There are hundreds of talented online slot developers out there in this day and age, as everyone wants a piece of what’s quickly becoming a very lucrative pie.
This hardly comes as a surprise, considering legalized iGaming is slowly making its way into households across the United States. The rewards for creating a successful online slot game that lands in a US online casino are going to be unparalleled with the iGaming vertical expected to be worth $8.3 billion by 2025.
However, rather than look at those trying to make waves in the not-so-distant future, we wanted to take a nostalgic look back at studios that have already made waves in the past, essentially revolutionizing the online slot scene, helping nurture it into the behemoth that it is today.
Microgaming – jackpots and branded slots
We start this list with Microgaming, and why wouldn’t we? Whilst they’re not necessarily the main player in 2021, they’re arguably the most decorated and successful studio of all time.
Formed in the Isle of Man in 1994, Microgaming is not only famed for developing the world’s first online casino, but it also created the very first progressive jackpot slot, Cash Splash, in 1998 which went on to inspire the Mega Moolah series.
Not content with two major iGaming firsts, in 2004, the studio created the first branded online slot, Tomb Raider, a game based on the iconic video game series of the same name.
The immortal Lara Croft appeared in this immensely popular 5-reel, 15 pay line slot that boasted both a free spin feature and a pick-and-click mini-game. Two features that were pretty impressive for such an early online slot game.
Three years later, Microgaming released Hitman – another slot based on a hit video game (also created by legendary studio Eidos). This 5-reel, 15 pay line slot proved to be just as popular as Tomb Raider, with players taking to contract killer Agent 47 just as well as they did Lara Croft.
Ultimately, if we had been asked to nominate just one online slot developer that has had the most lasting impact on the iGaming industry then it would undoubtedly have been Microgaming. Their mammoth contribution to online slots deserves etching in history.
NetEnt and Blueprint Gaming – branded slots
We didn’t feel the story around branded slots was finished with Microgaming. There are two notable development studios out there that have had just as much of a lasting impact when it comes to licensed games – NetEnt and Blueprint Gaming.
Both studios are considered to be amongst the greatest of all time, having released a whole host of memorable online slot games. But their commitment to branded slots is what earned them a place on this list.
Swedish online slot developers NetEnt really made their mark within the world of iGaming in 2010, when they entered a multi-year licensing agreement with Universal, which saw them begin their aggressive growth strategy, drawing slots players in with an impressive suite of games based on a number of Hollywood’s greatest movies and television shows.
The very first big-name slot that arrived in casino lobbies was a game based on crime blockbuster Scarface, followed by South Park, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man, Frankenstein, Emojiplanet, Planet of the Apes, Conan, and Jumanji as NetEnt signed similar content deals with Columbia Pictures and Sony.
Similarly, Blueprint Gaming has released a whole host of branded slots based on hit movies, television shows, and video games. Admittedly, not all of these games are still popular today, but there’s been an incredibly large collection of them in the last decade or so.
These games include Plants Vs Zombies, Bejeweled, Deal or No Deal, Worms, Casper the Ghost, TED, Austin Powers, Top Cat, Count Duckula, Thundercats, Inspector Gadget, Spinal Tap, and Beavis and Butt-Head.
Modern branded hits from both studios include Rick and Morty, The Goonies Return, Sausage Party, Narcos, Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Slot, and Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen.
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Big time gaming – Megaways Slots
If you’ve played online slots over the last few years, you’ll have undoubtedly spun the reels of a Megaways slot at some point. These gargantuan games are absolutely unmissable, with their engaging gameplay and 117 649 ways to win.
For the uninitiated (there can’t be many of you), the Megaways mechanic is a game-changing feature that introduces reel modifier technology to slot games – a mechanic that changes the number of rows that appear on each game reel after each and every spin.
Changing the number of rows that appear on each spin allows for a different number of pay lines (more commonly known as ways to win in this instance) to come into play, meaning gameplay is even more random than usual and much more lucrat
The Megaways mechanic was introduced to the world in 2015 with the release of Dragonborn. The game proved to be a commercial flop, however, and it wasn’t until a year later when Bonanza Megaways made its way into casino lobbies that the mechanic exploded in popularity.
Since Bonanza’s release, a whole host of quality games followed, including Monopoly Megaways, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Megaways, and Pirate Pays Megaways, just to name but a few.
Such was the popularity of the Megaways mechanic, many big-name developers from around the world lined up to license it themselves for use in their own new slot releases. Ultimately this saw studios such as NetEnt, Blueprint Gaming, and Red Tiger Gaming release slots such as Twin Spin Megaways, Tiki Treasures Megaways, and Gonzo’s Quest Megaways.
Even today, there’s no slowing down of developers releasing exciting Megaways slots, even if newer, flashier mechanics are taking hold – it seems the Megaways craze is truly unstoppable!
Relax Gaming – bonus reels
The newest innovation on this list is Relax Gaming’s bonus reels. Some of you might raise an eyebrow at the inclusion of this, as there’s only one slot out there that utilizes the bonus reels’ mechanic, however, we’re confident that this is going to be a game-changer.
The Bonus Reels mechanic can be found in the 2021 release – Money Cart 2. It sees base gameplay ditched completely in favor of constant bonus features! That’s right, this game doesn’t have any form of normal spins, you either trigger the feature or you don’t.
Why have they ditched the most important element of any online slot game we hear, you ask?
It’s actually pretty simple. Relax has done this so that players can experience the most exciting part of the game as often as possible. With an RTP of 98% and plenty of action, it’s not difficult to see why we (and everyone else) have gone wild for the bonus reels’ mechanic.
We already know that Relax is coming back with another Money Cart slot (based on the original Money Trains slot) in the coming months, but other than that we haven’t yet come across any other developers that have opted to ditch base game spins altogether.
It might take a bit of time for developers to put their own spin on the bonus reels’ mechanic, but we expect more games to come out in the next 12 months that emulate Money Cart 2.
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