Bain Report Says AI Personalization Is Key for Game Studios

Bain & Company said in a press release that its 2026 Gaming Report found player preferences are fragmenting while gaming time and spending are concentrated among a smaller group of players. The report is based on a survey of more than 5,300 gamers and Bain analysis of 100 titles released since 2023.

Bain found that no single gaming experience type was preferred by more than 26% of surveyed players. The highest spending 20% of players account for nearly three quarters of total spending, while the most active 20% account for almost 60% of playing time.

The report says 83% of games built around a specific, identifiable player reached commercial success, compared with 50% of games that were not. Bain said AI tools can support faster prototyping, cheaper iteration, and deeper audience analysis, while 42% of gamers said they are more comfortable with AI in games than a year earlier. Among players ages 13 to 17, that figure rose to 59%.

Bain also reported that nearly half of surveyed gamers bought virtual currency, items, or game content directly from a developer web store in the past 12 months. It said three quarters of top grossing mobile games now operate their own web store, up from 12% in 2019. The report identifies personalized offers, player onboarding, store optimization, content discovery, and recommendations across titles as areas where machine learning models can be used.