Gamification is a powerful tool that is rapidly gaining ground in the business world. In recent years, games have finally moved beyond leisure and entered the corporate world, from employee training to customer interaction. And this trend is only gaining momentum. Need proof? Consider this: the global market for gamification solutions is growing by tens of percent annually and is already on the verge of $30 billion.
According to forecasts, by 2025, the industry will reach $32 billion. And 70% of the world’s largest companies (from the Global 2000 list) say they already use game mechanics in their work. Gamification is no longer a rare experiment, but a new standard of doing business.
But what exactly awaits us in 2025 in this field, especially in the B2B sector? What are the latest trends shaping the development of gamification for companies and their partners? Soft2Bet, a well-known B2B provider of gamification solutions, has its finger on the pulse of these changes.
It is no coincidence that at the major ICE 2025 exhibition, the company even held a special workshop entitled “Gamification: what’s next?” where it presented the latest game mechanics for business.
Let’s take a look at three key gamification trends in B2B that will define 2025.
Personalization 2.0: AI-driven Gamification
Imagine that a business application adapts to you as cleverly as an experienced game master adapts the plot to the players. This is already a reality: artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly finding its way into gamified systems, making them adaptive and intelligent.
We’re talking about the next step in personalization, when the program itself “learns” from the user’s actions and changes the game scenario on the fly. Sound futuristic? But that’s exactly what’s happening thanks to the introduction of machine learning.
What are the benefits of AI-based adaptive gamification?
First, it takes into account the individual style and skills of each user. If an employee easily copes with training tasks, the system will give them more challenging tests, and if they stumble, it will offer hints or make the level easier. This dynamic selection of difficulty maintains an optimal balance: it’s not boring, but not too difficult either. For example, in staff training, game modules can already recognize which topics a person has gaps in and focus their attention on those areas.As a result, training is much more effective, because everyone gets a unique experience tailored to their knowledge and pace.
Secondly, AI in gamification is about predicting behavior. Modern platforms analyze tons of data about users: what actions they take, where they abandon tasks, what they respond to best. Based on this data, models are built that predict what motivates a particular person. For example, Soft2Bet uses behavioral analytics: it tracks down to micro-actions: how many seconds a player looks at a particular offer, what position in the ranking prompts them to place a bet, how color design affects engagement. These subtle observations allow AI models to deliver personalized incentives, for example, offering a bonus or the next challenge at the moment when it is most likely to inspire the user. Soft2Bet is particularly active in implementing such solutions.
Community and Competition: Play Together, Win Together
Humans are social creatures, and games were originally conceived as a form of shared entertainment. In 2025, gamification in B2B is returning to these roots, with an increasing focus on communities and competitiveness. While the emphasis used to be on individual rewards (“earn a badge for personal achievements”), the new trend is “playing together”: team challenges, rankings among colleagues, sharing achievements with friends. And businesses see huge potential in this for increasing engagement.
Why is social gamification so effective? Let’s take a closer look.
First, the spirit of competition motivates more when there is someone to compete with. Simply getting 100 points is nice, but getting them and seeing yourself in the leading position among colleagues or partners is twice as exciting. The element of friendly competition encourages people to come back and play again so as not to lose to others. It is no coincidence that many corporations have introduced leaderboards and rankings for internal KPIs: sales departments compete to see who has exceeded their targets, teams compete to see who can complete a project faster, and so on. These game-like rankings turn routine work into a sport.
Second, there is a community effect: people like to be part of a team, share successes, and support each other. Modern gamified platforms offer features such as clans, group tasks, and team-versus-team challenges. For example, Soft2Bet notes that its most successful B2B partners use social mechanics as an audience retention multiplier. Their practices even include cross-platform “clans” of players that bring together people with common interests and shared events where users compete or complete tasks together. This kind of collective play creates a sense of camaraderie among participants and builds loyalty to the community, and therefore to the platform. People simply don’t want to leave because their friends, team, and shared goals are there.
Immersive Experience: From VR to the Metaverse
Now let’s move from the office reality to the virtual one. Another bright trend in gamification in 2025 is the desire to make the gaming experience as immersive as possible using VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), and even the first elements of the metaverse. If gaming mechanics in business used to be limited to a computer or smartphone screen, now the boundaries are blurring: employees and clients can literally step into the game world by putting on a VR headset or pointing their phone camera at surrounding objects.
Virtual reality has already proven its effectiveness in education and training. By putting on VR glasses, an employee can train in conditions that are as close to real life as possible, but without risk and with an element of play. Large manufacturing and oil and gas companies, for example, use VR simulations to teach safety techniques to staff or practice emergency response in a game format. PwC research has shown that employees learn almost four times faster in VR and feel 275% more confident in applying the skills they have learned in practice. The reason is clear: it is an immersive experience, the brain perceives it as real events, and the game format reduces stress and increases motivation. As a result, knowledge is absorbed more easily and more permanently.
Augmented reality (AR) also opens up a wealth of opportunities for gamification. AR overlays game elements onto our real environment. Remember the phenomenal game Pokémon Go, where people ran around the streets looking for virtual monsters? Now imagine a similar concept in a B2B context.
For example, at a corporate conference, participants can use an app to collect “virtual bonuses” scattered around the hall by scanning QR codes on stands and compete to see who can score the most points during the event. This turns a boring walk around an exhibition into an exciting quest, increasing visitor engagement and value for sponsors.
Many companies are already trying AR quests for team building: employees run around the office with their phones, looking for virtual clues to solve a puzzle together. Such a game is not only fun, but also boosts teamwork. And, of course, we cannot fail to mention the metaverse, the buzzword of recent years.
Despite sober skepticism, mini-metaverses are emerging in the corporate world: permanent virtual spaces where employees can interact as they would in an office, only in digital form. Accenture, for example, has created an entire virtual campus called “One Accenture Park” for onboarding new employees.
Over the past couple of years, they have welcomed more than 150,000 newcomers to their virtual office, and 94% of them rated the experience as “excellent.” New hires put on a VR headset and find themselves in a metaspace where they can walk around a virtual office, chat with avatar colleagues, complete game-like tasks, and learn about the company culture.
This gamified onboarding takes the stress out of the first day on the job and helps people feel more engaged. Impressive, right? Soft2Bet isn’t sitting on the sidelines when it comes to immersive trends. In a recent interview, the company revealed that it’s experimenting with integrating VR into its solutions and even tracking players’ neuro-reactions.
Brave New World
As we can see, gamification in the B2B sector on the eve of 2025 is no longer about primitive “badges for achievements.” Smart algorithms are entering the arena, making games sophisticated and personalized. Gamification is taking on a social dimension, with communities of players competing and collaborating becoming the heart of successful loyalty and motivation programs.
Finally, games are becoming more deeply integrated into reality — or reality is becoming more deeply integrated into games — thanks to VR and AR, turning everyday tasks into unforgettable adventures. These trends bring real benefits to companies. As Soft2Bet notes, smart gamification can increase user engagement several times over, extend the time they spend on the platform, and significantly increase customer lifetime value.
Instead of an arms race of discounts and one-time bonuses (which in some industries have already turned into a “race to the bottom”), businesses gain a sustainable retention mechanism. Gaming is a long-term motivator because people want to come back for new levels, new achievements, and new experiences. It is no coincidence that Soft2Bet, in its entry into new markets, is focusing on gamified engagement, contrasting it with short-term promotions.
