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Fast Company
07-08-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Duolingo wants to make its music lessons more addictive
DESIGN 'Our vision is to make music learning feel just as engaging and habit-forming as language learning does on Duolingo.' [Images: Duolingo, Nataliia Hruts/iStock/Getty Images Plus] BY Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 2:58 Duolingo may be known as the world's largest language learning app, but it also wants to get users hooked on learning music. On August 6, Duolingo announced its plan to acquire the team behind the London-based gaming startup NextBeat. The startup's mobile gaming catalog, which includes Piano Tile-style games like Beatstar and Country Star, has amassed around $200 million in revenue. Now, NextBeat's staff will help Duolingo make its Music course more fun, effective, and, ultimately, something you don't want to put down. '[ Beatstar and Country Star ] combined chart-topping licensed music with intuitive, satisfying gameplay and reached tens of millions of players worldwide,' a Duolingo spokesperson said of the acquisition. 'The team's background spans game design, music licensing, live operations, and mobile monetization, all of which will strengthen Duolingo Music and beyond.' For Duolingo, the deal is part of a larger plan to build out its non-language courses using its uniquely gamified learning model—ultimately moving toward becoming an all-encompassing education app. What's next for Duolingo Music The NextBeat acquisition announcement came on the same day as Duolingo's second quarter 2025 earnings report, which notched a 41% increase in revenue year-over-year and an 84% increase in net income. The report marked an overwhelmingly positive quarter for Duolingo, in spite of the backlash the company received earlier this year when CEO Luis Von Ahn announced that the company would be going 'AI-first.' On an earnings call with investors, von Ahn shared that the company would be raising its full-year guidance 'while still investing in both our core business and exciting new areas like chess, math, and music that we believe will drive long-term growth.' Duolingo first added math courses to its repertoire in 2022, followed by music in 2023 and chess earlier this year. While the company declined to share specific numbers on the Music course's performance, a spokesperson did say that 'millions of learners' are studying music on Duolingo, and the company views it as a 'key pillar of our evolution into a broader learning platform.' Currently, Duolingo's sole Music offering is a piano course. Through the NextBeat acquisition, though, the company plans to experiment with new modules like guitar, voice, or rhythm-based activities, chief business officer Bob Meese told Bloomberg. Further, a spokesperson shared with Fast Company, NextBeat will help to smooth out the in-lesson user experience by improving course pacing, personalization, and feedback mechanics. 'We're focused on making the Music course even more joyful and captivating,' the spokesperson said. 'Our vision is to make music learning feel just as engaging and habit-forming as language learning does on Duolingo.' The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Grace Snelling is an editorial assistant for Fast Company with a focus on product design, branding, art, and all things Gen Z. Her stories have included an exploration into the wacky world of Duolingo's famous mascot, an interview with the New Yorker 's art editor about the scramble to prepare a cover image of Donald Trump post-2024 election, and an analysis of how the pineapple became the ultimate sex symbol More
Business Mayor
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Mayor
PlanetPlay's Play2Act poll finds 79% make positive change after playing green games
PlanetPlay announced that data drawn from a new in-game poll called Play2Act showed evidence that gaming has the potential to incentivize greener habits among gamers. The poll found 79% of respondents who had played games with green messages or environmental content reported making at least one positive behavioral change after playing these games. Among these players, 47% report reducing their environmental impact through energy use or public transport, while 34% report making greener consumption choices. Launched in September 2024, Play2Act is a poll embedded in popular games, designed to explore the role of games in tackling the climate and nature crises. The initiative was developed by PlanetPlay, a not-for-profit platform that contributes to environmental action through games, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Over 181,000 players from 189 countries, including 70 Least Developed Countries or Small Island Developing States, responded to a series of Play2Act survey questions placed in 24 popular games such as Subway Surfers, Beatstar, Pokemon GO! and Avakin Life, among others. The poll leveraged the participating games' reach of 80 million players per week. The questions aimed to collect players' perspectives on their experiences with green games, and their impact on behavior and sentiment toward climate and environmental action. 20 games studios and platforms have participated in the Play2Act initiative, including Actrio, Bandai Namco, CM Games, E-Line Media, Futurevision, Funplus, Hutch, Jagex, Lockwood, Microsoft/Xbox Insider, Niantic, Outplay, Reliance, Rovio, Space Ape Games, SYBO, Ten Square Games, Trailmix, Tripledot and Unity. 'Games are uniquely positioned to engage a vast and diverse audience on environmental issues. Seeing so many players adopt greener habits after engaging with green content is a powerful testament to the impact games can have in shaping a more sustainable future,' said Rhea Loucas, CEO at PlanetPlay, in a statement. 'The Play2Act results prove that when sustainability is embedded into gameplay, it doesn't just inform—it inspires real action.' 'With our game Subway Surfers reaching an extensive global audience, we hold an opportunity and a huge responsibility to understand players' views on climate and nature. We are committed to supporting efforts to protect our planet, ensuring everyone has a voice in this matter. Games can be a powerful tool to amplify climate and environmental action, which is why we actively participate in initiatives like Play2Act', added Matthias Gredal Norvig, CEO of Sybo, in a statement. The Play2Act survey also contributes to the 'Games Realizing Effective and Affective Transformation (GREAT)' project, funded by the European Union Horizon and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It aims to engage the gaming community—gamers and studios—in addressing the climate and nature crises by exploring how games can drive social engagement and spark new dialogues for positive change. While participating game studios will further analyze Play2Act survey's data to promote measures and actions within the industry, UNDP aims to use the aggregate results to better understand global opinion on climate and nature action, with a particular interest in the younger generations and the global south. 'More needs to be done to enhance awareness of the climate and nature crises. We must utilize every tool at our disposal to drive meaningful change, and this effort should involve every segment of society, including the private sector and the gaming industry,' said Cassie Flynn, global director of climate change at UNDP, in a statement. 'The Play2Act initiative shows the potential of games — not only as an entertainment tool, but also as platforms for gathering insights and engaging with individuals, especially young people, on a large scale.' PlanetPlay is a not-for-profit platform that empowers gamers worldwide to contribute to environmental action through in-game purchases and gameplay with our affiliated game studios. Alongside the pioneering eco-conscious games marketplace, it is also a movement designed to inspire, educate, and mobilize players to support our planet and its rich diversity of life.
