shooter 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. The report’s analysis of public data for 100 titles launched since 2023 reinforced this point: 83 % of games that were sharply targeted at a specific player segment reached commercial success, whereas only half of the unfocused titles did.
Player preferences for genre and style are highly fragmented. When asked which type of experience they preferred – story‑driven adventures, open‑world sandbox or user‑generated content, or competitive multiplayer – no single category attracted more than 26 % of respondents.
About 20 % said their choice depends on mood or that they treat the categories as roughly equal, while 17 % indicated they favor other or niche game types. The report also highlighted two major forces reshaping the industry: rising player demand for deeper engagement and the rapid adoption of generative AI in development pipelines. Younger gamers, in particular, are concentrating their playtime on a limited set of platforms such as Roblox, which Bain describes as becoming "the centre of gravity for the entire gaming ecosystem" over the past five years. On the AI front, developers are leveraging generative tools to accelerate production, but Bain warns that without a clearly defined target audience, these efficiencies can merely amplify a misguided bet: "it lets you scale the wrong bet faster." The firm predicts 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 ideal player in a single sentence and commit to that vision earlier than their rivals.
Player sentiment toward AI in game creation has softened over the last twelve months. Forty‑two percent of surveyed gamers now feel more comfortable with AI’s role in the industry than they did a year ago, another 44 % feel unchanged, and fewer than one‑in‑seven report increased discomfort. Acceptance is especially high among teens: 59 % of players aged 13‑17 say they are more comfortable with AI this year, while 33 % say their view has stayed the same.
Bain’s Anders Christofferson, global lead for the firm’s Video Game practice, interprets these findings as a green light for studios hesitant about AI’s reputational risk: "The window to move is open, particularly with the audiences who will define the market over the next decade." He adds that AI can also serve as a powerful analytics engine, helping developers decode engagement patterns, surface what resonates with a target cohort, and create tighter feedback loops between creators and their communities. Personalisation, powered by AI, is already proving its commercial value. Tailored communications, targeted ads, and bespoke in‑game content can boost spend, especially among younger players. The report notes that 86 % of teenagers report spending money on gaming‑related activities each month, compared with just over half of gamers in their 50s, 36 % of those in their 60s, and 27 % of those in their 70s.
These activities encompass purchases of new titles, downloadable content, subscriptions, and streamer tips, but exclude hardware such as consoles or VR headsets. Direct‑to‑consumer sales are also on the rise. Nearly half of all gamers buy directly from a developer’s web store at least once a year, and 27 % do so repeatedly. The trend is strongest among the youngest cohort: 40 % of 13‑ to 17‑year‑olds reported multiple direct purchases in the past twelve months.
Christofferson sums up the strategic implication for executives: "The question is no longer just about reaching more players. It’s about reaching the right players, in the right way, and gaining greater ownership of that relationship." He concludes that studios that will pull ahead are those that have deliberately defined who they are building for and aligned every resource – from AI tools to distribution channels to personalisation strategies – behind that singular focus.