Meet the research team helping us build smarter gaming experiences
At Incentive Games, we’ve always believed that the best games are built by truly understanding the people who play them. That belief has now evolved into something more focused.
We’re proud to introduce Incentive Lens, our Player Psychology Unit, launched as part of Incentive Studios, the real-money gaming division of our business. Led by Psychologist, Dr Ryan Gamble, this new research function is designed to help us go deeper into how players think and feel — and use those insights to shape products that connect.
The department was established in February 2025 and is already making waves. Since its launch, the team has connected with players around the world, from the UK and US to Mozambique, speaking to them in the environments where they engage with our products. These conversations have been transformative. They’re helping us rethink how we approach visual identity and build retention into the DNA of every title we create.
A scientific approach to joyful gaming
Our Player Psychology Unit is an independent research team that steers business decisions through rigorous applied psychological research, drawing on methods from psychology, sociology, human-factors engineering and user-experience.
At its core, this unit is about listening to real players around the world, learning from their experiences, and turning those insights into features and improvements that genuinely make our games better. It’s about building joyful and meaningful gaming experiences based on what people actually want. By connecting deeply with players, we’re creating products that feel natural and stand the test of time.
Looking to the future
At its heart, Incentive Lens represents our deep-seated promise to continuous improvement by better understanding our players.
As Dr Ryan Gamble puts it, “We’re only getting started. These rich insights are allowing us to build the best products imaginable. Since launching the division, the team have connected with hundreds of players and travelled to all corners of the world to meet users in the places where they consume our products. We’re still building the team of applied behavioural scientists and social psychologists, and we see this independent function as vital for our future success.”
If you’re interested in collaborating, whether that’s on player testing, behavioural research, or product development, we’d love to hear from you.