Explore the power of gamification at the Apps Business Summit in London

• Games and mobile apps share many challenges and opportunities that boil down to common growth strategies.
• Learn more at the Apps Business Summit on January 19th, a partner event of PGC London 2026.

Non-gaming mobile apps and game studios can learn from each other.

As the domains of mobile apps and games continue to merge, the UK’s biggest games industry conference, Pocket Gamer Connects, is expanding its scope with the launch of the Apps Business Summit, which takes place on January 19th alongside PG Connects London 2026.

The one-day summit will explore the common ground of challenges and future opportunities in gamification, UA, monetisation, and engagement strategies. What’s clear is that the games and apps sectors are already taking learnings from each other, refining models that work, and unlocking new levels of growth potential.

In the case of mobile apps adopting gamification, there’s the obvious example of Duolingo, one of the world’s biggest language-learning apps, acqui-hiring the majority of the NextBeat team, the London-based spin-off studio from Supercell’s Space Ape.

Other, more subtle examples are apps implementing gamification in the form of day streaks, weekly goals, milestones, leaderboards, achievement badges and experience points to mention a few. All features initially sprung from games and their attempts to boost frequency, retention and engagement.

For instance, writing-assistant app Grammarly has achievement badges and weekly goals to drive engagement. Fashion shopping apps Shein and Temu have both experimented with features like spin-the-wheel, feed the puppy, daily bonuses and coupon hunts to reduce churn. 

Games are also proving powerful for their social impact. No longer a solo experience, many studios have incorporated community features from social apps like chat windows and forums, and leaderboards are now the norm. 

Turning exercise into a more social hobby beyond running groups and bike clubs, fitness app Strava has a feature called Segments, which lets users set specific routes that become virtual race courses where they can compare their performance through leaderboards specific to that route. It’s also got streaks, badges, and progress tracking, all encouraging higher frequency.

In some cases, gamification has proven so powerful that it’s come under wider scrutiny, like with trading app Robinhood, which introduced achievement-based milestones rewarded with confetti and other celebratory UI. Some of those features were removed due to regulatory pressure, but if anything, they are a strong mark that gamification is a powerful tool to drive engagement.

In terms of onboarding and UX simplicity and clarity, a common pain point for many apps, games can learn from the global app economy, too. Spotify, Duolingo, Tinder, Calm and Strava are all in distinct ways pioneering in terms of subscription models and multiple revenue streams, creating more stable user bases and less volatility.

Join the conversation shaping the global apps business and games at the Apps Business Summit in London on January 19th, a partner summit taking place alongside Pocket Gamer Connects London. Register your ticket today.