Global gaming software revenue has grown at a compound annual rate of 3% over the past four years and is expected to continue at this pace for the next four years. But two-thirds of players prefer familiar games or sequels, and only one in five seek new titles.
This is according to Bain & Company’s annual Gaming Report, which surveyed over 5,300 players worldwide.
Respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the “unfocused middle,” referring to games that are too generic, safe, and shallow to stand out. To illustrate this, Bain & Co compared the receptions of Baldur’s Gate 3 and Concord.
Baldur’s Gate 3 attracted players by targeting “a highly specific target audience,” while Concord entered “a crowded hero-shooter market and had trouble convincing players already invested in free-to-play games to make the $40 purchase.”
Bain & Co analysed public data on 100 titles released since 2023 and found that 83% of focused games targeting a specific player type achieved commercial success, compared to 50% of unfocused titles.
Player genre preferences are also fragmented. When asked which experience they preferred – story-driven, open sandbox/user-generated content, or multiplayer – no single type exceeded 26%.
20% said these categories are roughly equal or mood-dependent on whether they’ll play a certain game, while 17% expressed none or other game types.
Bain & Co also identified two major pressures on the games industry in recent years: rising player demand and the adoption of generative AI.
The report found that gamers, especially younger ones, are spending more time on a smaller selection of games such as Roblox, which the firm describes as quickly becoming “the centre of gravity for the entire gaming ecosystem over the past five years.”
Regarding generative AI, Bain & Co noted that developers are increasingly using the technology to speed up game production. However, without a clear target player, this does not reduce risk: “it lets you scale the wrong bet faster.”
“The developers that come out ahead over the next several years won’t be the ones with the biggest budgets or the most sophisticated AI capabilities. They’ll be the ones that commit – earlier than their competitors – to building for a player they can describe in a single sentence.”
Player sentiment towards generative AI in game development has improved over the past 12 months. 42% of respondents said they are more comfortable with the industry’s use of AI than a year ago, 44% felt the same, and fewer than one in seven are less comfortable.
Younger generations seem more accepting of AI, with 59% of players ages 13 to 17 feeling more comfortable this year and 33% reporting their opinion was unchanged.
“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.
“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.”
This includes personalised offers, such as tailored communications, advertisements, and content for individual players. Bain & Co found that this approach increases spending, especially among teenagers.
86% of teenagers reported spending money on gaming-related activities each month, compared to just over half of players in their 50s, 36% in their 60s, and 27% in their 70s.
Gaming-related activities include purchasing new games, in-game content, subscriptions, and streamer tips, but do not include hardware such as consoles or virtual reality headsets.
Bain & Co found that nearly half of gamers purchase directly from developers’ web stores at least once a year, and 27% do so repeatedly.
This trend is most pronounced among younger gamers, with 40% of those aged 13 to 17 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,” said Anders Christofferson, global lead head of Bain & Co’s Video Game sector and partner of 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.”