MOR Is DOA
Interesting insight from Bain's Gaming Report 2026:
Gaming has become more global, social, and diverse, which makes chasing the average player the costliest mistake in the industry. Playing time and spending have become heavily concentrated. But this valuable core of the market isn't one audience: Preferences vary widely across age and every other dimension we tested. The race is on to win this core.
The middle of the road is now dead on arrival. The top 20% of players by engagement account for roughly 60% of all playing time and 73% of total spend.
The report continues:
A game built for everyone is now the risky bet. AI won't rescue these games — it scales the wrong bets as fast as the right ones. The advantage goes to companies that own the relationship with their chosen players, understanding each one well enough to personalize what they offer and, increasingly, selling to them directly. Nearly half of players already buy straight from developers, bypassing the app stores.The next market leaders won't necessarily win the most players. They'll win the right ones.
This is The Prestige in playable form.
A smaller audience of the right players beats a larger audience of the wrong ones.
The average player was always an abstraction.
Now it is an expensive mistake.