Player Resarch

I've always been more curious about the people holding the controller than the games themselves. Who are they? Where did they start? What do they reach for on a free evening, and what makes them put a game down for good?

So when a community survey of Indian players appeared on r/IndianGamers, I spent some time with the numbers. There were 16 questions and 69 answers. It's a small window, but a surprisingly clear one.

A young, early-hooked audience

The first thing that stands out is how young this group is. 42% are aged 18 to 21, and another 35% are in their twenties. Nobody over 40 answered. The group is also 91% male, which probably says as much about who spends time on gaming subreddits as it does about who plays.

What interested me more was when they started. Two in three were playing before they turned ten, and not one person picked up gaming as an adult. For these players, games aren't a hobby they chose later in life. They grew up with them.

The PS2 generation

When asked which console generation their first games came from, one era dominated. 43.5% started in the PS2 and GameCube years, with the PS3 era close behind at 26%. Almost nine in ten started before the PS4 existed.

As a designer, I find that a useful anchor. Tight campaigns, split-screen sessions and cheat codes aren't retro references for this audience. They're the foundation their expectations were built on.

PC first, phone always

This is a PC crowd: 94% play on a computer. But more than half also play on their phone, and about a third own a console. Players could choose more than one platform, and most did. The same person moves from desk to pocket in a single day.

The console-war stereotype didn't show up either. 84% said they have never criticised someone for the platform they play on.

Underpicked, but loved

Asked to choose between AAA, AA and indie games, half chose AAA and only one in five chose indie. On its own, that looks like a clear verdict. But when the same players rated niche indie titles, 74% gave them 8 out of 10 or higher.

Players default to big-budget games, but they love the smaller ones once they find them. For this audience, indie's challenge isn't quality. It's discovery.

The generative AI question

This is where opinions got strong. Seven in ten players feel negative about generative AI, and nobody said they were completely positive. The picture barely changes when the question is about AAA games using it, although the share who are "completely negative" rises from 13% to 20%.

The headline hides the more interesting detail. When asked where AI is acceptable in game development, most players didn't say "nowhere". Nearly half said it's fine if it's only used for code. Another 27.5% said it's fine for concepts, as long as it doesn't reach the final game. Only 16% want no AI at all. Overall, 65% are comfortable with developers using AI for scripting and coding.

Players seem to accept AI they can't see and push back on AI they can: art, voices and writing. Almost half have already played a game that openly used generative AI, but nobody said they had played a lot of them. Most of these opinions are being formed with very little hands-on experience.

Players who make games

One detail I didn't expect: 17% of respondents have worked on a game themselves. Coding was the most common contribution, followed by assets, UI, concepts and audio. This community is both an audience and a pool of creative talent.

What I'm taking away

Be open about AI. Say where it's used, and keep the parts players see and hear human. Help players find indie games. Indie wins once it's played, so demos, creator coverage and wishlists matter as much as polish. Design for desk and pocket. This audience moves between PC and phone, and lightweight, cross-platform games meet them where they are. Remember the PS2 generation. Early-2000s design is a shared reference point for most of these players.

About the data

This survey had 69 responses from a single subreddit, and 91% of respondents were men. It's a self-selected, highly engaged group, so I treat it as a signal rather than a final answer. Some questions allowed more than one choice, so those totals add up to more than 100%.

Still, it leaves me with questions I want to keep exploring. What shapes a player's taste? And how should that change the way we design for them?