Gamification has become much more common in the last few years, in fact, it is now the norm – nearly all eLearning includes some sort of gamification. Sure, gamification may seem great, but what is it and what have the results been like?

Gamification in eLearning is the use of game theory and game mechanics in non-game contexts to engage users in solving problems. The main goal of gamification is to motivate your students – and those motivated students typically perform better.

We’ve rounded up 10 statistics on the use of gamification in eLearning, some of which may surprise you.

1. The gamification industry is expected to grow to over $2 billion in the U.S. by 2015, according to M2 Research. (Huffington Post)

2. 61% of surveyed CEOs, CFOs, and other senior executives say they take daily game breaks at work. More than half of these gameful executives say they play during work in order “to feel more productive.” (Ryan Jenkins)

3. By 2014…more than 70% of Global 2000 organizations will have at least one gamified application, driving 50% of all innovation. (Engagement Alliance)

4. Since 2010, over 350 companies have launched major gamification projects. These include consumer brands like MLB, Adobe, NBC, Walgreens, Ford, Southwest, eBay, Panera, and more. (Huffington Post)

5. In the United States alone, there are 183 million active gamers. Those gamers play 13 hours a week on average. (Ryan Jenkins)

6. Almost 80% of the learners say that they would be more productive if their university/institution or work was more game-like. (Talent LMS)

7. Over 60% of learners would be motivated by leaderboards and increased competition among students. 89% say that a point system would increase their engagement with an eLearning application. (Talent LMS)

8. By 2018, the Global Gamification Market will reach $5.5Bn. (Engagement Alliance)

Clearly, the gamification market isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. We’re anxious to see where it will be in the future and how it plays a role in eLearning and LMS technologies. What are your predictions?