Gamification is not something that has just been made up, it is backed up by extensive academic theory. (Bartle, 2003) and his player type model was the forerunner in game theory. His four player types are a basic model in understanding how people act or react in a game based situation. (Marczewski, 2015) expands and adapts on Bartle to include intrinsic and extrinsic player types, and shows how player types can be used in business contexts. Gamification also expands far further than just marketing and “player types”, and can be used in HR, economics etc.
Many serious, overly formal, or more strict business people may think that gamification is just games, and games are a waste of time in the workplace. However, it is taking the business world by storm; the global gamification market is estimated to be worth more than 11.1 billion USD by 2020 (PR Newswire, 2016).