Principle 07 · Motivation
Gamification research: what the evidence says about gamified learning
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Short answer
Gamification applies game elements to learning. Five meta-analyses published since 2020 found positive effects on learning, with sizes that vary by study, design and context. In an experiment, badges, leaderboards and performance graphs increased the sense of competence and the perceived meaningfulness of the task.
What it is
Gamifying learning means using game elements, such as points, levels, badges, leaderboards and challenges, in a context that is not a game. The goal is not entertainment: it is to give people reasons to come back and clear signs of progress.
For a practical guide, with which elements to use and how to start, see gamification in training.
What the research says
A medium effect, and what students say
A meta-analysis of 30 interventions with 3,202 participants found a medium effect in favour of gamification on academic performance (g = 0.504), with no sign of publication bias. In 32 qualitative studies, students valued the enthusiasm, feedback, recognition and goal setting; they named a lack of added value and anxiety or jealousy as downsides.
Bai, Hew and Huang (2020), Educational Research Review.
Each game element has its own effect
A meta-analysis of 30 studies with 3,083 participants found a small to medium effect in favour of gamification (g = 0.464). Each of the 14 game elements examined, such as leaderboards, had different effects on learning outcomes.
Huang, Ritzhaupt, Sommer and colleagues (2020), Educational Technology Research and Development.
Larger effects in two recent meta-analyses
A meta-analysis of 41 studies with more than 5,071 participants found a large effect (g = 0.822), which varied with user type, subject, design principles, length of the experience and learning environment. Another, of 22 experimental studies from 2008 to 2023, found a moderately positive effect on academic performance (g = 0.782).
Li, Ma and Shi (2023), Frontiers in Psychology; Zeng, Sun, Looi and Fan (2024), British Journal of Educational Technology.
Learning, motivation and behaviour
A meta-analysis found significant positive effects, which the authors describe as small, on learning (g = 0.49), motivation (g = 0.36) and behaviour (g = 0.25).
Sailer and Homner (2020), Educational Psychology Review.
Competence and meaning
In a randomised experiment in a simulation environment, badges, leaderboards and performance graphs increased competence need satisfaction and the perceived meaningfulness of the task.
Sailer, Hense, Mayr and Mandl (2017), Computers in Human Behavior.
The g value is a measure of effect size: it compares the group with gamification and the group without it, in standard deviation units. The five meta-analyses agree on the direction of the effect but not on its size, and they focus mainly on educational settings. How gamification is designed matters.
Why it works
- It makes progress visible. Levels and medals show what has been mastered and what is left.
- It reinforces the sense of competence. That is the effect the 2017 study measured for badges, leaderboards and performance graphs.
- It is not automatic. Some students report that gamification causes them anxiety or jealousy (Bai and colleagues, 2020), and each game element has different effects (Huang and colleagues, 2020).
- It gives people a reason to come back. And coming back is what makes spaced repetition and retrieval practice possible.
How the game applies it
Academia AtlasLaunch 2026
2Level4 more correct answers to level up and 9 to the next medal
- Levels by topic: to level up, players must answer most of the distinct questions in that level correctly.
- Six medals that reward the total number of different questions each person has answered correctly, with names the company chooses.
- Individual and team leaderboards, challenges between colleagues and speed points.
References
- Zeng, J., Sun, D., Looi, C.-K. & Fan, A. C. W. (2024). Exploring the impact of gamification on students' academic performance: a comprehensive meta-analysis of studies from the year 2008 to 2023. British Journal of Educational Technology, 55(6), 2478-2502. doi:10.1111/bjet.13471
- Li, M., Ma, S. & Shi, Y. (2023). Examining the effectiveness of gamification as a tool promoting teaching and learning in educational settings: a meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1253549. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1253549
- Bai, S., Hew, K. F. & Huang, B. (2020). Does gamification improve student learning outcome? Evidence from a meta-analysis and synthesis of qualitative data in educational contexts. Educational Research Review, 30, 100322. doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100322
- Huang, R., Ritzhaupt, A. D., Sommer, M., Zhu, J., Stephen, A., Valle, N., Hampton, J. & Li, J. (2020). The impact of gamification in educational settings on student learning outcomes: a meta-analysis. Educational Technology Research and Development, 68(4), 1875-1901. doi:10.1007/s11423-020-09807-z
- Sailer, M. & Homner, L. (2020). The gamification of learning: a meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 32(1), 77-112. doi:10.1007/s10648-019-09498-w
- Sailer, M., Hense, J. U., Mayr, S. K. & Mandl, H. (2017). How gamification motivates: an experimental study of the effects of specific game design elements on psychological need satisfaction. Computers in Human Behavior, 69, 371-380. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.033