A gaming industry that’s changing the world
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Published on 12 March 2025 -
Written by Louise Blas
Gamification is everywhere
Let’s take a moment to look at the choices made by some of the big names in the technology and services sector: LinkedIn has launched several games to ‘spark conversations and friendly competition amongst professionals around the world’, modifying its interface for the occasion. For its part, The New York Times, the leading American newspaper with 130 Pulitzer Prizes to its name, is raking in massive profits thanks to its casual games. There is even a thriving economy of games modelled on those of the NYT, but in an ‘unlimited’ version (the newspaper offering one ‘puzzle’ per day per game): ‘You don’t even have to invent a new game. In fact, it’s better if you don’t’. Another particularly telling indicator is Netflix, which continues to invest in its games division, despite some turbulence.
The perception of gaming has changed
What seems to have fundamentally changed is the very perception of gaming. No longer viewed merely as a simple form of entertainment, gaming has become a tool for engagement, connection and motivation, capable of bringing communities together.
But gamification is no magic bullet: the success of such an approach depends above all on organic integration that respects the user experience and is aligned with each platform’s DNA. The code hasn’t quite been cracked yet.