Researching the games market: gamified surveys, player panels and B2B method notes

The games market is fast-moving and fragmented. Researching it requires understanding what players actually want (not what they say they want), what publishers invest in (not what they publicly announce), and where spending happens (often outside traditional research channels). Here are the methods that work for games market research, and the techniques that help when a traditional approach fails.

The challenge of researching games

Games research is harder than research in other consumer categories for three reasons:

• Players do not always know what they want until they play it. A survey asking "would you play a roguelike deck-builder?" gets a different answer from asking "play this game for an hour, then tell us what you think." Stated preference does not match revealed preference.
• Gaming communities are vocal but not representative. The people who post on Reddit or Discord about a game are not the average player. They are more engaged, more extreme (both love and hate), and louder. Treating them as the market is a classic research error.
• Studio data is often proprietary. A publisher will not tell you sales figures or user acquisition costs unless you have signed an NDA or you are a major research firm. Secondary data is limited.

Effective games market research combines quantitative surveys (to get population estimates) with qualitative methods (to understand why) and real-world data (where you can get it).

Surveying gaming communities: the gamified approach

A standard survey about games does not work. "How many hours per week do you play?" is an estimate, often wrong. But if you give a player a choice between two games and ask them to pick the one they would rather play, they will give you a consistent, honest answer. This is the principle behind gamified surveys: you embed your research question inside a game-like interaction.

Conjoint analysis is the standard method. Present players with pairs (or small groups) of game features and ask them to choose which combination they prefer. Example: Would you rather play (a) a turn-based strategy game with no multiplayer, or (b) a real-time strategy game with co-op play? By showing many combinations and tracking choices, you can estimate the value players place on each feature without asking them directly.

Card-sorting exercises work for understanding how players categorise game genres and styles. Give players a digital deck of cards (each with a game, genre or feature) and ask them to sort them into groups. Analyse the clusters that emerge. This teaches you how players actually think about the market, not how the industry classifies it.

Ranking and rating tasks are more reliable than open-ended opinion questions. Instead of "do you like pixel art?", show players 10 games with different art styles and ask them to rank which they would most likely play. The ranking is more honest than a yes/no opinion.

Practical example: A publisher wants to know whether UK players prefer cosmetic purchases or battle pass models. Instead of asking "which would you rather pay for?", you show players a series of game screenshots and ask them to estimate the price they would pay under each model. The difference in estimated price reveals which model players find more acceptable.

Gamified surveys take longer (players spend 10–20 minutes instead of 3–5) and have higher quality responses. Completion rates are lower, but the data is better.

Building and maintaining a player panel

A panel is a group of players who have agreed to answer questions regularly (weekly, monthly, or as needed) about games and gaming. Panels are expensive to build but invaluable for tracking trends over time.

Recruitment: Panels are best recruited from existing gaming communities. Approach gaming subreddits, Discord servers, and forums. Explain what the panel is for, how often they will be asked to participate, and (critically) what incentive you offer. Gamers are often willing to participate for store credit, early access to games, or simply the chance to influence product development. Cash is fine, but not necessary.

Size and composition: A usable panel is 500–1000 people. Smaller and your sub-group analysis breaks. Larger and recruitment becomes slow. Aim for representation of major gaming segments: console players, PC players, mobile gamers, esports fans, and casual players. You will never match the population exactly, so weight your analysis.

Retention: Panel members drop out over time. Replace dropouts continuously. Every month, expect 5–10% attrition. Budget for recruitment against that loss.

Questions to ask a panel:**

• Time and money: "Last week, how many hours did you spend gaming, and how much did you spend on in-game purchases or new games?"
• Game launches: "Which of these upcoming games are you interested in?" (track awareness and intent to purchase over time).
• Sentiment: "Right now, how are you feeling about [game genre]?" (track mood and engagement trends).
• Platforms: "Where did you play your last game session?" (track platform usage).

Ask the same questions monthly to spot trends. Ask new questions as industries shift.

B2B research: interviewing studios and publishers

If your research is for a B2B client (an investor, a publisher, a platform holder), you need to interview studios and publishers themselves. This is slower and harder than consumer research, but it gives you insight into decision-making, strategy and investment plans.

Who to interview: Studios of different sizes (AAA, AA, independent), different genres (action, puzzle, strategy), and different business models (premium, free-to-play, subscription). Include both successful studios and ones that have had failures. Talk to developers, producers and marketing leads. Do not just talk to studios that will talk to you—that bias skews results.

How to recruit: Cold email with a specific, narrow request. "Can I interview your studio lead about monetisation strategy for 30 minutes?" is more likely to get a yes than "Can we interview you about your business?" Studios get a lot of research requests; be specific and respect their time.

Structure the interview:

• Their game(s): "Tell me about the studio and the games you have released." Listen for market position and strategy.
• Their process: "How do you decide what games to make?" Listen for market research practices and how they validate ideas.
• Their challenges: "What was hard about [recent game]?" This is where you learn about real constraints and failures.
• Market trends: "What changes do you see in the games market?" Studio leads have deep knowledge of their segment. They can tell you whether console gaming is declining (their view), whether indie games are getting squeezed by budgets (their experience) and where opportunities are.
• The future: "What game or style of game do you wish someone would make?" Aspirations reveal gaps in the market.

Record (with permission) and transcript interviews. Quote studios anonymously unless they have agreed otherwise. Confidentiality is essential for getting honest answers.

Secondary data: where to find published market figures

Some data is public. Know where to find it:

• Steam Charts: Shows monthly active players for games on Steam. Public, free, real data. Use it to track adoption and decline.
• App Store Connect and Google Play Console: If you are analysing a specific game, these dashboards show charts, reviews and downloads (though the publisher can turn visibility off).
• Twitch and YouTube streaming stats: Tools like SullyGnome and Stream Hatchet track viewership. Use this to understand engagement and cultural relevance.
• Gaming news sites: VG247, PC Gamer, Game Developer Magazine, EDGE often publish interviews with studio leads and market analysis. Not original research, but useful for context.
• Industry reports: Firms like IDC, Newzoo and Superdata publish paid reports on market size and trends. Expensive, but large publishers and investors use them as reference points.
• SteamSpy and similar tools: These estimate ownership, playtime and revenue for Steam games by reverse-engineering store data. The estimates are rough, but useful for trend-spotting.

What not to do

Do not:

• Treat vocal communities as representative. Reddit and Twitter are loud, not representative.
• Ask people what they think they want. Ask what they actually do.
• Ignore mobile and casual gaming. It is the largest segment by spending and it is often invisible in "core gamer" discussions.
• Assume you know what the market is without talking to it. Industry assumptions are often wrong.
• Publish without data. "Gamers love X" without a sample size, method and confidence interval is opinion, not research.

Key points

• Gamified surveys (conjoint analysis, ranking tasks) get better data than open-ended opinion questions.
• A player panel of 500–1000 people, surveyed regularly, reveals market trends over time.
• B2B interviews with studio leads provide insight into strategy, constraints and opportunities that surveys cannot capture.
• Combine quantitative surveys (population estimates) with qualitative interviews (understanding why).
• Treat gaming communities as engaged subgroups, not as the market.
• Use secondary data (Steam Charts, streaming stats, news reports) to spot trends and validate primary research.

Information is as of October 2026. Games market research methods continue to evolve. The principle—understand what players actually do, not what they say—remains constant.