Latest News
Movers and Shakers: Creating noise in the shark tank: what it takes to build a successful slot studio
Fredrik Johansson, CEO and Founder at Fantasma Games, on the challenging environment and organizational focus it takes for developers to create a sustainable business amid ever-increasing levels of competition.
Five years ago, the market entry barrier for a new game studio was relatively low.
This, combined with the low cost of accessing global and local distribution networks through well-established aggregators, led to an influx of studios moving into the space.
The result? Today, there are more than 750 game studios that released close to 11,000 new titles during 2023 alone – on average, an operator takes content from more than 60 providers.
One of the main challenges is that game themes and mechanical similarities now exist between the vast majority of games, and this is impacting the wider competitiveness of the market, and ability to position a unique player experience.
The market barrier entry for a new game studio is now incredibly high and for those who can get up and running, actually staying in the game is almost impossible.
Why? Because studios need to build trust with their portfolio and product roadmap and have a proven track record of creating premium content that hits the market with players.
If you can’t achieve this, you quickly find there is no demand for your games.
Does this mean new studios can’t succeed? Of course not. Fantasma Games is proof that with a clear focus and strategic direction you can get in on the action and find meaningful and trustful place in the market.
We have been able to establish ourselves as an innovative and premium provider of player-centric games that go beyond gambling to truly engage players.
We also keep our promises, and our customers are confident in our ability to continue to deliver games that perform highly and generate outstanding player engagement KPIs.
For me, this is crucial to the success of any studio.
Studios must be able to deliver premium, high-performing games that resonate with a wide range of player audiences in multiple markets, but they must also earn the trust of their operator partners.
Operators need to be confident in the studio’s strategic growth agenda and ambitions and that they will not only meet but exceed the goals they have set.
Of course, the success of a studio’s games comes into this and that is why the product roadmap must be balanced.
For Fantasma, this means daring to innovate and try something new while at the same time capitalising on existing high-performing mechanical frameworks that we know hit the mark with players.
The studios that take this approach can find they quickly move on from being the new kid on the block to being a major player in the content provision space.
For Fantasma, this has been achieved by working with a clear strategic plan and having a truly talented and passionate team always willing to go the extra mile to make a difference.
Hard work, focus and dedication from all our teams have been key to unlocking the strategic milestones that have enabled us to become established in this industry.
Again, I can’t downplay how important it has been to foster trusted relationships with our customers who believe in our roadmap and organisational capabilities just as much as we do.
Of course, you must always ensure the business is moving forward and that’s why we recently launched our own remote game server, FantasmaXpand.
This allows us to capitalise on existing partnerships and expand our joint collaborative initiatives in a way that ensures our customers are integral to how our roadmap is prioritised and developed.
It means our teams can focus on enhancing the technology roadmap, tuned and calibrated to our customer’s specific needs which in turn allows us to bring even more value to our partners.
This includes being able to deploy our content into new markets – another important capability for a studio to not only survive but thrive.
It has been natural for us to expand our geographical footprint alongside our international customers, as well as build strong local partnerships in key markets such as the US.
This ensures we stay relevant and allows us to keep optimising our global and local games roadmap in tight collaboration with our partners.
So, when you look at what goes into making a studio a success today compared to five years ago, it’s perhaps easy to see why some companies simply don’t make it.
Thankfully, Fantasma is a success story, but it has taken a great deal of passion and hard work to get to where we are today – and this is just the beginning.
Compliance Updates
Octoplay kicks off expansion into the US by obtaining a Michigan provisional license
Octoplay continues its expansion in North America by obtaining its provisional license for Michigan, marking the beginning of the company’s highly anticipated entry into the United States.
The Michigan provisional license is a key first step in Octoplay’s introduction of its innovative slot games to the American market, starting with operators in the Great Lakes State. This move into the US follows Octoplay’s recent successes in Europe, where the company has rapidly expanded its presence in Italy, Slovakia, Denmark, and Ontario over the past few months.
Gavin Hamilton, Chairman at Octoplay said: “Obtaining the Michigan provisional license marks the beginning of our entry into the United States, a key market for our future growth. We look forward to bringing our premium products and games to American players, starting in Michigan.”
“While we’ve seen great success in European markets recently, our entry into the US represents a new chapter for Octoplay,” Hamilton added. “We’re committed to establishing a strong presence in the American iGaming landscape, leveraging our experience in regulated markets to deliver exceptional gaming experiences to US players and operators.”
Octoplay’s expansion into new markets, including the US, allows more operators to access its popular slot games. This provisional license will not only extend Octoplay’s reach but also enable Michigan operators to offer the high-quality content their players seek.
Latest News
IGT PlayDigital Launches Global Sensation Mystery of the Lamp Game in US Online Gaming Markets
International Game Technology PLC announced that IGT PlayDigital recently released the award-winning Mystery of the Lamp game in several U.S. online gaming jurisdictions – New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and West Virginia. IGT’s Mystery of the Lamp game rose to super-star status by achieving high performance in land-based casinos worldwide and winning “Top Performing NEW Premium Game” at the lauded 2024 EKG Slot Awards Show.
IGT PlayDigital’s version of the player-favorite game retains many of the same attributes that continue to propel the success of the land-based game, including its three collection-pot mechanics, vibrant art package, and attractive bonuses.
“Adding Mystery of the Lamp to IGT PlayDigital’s content library for the U.S. enables our customers to offer players another highly successful IGT land-based game across platforms. Much like we did with IGT’s Prosperity Link’s arrival in the online space, we anticipate players and operators will quickly gravitate to Mystery of the Lamp given its strong following around the world and the quality of the gameplay experience,” said Gil Rotem, President of IGT PlayDigital.
IGT PlayDigital introduced Mystery of the Lamp Treasure Oasis, one of five IGT Mystery of the Lamp themes. The game has a 5×3 reel configuration, features four compelling jackpots and includes Hold & Win-style bonus play.
Sporttrade Inc., a Philadelphia-based sports betting operator, announced that it has added strategic investor SIG Sports Investments Corp. (collectively with its affiliated entities, SIGSports Analytics).
In addition to providing substantial growth capital to the business through two separate investments dating back to 2023, SIGSports Analytics is working to enhance Sporttrade’s key markets by providing additional liquidity and improved pricing to high volume markets across a variety of sports and contract types in the coming months. SIGSports Analytics plans to incrementally improve markets on Sporttrade later this year with a long-term focus on creating a highly liquid sports betting platform emphasizing best-in-class pricing.
Funding is being used for customer acquisition, expansion into additional states, and continued investment into the platform and underlying technology.
“Today’s announcement represents an impactful milestone for Sporttrade. SIGSports Analytics shares the same vision for the regulated sports betting opportunity in the US; to create a highly differentiated player experience powered by stellar liquidity,” said Alex Kane, Founder and CEO of Sporttrade.
Sporttrade is currently offering its premium sports betting product in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, and New Jersey and has been approved to launch in Virginia. The company is hopeful Virginia players will have access by late October. Sporttrade is focused on continued state expansion over the months and years to come.
Joe Grubb, Vice President of SIGSports Analytics, said: “With the US sports betting industry still in its early stages, we believe there is an underserved portion of US consumers hungry for a sports betting platform that prioritizes cutting edge pricing and offers liquidity unmatched by the current regulated market. We have been impressed with what Alex and the entire Sporttrade team have built thus far and look forward to beginning to address these industry wide challenges alongside Sporttrade.”
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