Nowadays, gamification is a strong e-learning trend. It assists organizations in raising the motivation and engagement of their learners. Approximately 70 percent (DN Suresh. Play And Learn: Exploring The Power Of Gamification In Employee Learning And Development. ELearning Industry. 2024) of Global 2000 businesses now use gamification in their training initiatives. Furthermore, according to 72 percent of workers, learning that incorporates game-like elements increases their stimulus.
In this article, we will examine the definition of what is gamification in e-learning. Along with highlighting its main advantages and useful applications, we will also go over the best e-learning gamification examples. 🤓
Summary
- What is e-learning gamification?
- 12 examples of gamification in e-learning
- The benefits of gamification for businesses & employees
- Challenges and limitations of gamification
- Best practices for e-learning gamification
- Summary
What is e-learning gamification?
Gamification in e-learning is the process of incorporating elements of games into online instruction, such as leaderboards, levels, badges, points, and progress bars. The goal is not to turn education into a game, but instead, to use these well-known components to add interest and motivation to the classroom. Rather than just finishing a lesson, a student might be given a badge or be able to see how they are doing in relation to others.
The idea originates from self-determination theory. Basically, it says we learn best when three needs are met:
- Competence. You want proof you’re getting better. A bar filling up, a badge popping on your profile, or hitting the next level all give that sense of progress.
- Autonomy. Nobody enjoys being told exactly how to learn. Having a choice of which path to take, whether to try a harder challenge, or even skipping ahead, makes the whole thing feel less forced.
- Connection. Learning is easier when you’re not doing it alone. A leaderboard, a team mission, or even a friendly rivalry with a colleague can make it feel social instead of isolating.
Hit those three components, and training stops feeling like busywork. People actually want to keep going — they practice more, stay motivated, and, honestly, pay more attention. That’s why our explainer video production services focus on designing engaging, interactive learning experiences that hit these psychological triggers — turning training into something people enjoy, not endure.
📌 Why use gamification in e-learning
So, why even bother with gamification in online learning? Simple — it keeps people from zoning out. Instead of just clicking next, next, next until the module is complete, learners receive feedback, rewards, and little nudges that make them want to keep going.
A few reasons it works:
- Motivation. Points, badges, progress bars — call them small wins. They give people something to aim for, and hitting those markers feels good enough to push them forward.
- Relevance. Let’s face it, most of us are already used to apps that throw us instant feedback. Adding the same idea into training feels normal, not forced.
- Practical impact. Some topics (compliance, safety, you name it) can get really repetitive or tiresome. Gamified quizzes or mini-challenges break the monotony and make it easier to actually finish — a great example of what gamification adds to e-learning in real terms.
This is why so many companies are jumping on the gamification trend. It keeps learners awake, makes dry material less painful, and usually improves results. The next question is how to design gamification so the game parts support learning, and don’t just feel like gimmicks.
📌 How to implement gamification
Gamification in e-learning only really works when it has a clear purpose. It’s not about tossing in a few “fun” features just for the sake of it. The point is to design a learning experience that actually keeps people motivated and helps them use what they’ve learned later on. A few simple steps usually make the difference:
- Link it to objectives
Every game element should connect back to the training goals. If you’re teaching safety, give points for completing safety modules. If it’s sales, a leaderboard can highlight top performers. The mechanics should always point back to what matters most. - Start small
You don’t need anything fancy at the beginning. Even a progress bar or a badge can change how people approach a course. Using e-learning video production services to create short, interactive videos is another simple way to engage learners from the start Once learners get used to it, then you can layer in more complex elements like simulations or branching storylines. - Make it personal
Not everyone learns the same way. A new hire might need easier assignments, while an experienced staff member wants something challenging. Adapting quizzes and tasks to skill level or role keeps the training relevant. - Mix competition with teamwork
Some people love competing. Others hate it. A mix works best — maybe a leaderboard for those who want to chase the top spot, and team missions for those who prefer working together. Both styles keep people involved. - Give quick feedback
Feedback should be fast and obvious. A quiz result that shows up right away, a progress bar that moves, a badge that pops up — all of these tell the learner, “You’re making progress.” That little confirmation goes a long way.
When done well, e-learning gamification makes courses easier to finish, helps people remember the material longer, and keeps them coming back. For a company, that usually means better results and a culture where learning actually sticks.
12 examples of gamification in e-learning
Schools, companies, and even apps you’ve probably tried all use game mechanics to keep learners coming back — a clear sign of how powerful gamification for online learning has become. Below are some of the better-known gamification e-learning examples and how they make training less of a slog and more engaging.
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Duolingo (Language Learning)
Take Duolingo — one of the clearest examples of gamification in e-learning. It keeps people coming back to language practice with streaks, badges, points, and leaderboards. Even the tiniest tweaks have moved the needle: when the team added a simple red dot to mark new content, daily usage jumped by 6 percent (The Tenets of A/B Testing from Duolingo’s Master Growth Hacker. First Round. 2017). A later tweak added another 1.6 percent — all from just a few minutes of coding. Small change, big impact.
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Kahoot! (Classroom & Corporate Training)
Kahoot! (Kahoot! | Learning Games | Make Learning Awesome! Kahoot!. 2025) is basically a quiz game, but live. Everyone joins in, answers questions, and scores points while watching the leaderboard update in real time. It’s quick to set up, and it works just as well with kids in a classroom as it does with adults in a company training. Teachers like it since it breaks up the usual lecture routine. Companies pick it up for onboarding, compliance check-ins, or basic team building. And honestly, the mix of fun and competition just makes people pay more attention — longer than they normally would, maybe even longer than they planned to. This is a good example of how game-like elements can be applied. Implement these techniques in your online course to enhance the learning experience and gather more employee feedback.
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SAP Community (Corporate Training)
SAP reshaped its cybersecurity training by building escape-room-style experiences such as Horror Hospital and Dracula-themed quests. Instead of passively reading policies, employees solve puzzles to unlock progress, earn badges, and collect points. This interactive format makes complex security topics easier to understand and remember, while also encouraging employees to return and take part in ongoing training modules.
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Cisco Social Media Training
Cisco (Dmitriy Garanov. Mastering Skills with Play: The Fusion of Gaming and Learning in Black Belt Gamification. Cisco Blogs. 2024) created its social media training as a step-by-step program with three levels: Specialist, Strategist, and Master. Learners earned points and badges while completing scenario-based challenges that reflected real business situations. To make the experience more engaging, Cisco added creative elements like space-themed escape-room tasks. Cisco’s example of gamification in e-learning not only improved skills but also showed business results, as partners who took part actively grew up to 3 percent faster.
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Salesforce Trailhead
Trailhead (Trailhead | The Fun Way to Learn. Trailhead. 2025) is Salesforce’s online gamification e-learning platform that helps users build skills in a practical, interactive way. Learners complete modules to earn points, badges, and Trailblazer ranks, while quizzes and hands-on tasks mirror real Salesforce work. Progress toward the top “Ranger” rank keeps people motivated to keep learning. Trailhead has become a key tool for Salesforce, supporting continuous training for employees, customers, and partners worldwide.
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Minecraft: Education Edition
Minecraft brings gamelike learning into the classroom by letting students solve problems inside a virtual world. Teachers use it to run history explorations, practice coding, or simulate scientific experiments. Its open, creative environment encourages collaboration, critical thinking, and hands-on learning that traditional lessons often struggle to provide.
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EdApp (Microlearning for Corporate Training)
EdApp (Elearning Gamification | EdApp Microlearning. 2025.) is all about short, quick lessons you can finish on your phone, making it one of the more practical e-learning gamification software options out there. Learners see little games, quizzes, leaderboards, and can even swap the “stars” they earn for real prizes. Teachers and trainers don’t have to start from scratch either — the app gives them ready-made templates. For companies, that’s huge: it means they can push out training that’s simple, fast, and not so boring that people click out halfway through.
Let’s create e-learning content that makes a difference -
Deloitte Leadership Academy
Deloitte (The Deloitte Academy. Deloitte. 2025) added game mechanics such as missions, progress dashboards, leaderboards, and badges to its Leadership Academy platform. These features encouraged learners to return regularly and track their advancement. The result was a significant boost in engagement, with daily returning users increasing by 46.6 percent (Pgeorgiev. Gamification in Corporate Training: Case Studies and Success Stories – Trainer Hangout. Trainer Hangout. 2024).
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Savvis – “Merchants” Sales Game
Savvis rolled out Merchants, a sales training program built like a business simulation. Instead of just reading about techniques, learners practiced negotiation and communication in real scenarios. The approach worked better than expected: approximately 80 percent (Juliette Denny. 5 Case Studies That Prove Learning Games Work. ELearning Industry. 2018) of people completed the entire task within six weeks, and the simulation format helped them retain the material longer than with the traditional training style.
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Codecademy – Gamified Coding Progress
On Codecademy (Team Codecademy. Codecademy Skill XP: Track Your Progress & Stay Motivated. Codecademy Blog. 2024), you can clearly see what is gamified learning in action — gamification isn’t an add-on, it’s built right in. Learners pick up points, badges, and streaks as they go, and the XP system works almost like leveling up in a game. Each coding topic has its own track, so progress feels concrete and easy to see. That little rush of “okay, I unlocked the next bit,” is often enough to keep people moving instead of dropping off halfway.
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AstraZeneca – “Go To Jupiter” Product Training
AstraZeneca (Nicholas Day. 4 Successful Examples Of Gamification In Real-Life Corporate Training – Roundtable Learning. Roundtable Learning – The Future of Learning. 2021) launched Go To Jupiter as part of onboarding for its sales staff. The program threw in minigames, leaderboards, and team competitions, plus rewards to keep things lively. It paid off: 95 percent of the group completed the task, and nearly all of them — 97 percent — remained engaged, even beyond regular work hours. The game-style setup made the training feel less like ticking boxes and more like something worth showing up for.
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Marriott – “My Marriott Hotel” Recruitment Game
Marriott launched My Marriott Hotel (HOTELS Editors. Marriott Launches Recruiting Game for Facebook – HOTELSMag.Com. HOTELSMag.Com. 2025.), a Facebook-based simulation where players managed hotel operations as if they were running a real property. The game also served as a recruitment tool, allowing interested candidates to apply for roles directly. It quickly gained traction, attracting over 25,000 users in its first week and reaching players in 58 countries, while also strengthening Marriott’s employer brand.
The benefits of gamification for businesses & employees
Gamification has grown from a nice extra to a core part of modern learning. For companies, it helps turn required training into programs that support performance and brand goals. For employees, it makes learning feel more motivating and practical, with clear signs of progress. This explains why more organizations are now building gamification into their training strategies.
👉 How gamification drives business results
Gamification has become a practical tool for companies that want training to deliver measurable results. By making learning more engaging and interactive, organizations see higher participation and stronger outcomes across different types of programs.
Key benefits include:
- Higher engagement and completion. Gamified courses consistently attract more learner participation and achieve better completion rates than traditional training.
- Improved ROI. Organizations report faster course completion (up to 50 percent (Pgeorgiev. Gamification in Corporate Training: Case Studies and Success Stories – Trainer Hangout. Trainer Hangout. 2024) quicker) and higher engagement (around 60 percent improvement). Simulation-based training also supports better knowledge retention, with gains of 9–20 percent (Traci Sitzmann. A meta-analytic examination of the instructional effectiveness of computer-based simulation games. ResearchGate. 2011).
- Scalability across programs. Gamification can be applied to a wide range of training needs, from compliance and onboarding to sales and leadership development.
- Stronger employer brand. Creative use of gamification, such as Marriott’s recruitment game that reached 58 countries (Webdeveloper. Beyond Resumes: Marriott Using Gamification to Recruit Top Talent in Hospitality|Human Resource and Organization Behavior|Case Study|Case Studies. 2025), can also enhance a company’s reputation and appeal to talent.
Gamification helps companies move past training that’s only about completion. It makes learning more effective, supports business goals, and can even enhance the company’s image. To see the full picture, though, it’s just as important to look at how it benefits employees in their daily learning.
👉 How gamification supports employees
For employees, gamification changes training from something you just have to “get through” into something that actually feels motivating. When progress is visible and there’s space to practice, people tend to stick with it and build skills more naturally.
Some of the benefits include:
- Motivation boost. Points, streaks, badges — they may look simple, but they push people to keep going. About 72 percent (DN Suresh. Play And Learn: Exploring The Power Of Gamification In Employee Learning And Development. 2024) of employees even say those game-like touches make them more motivated to learn.
- Better knowledge retention. Interactive tasks stick more than passive slides. If you’re doing, not just reading, you’re far more likely to remember.
- Recognition and achievement. Leaderboards, badges, and even small rewards feel like a pat on the back — more visible than just a “completed” check mark.
- Practical skill building. Scenario games let employees practice sales calls, negotiations, or product demos without the stress of a real client. It’s a safe place to make mistakes, learn from them, and give it another shot — nothing on the line.
And when personal drive matches what the company’s aiming for, training stops feeling like a checkbox task. People build actual habits, the knowledge sticks around longer, and both employees and the business come out ahead.
Challenges and limitations of gamification
While gamification can make learning more engaging, it also comes with practical challenges. If not carefully designed, game elements risk becoming distractions rather than tools for learning.
Key challenges include:
- High development and implementation costs. Building custom simulations or interactive designs can be expensive, and many solutions require investment in e-learning LMS gamification platforms, like Elucidat.
- Risk of overuse. Overloading courses with badges, points, or leaderboards can feel superficial. Learners may end up chasing rewards instead of focusing on knowledge and skills.
- Different learner preferences. Not all employees respond the same way to competition or game mechanics. Cultural norms and generational differences can make some learners prefer more traditional approaches.
- Measuring real impact. Engagement levels may rise, but proving a direct link between gamification and performance or ROI is often difficult. Other training factors can blur the results.
- Technical and integration issues. Some LMS platforms don’t support e-learning gamification natively, and integrating new features with existing systems or compliance requirements can be complex.
These challenges don’t mean that gamification of e-learning is less useful, but show why design is important. The success of a program depends on choosing the right game elements and using them carefully. When done well, the same issues can become chances to make training more effective.
Best practices for e-learning gamification
Gamification works best when it’s tied to clear goals and designed with the learner in mind. Simply adding points or badges is not enough — game elements need to support the learning process and be refined over time. The following practices can help organizations get the most out of gamified training:
- Align with learning goals. Every game element should reinforce what the course is trying to teach, not distract from it.
- Keep it simple and purposeful. Focus on a few features, such as quizzes, badges, or progress bars, rather than adding too many complex mechanics at once.
- Personalize the experience. Adapt challenges and rewards to different learner levels, roles, or skill sets so the training feels relevant.
- Balance competition and collaboration. Combine leaderboards for individual motivation with team-based missions to encourage cooperation.
- Provide feedback and recognition. Use instant feedback in quizzes and highlight learner progress with dashboards, badges, or certificates.
- Measure and improve. Track engagement, completion rates, and performance data. Adjust the gamification design based on learner feedback and analytics.
By applying these practices, companies can create gamification online courses where games actually support learning instead of distracting from it.
Summary
Gamification proves that learning works best when it is active and engaging. For companies, this means better results, higher participation, and a stronger learning culture — a reminder of how to use gamification in e-learning strategically.
Blue Carrot’s e-learning solutions are both engaging and effective. Using gamification e-learning, interactive design, and custom animation, we create training programs that keep learners motivated and help businesses achieve real outcomes.
If you’d like to make your training more interactive, explore our e-learning services or contact us to see how to use gamification in e-learning effectively in your next project.
