International online game market shifting into new period

Bain & Company’s survey of greater than 5,000 avid gamers worldwide reveals that user-generated content material, influencer-led sport discovery, and cross-media mental property are defining the subsequent period of gaming.

Sweeping shifts within the trade throughout person behaviors, monetization fashions and distribution, fueled by rising participant expectations and growing democratization of sport creation, are altering the face of the worldwide gaming sector.

The international online game market reached $219 billion final yr and is projected to develop by 4% yearly by 2028, Bain & Company tasks. But the researchers be aware that the trade’s progress is more and more concentrated amongst prime titles, lots of which depend on user-generated content material (UGC), cross-media IP ecosystems, and direct-to-consumer distribution fashions which sidestep conventional storefronts.

“We’re witnessing a generational shift in what it means to engage with games,” Daniel Hong, chief of Bain’s international Media & Entertainment observe, stated. “Today’s top games aren’t just entertainment – they’re platforms for creativity, socialization, and storytelling. Studios that embrace this broader role will lead the next era of gaming, and those that don’t will be left behind.”

Source: Santander; Bain evaluation

Games as a platform thrive as AAA studios battle

Platform-style video games – these providing expansive worlds, community-building options, and instruments for creators – are capturing double-digit person progress as they quickly pull gamers, creators, and types into their orbit, the report notes. Popular video games as a platform are rising lively customers by 10% to twenty% yearly and have gotten the “center of gravity” for your entire ecosystem.

Alongside, conventional AAA studios face rising growth prices, shrinking margins, and steep competitors. In distinction, unbiased builders, unburdened by the legacy prices of extra established rivals, are thriving and achieved a 22% compound annual progress price (CAGR) for PC sport revenues from 2018 by 2024, in comparison with a CAGR of simply 8% for AAA/AA sport studios.

Source: Video Game Insights; Statista; firm web sites; press releases; information articles; Bain evaluation

User-generated content material is rising quick

The survey discovered that just about half of creators are spending extra time creating content material in comparison with final yr. Even avid gamers over 35 years previous reported a significant improve in time spent creating in-game content material.

This pattern is most pronounced amongst youthful gamers between two and 17 years previous, who’re 20 proportion factors extra prone to play the video games their friends are enjoying. Platform-style titles that help UGC have a robust “flywheel effect” – boosting neighborhood retention and making player-generated content material central to sport longevity.

“Young gamers are driving the success of top games, and their values are reshaping the industry,” stated Anders Christofferson, chief of Bain & Company’s Gaming providing and companion inside the Media & Entertainment observe. “Customization, social connection, and creativity now rank higher than visual fidelity for many players. The old formula of promising sequels and better graphics is no longer enough to stay competitive.”

Source: Bain Video Game Consumption Survey

Direct-to-consumer distribution is gaining floor

The steadiness of energy within the gaming market is shifting away from digital storefronts. 24% of gamers uncover new video games by on-line content material creators or influencers, whereas 14% of respondents uncover them by social media, and simply 12% uncover new video games by conventional digital storefronts, the survey reveals.

In response, builders are launching their very own internet shops to retain margin and construct direct buyer relationships. The share of top-grossing cellular video games with their very own on-line shops has practically quadrupled inside 5 years from 12% in 2019 to 44% in 2024, Bain experiences. These tendencies are being accelerated by rulings within the US, the EU, and Brazil, which have barred app shops from limiting builders from steering customers to exterior buy hyperlinks.

Source: Sensor Tower; Bain evaluation

Winning past the sport: IP enlargement fuels engagement

Top franchises are not confined to consoles. Bain & Company’s report reveals that round 1 / 4 of avid gamers’ time spent consuming different media is targeted on game-related mental property (IP), reminiscent of reveals, music, and merchandise. Critically acclaimed movie and tv variations increase sport engagement considerably, lifting common concurrent customers (ACUs) by as much as 69% for top-rated sequence.

Successful franchises are setting the benchmark for the trade by orchestrating seamless experiences throughout platforms, leveraging merchandising, and constructing creator communities.

Source: Bain Video Game Consumption Survey

Several frequent rules that set profitable IP homeowners aside in accordance with Bain & Company embody:

Respect and embrace the followers
Leading firms preserve high quality and authenticity to the sport’s lore throughout all media. Loyal followers will reward faithfulness and punish betrayal.

Expand throughout media selectively
Not each story belongs on each display. Leading firms solely pursue new codecs that match the model and keep away from over-extending, which dilutes the IP and harms high quality.

Build an intentional, complete roadmap
This must be extra than simply advertising and marketing. How do you are taking a participant or fan on a journey that immerses them deeply within the IP? Leading firms prioritize long-term engagement over short-term monetization.

Invest within the working mannequin and key capabilities
Organizational construction performs a task, however making certain gamers and followers have interaction with IP requires investing in enterprise processes, governance boards, and new capabilities round components reminiscent of interactive storytelling and IP administration.