The place Are They Now (2026) – Yu-kai Chou

The gamification business has developed dramatically since its early days, remodeling from a nascent subject targeted on easy badges and leaderboards into a complicated self-discipline grounding in behavioral science and human psychology.

These had been the nice outdated days with an excessive amount of sentimental recollections, fueled by a ardour of how video games might change the world. Many recollections of the nice days have been recorded and preserved on the blockchain via Metablox.co.

OG High Gamification Consultants and their whereabouts at present

As we strategy the tip of 2025, most of the pioneering consultants who formed this subject have continued to innovate, adapt, and lead in new instructions. Right here we give an replace of theTtop Gamification Consultants’ journeys and discover the place their gamification pioneering have taken them to at present.

Jane McGonigal (San Francisco Bay Space)

McGonigal has transitioned from her foundational work on “Actuality is Damaged” to turn into a number one voice in future forecasting and resilience design. As Director of Sport Analysis on the Institute for the Future, she focuses on utilizing gameful pondering to arrange society for future challenges. Her current work emphasizes “pressing optimism” and collective intelligence, shifting past particular person gamification to societal-scale behavioral change.

Yu-kai Chou (San Francisco Bay Space / Taipei)

Our very personal Yu-kai Chou continues to design experiences for his purchasers by way of The Octalysis Group. His design work has impacted over 1.5 Billion Customers and his Octalysis Framework has been closely referenced by Harvard, MIT, NIST, NSF and 1000’s extra. He visitor lectures at Stanford, Yale, and publishes with Carnegie Mellon. His training platform Octalysis Prime has over 1500 movies on gamification design and the Octalysis Framework. After his first guide, “Actionable Gamification” bought over 100,000 copies, he simply printed his second guide, “10,000 Hours of Play: Unlock Your Actual Life Legendary Success”

Sebastian Deterding (London)

Deterding continues his tutorial management function, specializing in the intersection of play, video games, and design at a number of universities. Sebastian Deterding is now the Chair of the Dyson College of Design Engineering at Imperial School London. He was additionally Professor of Digital Creativity of the College of York & Co-Editor of The Routledge Handbook of Position-Taking part in Sport Research. His work has shifted towards vital gamification research and the moral implications of persuasive design. “The Gameful World,” which he co-edited, stays some of the cited tutorial works within the subject, and he continues to affect new generations of researchers exploring the boundaries between video games and actuality.

Joris Beerda (Netherlands / Spain / Thailand)

Founding Associate and CEO of The Octalysis Group, Joris Beerda, FRSA stands as some of the completed behavioral scientists and person engagement leaders within the gamification business. As a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), Beerda has orchestrated gamification implementations which have impacted over 1 billion customers globally, delivering unprecedented ROI outcomes. His work bridges behavioral science with sensible enterprise implementation, making him some of the sought-after worldwide keynote audio system within the subject.

Rob Alvarez / Professor Sport (Spain)

By his Professor Sport podcast and prestigious place at IE Enterprise College (ranked #1 and #2 globally by Monetary Occasions for its MBA program), Rob Alvarez has emerged because the definitive international authority on instructional gamification and game-based enterprise options. As an internationally acknowledged skilled, speaker, and advocate, Alvarez has interviewed tons of of main practitioners in gamification, extracting transformative insights for significant studying experiences throughout instructional, company, and public sectors. His affect extends via top-tier establishments together with the European Basis for Administration Improvement (EFMD), IE Enterprise College, and EBS College, the place he facilitates workshops on gamification and LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodologies.

Creator of the “4 Keys to Enjoyable” framework, Lazzaro continues her analysis via XEODesign, at present creating “Comply with the White Rabbit Tales,” an episodic XR Thriller Journey. Her work bridges conventional sport design with rising applied sciences and she is an XR Corridor of Fame inductee of XR – Design Language and Spatial Audio Innovation.

Amy Jo Kim (San Francisco Bay Space)

Amy Jo Kim has developed her “Sport Considering” methodology to give attention to what she calls “Breakthrough Innovation.” Her present work emphasizes utilizing sport mechanics not only for engagement, however for fostering real creativity and breakthrough pondering in company environments. She continues to seek the advice of with main tech firms whereas creating new frameworks for innovation-driven gamification.

Gabe Zichermann (Los Angeles)

Zichermann has stepped again from gamification to give attention to his different passions in office wellness and entrepreneurship. After large work in serving to those that are addicted and experiencing failure, he launched Two Spoons Creamery, an ice cream firm. He “Good friend Ahead” framework for office relationships. His evolution demonstrates how gamification rules could be utilized to completely new domains past conventional digital purposes.

Ricardo Lopes Costa (Brazil)

Ricardo Lopes Costa continues to ascertain himself as a gamification visionary via his management of the Funifier platform, which has delivered probably the most financially impactful gamification case research in historical past. Using the Octalysis Framework, Costa orchestrated the legendary Caixa Econômica Federal transformation, the place his gamification technique elevated recurring income by over $1.06 Billion USD in simply 9 months, catapulting Brazil’s second-largest public financial institution to the #1 place. His new guide “The Implausible Engagement Manufacturing unit” paperwork extraordinary real-world adventures proving that gamification transcends idea to ship billion-dollar enterprise outcomes. Costa’s Funifier platform has efficiently served multinational firms together with Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Adidas, establishing him as a grasp of large-scale engagement design with confirmed experience in advanced technological integrations.

Michael Wu (San Francisco Bay Space)

Dr. Michael Wu at present serves as Chief AI Strategist at PROS after spending over a decade as Chief Scientist at Lithium Applied sciences. Wu developed a number of pioneering gamification frameworks and analytics instruments throughout his tenure at Lithium, together with the Fb Engagement Index (FEI), Neighborhood Well being Index (CHI), and complex algorithms for figuring out influencers and super-users in on-line communities. Wu authored “The Science of Social” and “The Science of Social 2,” making his analysis accessible to enterprise audiences, and was acknowledged as a 2010 Influential Chief by CRM Journal alongside Mark Zuckerberg and Marc Benioff.​​

Karl M. Kapp has printed quite a few acclaimed books together with ‘The Gamification of Studying and Instruction.’ As Professor of Tutorial Know-how at Commonwealth College (previously Bloomsburg College) and Assistant Director of the Institute for Interactive Applied sciences, Kapp has educated 1000’s of studying professionals via his programs, seminars, and digital platforms. As Co-Principal Investigator on a number of Nationwide Science Basis (NSF) grants and Nationwide Institute of Well being (NIH) analysis initiatives, Kapp is acknowledged as a number one authority in evidence-based gamification design.

Andrzej Marczewski (Surrey, England)

Marczewski‘s HEXAD Consumer Varieties framework have turn into extraordinarily well-known and revered, and he continues to refine these fashions based mostly on in depth analysis. As writer of the seminal work “Even Ninja Monkeys Prefer to Play: Gamification, Sport Considering & Motivational Design,” his analysis establishes him as a foundational authority in gamification science. As founding father of Gamified UK and Gamification Answer Designer at Motivait, Marczewski has additionally consulted with main firms throughout six continents.

Marigo Raftopoulos (Tampere, Finland)

Along with her PhD in Enterprise Gamification, Raftopoulos leads cutting-edge analysis at Tampere College on AI-human collaboration in gamified programs. Her work represents the way forward for clever, adaptive gamification that responds in real-time to person conduct and preferences

Ross Smith (Washington)

Ross Smith served as Director of Check at Microsoft (Skype Division) for over 20 years, the place he grew to become one of many earliest pioneers in office gamification. Smith holds seven patents and co-authored “The Sensible Information to Defect Prevention”. His work grew to become a landmark case research featured in Kevin Werbach’s guide “For the Win” and Harvard Enterprise Evaluation. Smith established the 42Projects initiative at Microsoft, selling “productiveness video games,” incorporating Octalysis Gamification, and obtained the Harvard Enterprise Evaluation/McKinsey M-Prize for Administration Innovation. As a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Smith continues to talk globally on gamification and office transformation, advocating that “The Way forward for Work is Play.”

Roman Rackwitz (Germany)

Rackwitz has emerged as a pacesetter in what he phrases “Non-Skinnerian Gamification,” specializing in intrinsic motivation over exterior rewards. He nonetheless leads EngagingLab and based CBO Media in 2022 to advertise gamification approaches that keep away from the psychological pitfalls of conventional behaviorist strategies.

Phaedra Boinodiris (Morrisville, North Carolina)

Phaedra Boinodiris at present serves as IBM Consulting’s World Chief for Reliable AI, transitioning/pivoting from her earlier function as IBM’s World Lead for Severe Video games and Gamification. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts since 2019, she gained the United Nations Lady of Affect in STEM and Inclusivity Award and was acknowledged as one of many High 100 Girls within the Video games Trade by Girls in Video games Worldwide. Boinodiris co-authored “AI for the Remainder of Us” and co-founded the Future World Alliance, a nonprofit devoted to Ok-12 AI ethics training.

Kevin Werbach (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Wharton professor Werbach continues to show some of the common gamification programs globally whereas consulting with main firms. His analysis has developed to incorporate blockchain-based gamification programs and decentralized engagement mechanisms.

Toby Beresford (Ropley, England)

Toby Beresford is at present Director of Content material and Digital Technique at Bible Society, having transitioned from his function as Founder and CEO of rise.international. Beresford co-founded the Worldwide Gamification Confederation (GamFed) and created the Gamification Gurus leaderboard platform. His notable achievements embrace gamifying the United Nations employees to extend social media engagement via the UN Social 500 program and offering gamification consulting for organizations together with IBM, PwC, and the Invoice & Melinda Gates Basis. Creator of “Infinite Gamification: Easy methods to Inspire Your Staff Till the Finish of Time” (translated into Turkish, Arabic, and Korean), he serves as a Non-Government Director for The Operating World Cup.

Mario Herger (San Francisco Bay Space)

Mario Herger transitioned his profession from gamification to the sector of innovation. His Enterprise Gamification Consultancy pivoted to turn into Enterprise Storage Consultancy, and he was Ranked #45 in High 50 World Innovation Thought Leaders 2025, Herger has expanded his enterprise gamification experience into six specialised books overlaying completely different facets of organizational transformation. His work now emphasizes utilizing gamification for driving real innovation moderately than simply engagement.

After 13 pioneering years in gamified private improvement, Eraldo Power continues to push the boundaries of life transformation via his revolutionary coLegend platform. As a acknowledged pioneer within the subject of gamified private improvement, Power has developed revolutionary frameworks that remodel private development into participating, game-like experiences that drive sustainable behavioral change and life grasp

Juliette Denny (Windsor, England)

Managing Director of Development Engineering, Denny has positioned her firm on the forefront of AI-powered gamified studying. Her give attention to neuroscience-based engagement methods has made her a sought-after speaker at each training and expertise conferences.

Brian Burke (Better Boston, Massachusetts)

Former Gartner analyst Burke continues to affect enterprise gamification adoption via strategic consulting. His focus has shifted from gamification to what he phrases “moral engagement design,” serving to organizations implement gamification with out falling into manipulative practices. He stays a trusted voice for Fortune 500 firms navigating the advanced panorama of worker engagement.

An Coppens (Stockholm)

CEO of Gamification Nation, Coppens has refined her EARN Methodology and Show It! framework into complete certification applications. Her 20+ years of expertise have culminated in what many think about probably the most sensible, implementable gamification methodology out there at present. She continues to win worldwide awards for his design work throughout a number of industries.

Steve Kamb (Nashville, Tennessee)

Creator of “Degree Up Your Life,” Kamb has constructed Nerd Health right into a thriving group that applies gamification to private well being and health. His strategy demonstrates how gamification rules can create sustainable way of life adjustments.

Monica Cornetti (South Padre Island, Texas)

Founding father of GamiCon and Sententia Gamification, Cornetti maintains her place as an influential girl in gamification. Her focus has expanded to incorporate variety and inclusion in gamification design, making certain that engagement methods work throughout completely different demographic teams and cultural contexts.

Lee Sheldon (USA)

Creator of “The Multiplayer Classroom,” Sheldoncontinues to pioneer instructional gamification at scale. His methodologies at the moment are utilized in tons of of faculties worldwide, and he stays energetic in trainer coaching and curriculum improvement.

Dan Hunter (Brisbane, Australia)

Co-author of “For the Win,” Hunter has targeted his experience on the authorized and regulatory facets of gamification. His work is essential as governments worldwide grapple with how one can regulate gamified programs with out stifling innovation.

Sharon Boller (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Co-author of “Play to Study,” Boller has constructed Data Guru into a number one platform for gamified company coaching. Her sensible strategy to studying gamification has influenced 1000’s of trainers and tutorial designers.

Janaki Mythily Kumar (San Francisco Bay Space)

Co-author of “Gamification at Work,” Kumar continues to give attention to enterprise purposes, significantly within the areas of variety, fairness, and inclusion. Her work ensures that office gamification creates optimistic outcomes for all staff.

Mark Diaz (Mexico)

Mark Diaz has now helped greater than 160,000 college students worldwide grasp advanced abilities via his revolutionary utility of gamification rules to studying acceleration. As co-author of Yu-kai Chou’s groundbreaking “10,000 Hours of Play,” Diaz contributes subtle storytelling and speedy studying methodologies that remodel private development into participating, game-like experiences. His TEDx discuss “Can Anybody Change into a Genius?” has garnered over 340,000 views, presenting revolutionary insights into talent mastery via deliberate apply and gamified studying programs.