Video game success is shifting from mass appeal to superfans
With an increasingly wide array of options in video gaming, chasing the broad middle of the video game market has become the costliest mistake a gaming studio can make, according to a new report from Bain & Company.
The average gamer no longer exists, the report notes. An effectively unlimited catalog of games has fragmented player preferences, while playing time and spending have concentrated among a narrow, identifiable group. Successful game makers will forget trying to win over the most players, instead focusing on winning over the right players, or in other words, the ‘superfans’ that are the most loyal and most likely to spend more.
The findings from the firm’s Gaming Report 2026, in its third edition, draw on surveys with more than 5,300 gamers worldwide and an analysis of 100 titles released since 2023. One of the key takeaways is that demand in the video game sector is fragmented like never before, with tastes and tendencies split between different types of games and preferred types of experiences in-game.
Preferences diverge, but spending concentrates
No single type of gaming experience attracted more than 26% of respondents, according to the survey. The gap widens across age groups: A third of gamers between 13 and 17 said they want open, user-generated content, compared with 15% or fewer among players over 50.
Despite that divergence of preference, patterns in spending tell a different story. The top 20% of spenders account for nearly three-quarters of all spending, while the most active 20% of players make up almost 60% of total playing time.
Willingness to spend also declines with age, with younger consumers still the main demographic. About 86% of teenage gamers spend money each month, compared with 36% of players in their 60s and 27% of those in their 70s. Gamers who create content for public use are twice as likely to spend money, the survey found.
Knowing
the players, and AI in games
Games built with a specific, identifiable player in mind (what the report calls ‘focused’ games that know their audience) achieved commercial success 83% of the time, compared with just half of games without a clear target, according to the analysis.
Two-thirds of gamers said they want more of what they already play, such as a franchise sequel or something similar to existing content. Only one in five is looking for something genuinely new.
AI is speeding up this dynamic rather than easing it, the report said. Studios with a clear target player can use AI for faster prototyping and cheaper iteration. But without that focus, AI does not lower risk. Instead, it simply enables studios to scale a bad bet more quickly.
The overall acceptance of AI in games is also rising: The findings show 42% of gamers said they feel more comfortable with it than a year ago, a figure that climbs to 59% among teens aged 13 to 17. Many studios are worried that adopting AI comes with a reputational hit, but the data shows the next generation of players will likely be more receptive.
“AI is changing the cost structure of game development, but it doesn’t change the fundamental question every studio has to answer first: Who exactly are you building for? Without that answer, AI doesn’t lower your risk, it lets you scale the wrong bet faster,” said Anders Videbaek, partner at Bain & Company and leader of the firm’s video game offering in EMEA.
“The developers pulling ahead are committing to a target player earlier than their competitors, and using AI to deepen that focus, not broaden it.”
Building deeper relationships, not wider audiences
As overall market growth slows, Bain & Company’s report argues that the next path to growth will be strengthening relationships with existing players rather than chasing new ones. Game makers with loyal player bases have access to behavioral data, including in-game decisions, social connections, and purchase histories, that most have barely begun to use.
Most gamers said they feel comfortable or neutral about personalized offers based on their activity, giving an edge to companies that build out personalization infrastructure early. Companies have a lot to gain from custom communications, advertisements, and content aimed at boosting engagement.
Half of gamers already buy direct
Nearly half of surveyed gamers purchased virtual currency, items, or content directly from a developer’s web store in the past year, and 27% did so multiple times. Among teens aged 13 to 17, 40% made multiple direct purchases in the past year.
Platform economics are shifting as a result. For the first time, base fees charged by major distribution platforms are falling. Three-quarters of top-grossing mobile games now operate their own web store, up from just 12% in 2019, according to Bain. Converting a sale from a third-party platform to a direct channel can improve margins by 15 to 30 percentage points.
Still, Bain & Company argues the bigger prize is the relationship itself. Raising a web-store discount from 10% to 30% barely changed how many gamers preferred buying direct. But among gamers who made multiple direct purchases, 84% said a personalized offer from a game they play often would make them more likely to buy.
“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, partner at Bain & Company and global head of its video game offering.
“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, artificial intelligence, distribution, and personalization alike.”
