The next in the series of interviews with AskGamblers Awards winners is Pragmatic Play, the developer behind last year’s Best New Slot Awards winner.
AskGamblers: How challenging is it to stay on top in such a competitive market and still win awards, with new game studios popping up left and right all the time?
Pragmatic Play: The market is certainly more competitive than it’s ever been, but we’re not looking over our shoulder. In fact, we welcome the increased competition – it can only be a good thing for our customers and their players. At Pragmatic Play, we focus on what we do best: constantly improving
our game development process to create player favourites every time. While we always keep an eye on the market, we look more at our own data to work out what players have enjoyed in the past and what they are likely to enjoy in the future. This includes capturing direct feedback from operators and players to inform our development choices.
Of course, we also rely on our own experience, knowledge, and creativity. Our immensely talented team is behind many of the best games in the industry, so we know how to bring original concepts to
market and create popular, top-performing titles.
It helps that we can maintain this high standard while releasing up to eight new slots every month. We know the market is oversaturated with content, yet operators and players are always looking for the next big game – the next Sugar Rush™, Gates of Olympus™ or indeed Bigger Bass Bonanza™. By delivering both quality and quantity, we can meet this demand.
AG: We know Bigger Bass Bonanza™ was popular among players even before it received the AskGamblers Award for Best New Slot. Did it have any effect on the popularity of the game?
PP: Awards provide players with an indication of a game’s popularity or quality. While this can have a positive effect on its long-term performance, an award-winning game will already be very successful.
It was an honour to win the best new slot award for Bigger Bass Bonanza™, not least because AskGamblers involve players in the voting process. As much as this award win will help new players
discover the game, it also serves as a glowing endorsement from those who have played and enjoyed it – and this provides us with a further positive signal of where our content stands in the market.
AG: Can we expect a new title in this series soon, or is it finished?
PP: Bigger Bass Bonanza™ and its predecessor Big Bass Bonanza™, both notable for their combination of multipliers and retriggers that boost winning potential, have been phenomenal successes – and their
popularity shows no sign of abating. The same can be said for other games in the series.
We’re also huge fans, which is why in June we will be travelling through the rainforest in Big Bass Amazon Xtreme™ and in July we will be adding even more ways to reel in big wins with the launch of Big Bass Hold & Spin Megaways™. We’re having a lot of fun with the Big Bass brand, so players can expect the adventure to continue for as long as they enjoy it.
AG: Do you expect to replicate last year’s success again this year? Which Pragmatic Play title do you think has the best shot at snatching the Best New Slot award?
PP: We expect only to entertain players – anything else is a bonus! With that said, there are plenty of new slots in the Pragmatic Play portfolio which stand a great chance of winning this year’s award. Zeus VS Hades – Gods of War™ is one such contender.
Knowing that many players enjoy high-volatility games with big win potential, while others prefer less volatile slots with more frequent access to bonus games, we created two vastly different realms in
the game: Olympus and Hades. Each has its own design and volatility setting: in Olympus it’s high, and in Hades it’s very high. Players can switch between these realms at any time in the base game to
enjoy two unique gameplay experiences. Based on a universally popular game theme, Zeus VS Hades – Gods of War™ also features wins of up to 15,000x the player’s bet.
AG: What comes next in 2023? What big titles have you prepared for players this year?
Players can expect more great games from Pragmatic Play in the second half of the year.
One of our latest slots, Sticky Bees™, includes our popular cluster-paying tumble feature along with super wilds, which transform into wild symbols whenever they land in one of up to 19 marked positions on the 7×7 grid. Also coming soon is Wisdom of Athena™, which will uncover an expanded game grid as players unlock wins, and Spellbinding Mystery™, which will reveal mystery patterns in the bonus that can conjure big wins.
We will also be adding new games such as Zeus VS Hades – Gods of War™ to our massive €30,000,000 Drops & Wins prize pool, which delivers daily cash prizes, multipliers, and tournaments throughout the year across our premium slots and live casino content.
We thank Pragmatic Play for this amazing interview and wish them the best of luck in the ongoing AskGamblers Awards.