Getting to Know Microgaming’s Independent Studios (and Their Games)

If you were to name the first brand that comes to your mind when thinking about slots production, we are positive that Microgaming would be the answer. Being a living legend, a true dinosaur of online entertainment, the company entered the industry back in 1994, claiming to have developed the world's first true online casino software.

The multi-award-winning producer is a proud owner of Mega Moolah progressive jackpot, acknowledged as a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title in 2015. Up to January 2019, the company’s network of JP exceeds paid out whopping €1 billion, cashed out to lucky winners in lump sums, not in annuities.

Trying to describe the company’s wealthy business career…

…in a single article is “mission impossible”, as there are too many fields to be covered. That’s why the main focus of this research will be Microgaming’s partnerships with independent studios.

Independent Studios so far include:

• Triple Edge
• Storm Craft Studios
• Slingshot
• Fortune Factory Studios
• Switch Studios
• All41 Studios
• Pulse8 Studios
• Gameburger Studios
• Neon Valley Studios
• Alchemy Gaming
• Golden Rock
• Just For The Win (JFTW)

Brief Recap of Strategic Agreements in 2018

Among the first ones to be officially listed as an independent associate was Triple Edge Studios. Announcing partnership on ICE Totally Gaming 2018, two producers introduced a branded release Playboy Gold Jackpot in March 2019. Mutual projects include African Quest, Lara Croft: Temples and Tombs, Book of Oz Lock’n Spin, etc.

June 2018 brought another partner…

…Stormcraft Studios initially unveiled during the same occasion as Triple Edge. Developer’s contribution to the giant’s portfolio comes in the form of numerous hits such as Immortal Romance, Tomb Raider: Secret of the Sword, Jungle Jim El Dorado, and many more.

Slingshot Studios joined the gang in September 2018, and as a result Cash of Kingdoms was born a month later. So far, the team rolled out several games- Zombie Hoard, Banana Odyssey, and A Dark Matter.

The very same month…

… when Cash of Kingdoms was added to Microgaming’s library, Fortune Factory Studios was announced as another autonomous brand that will develop games for the gaming giant. Equally modest portfolio features titles such as Village People Macho Moves, Long Mu Fortunes, Tiki Mania and several more.

Alignment with Switch Studios was the final one to mark 2018. Inked in November, this special collaboration brought the expansion of another category - live games, in forms of Roulette and Blackjack.

Retrospective of Successful Coalitions in 2019

After a short break of six months, May 2019 brought the introduction of a new independent partner- All41 Studios. Le Kaffee Bar, with its delightful coffee scent, was the product of mutual cooperation followed by Magic of Sahara, Lock a Luck and Book of Atem.

The hot and sunny month of August…

…brought no less than two coalitions. One of them was with Pulse8 Studios, resulting in an adventurous mission to unearth the mysterious secrets of the Dragon’s Vein. The other was sealed with Gameburger Studios, with Break da Bank Again and 9 Masks of Fire developed so far.

Neon Valley Studios reinforced the rapidly growing list of independent producers in September 2019, to date delivering vibrantly painted Aurora Wilds slot. Similar to 2018, the last one announced as a partner was Alchemy Gaming Studios, in November, crafting Wheel of Wishes.

More Partnerships with (Independent?!) Studios Industry-Wide

While exploring Microgaming’s humongous portfolio, we encountered several interesting releases such as Arctic Valor, Queen of the Crystal Rays, The Incredible Balloon Machine, all developed by Crazy Tooth Studios.

There’s also…

…Just For The Win (JFTW), whose titles can also be found in the giant’s catalog. Deco Diamonds Deluxe, Tweet Hearts, Tiki Vikings, Ruby Casino Queen are just some of them. You have probably encountered Stumpy McDoodles, Boom Pirates, The Great Albini, all crafted by Foxium.

On the other hand…

… these developers are not listed among autonomous producers. The same goes for Golden Rock Studios, the team behind Volatile Slot, which, by the way, is not even featured on Microgaming’s site, despite the announced cooperation.

Besides these (slightly puzzling) deals, the Isle of Man-based team has multiple associates who utilize their platform- Quickfire. One of the oldest agreements was inked with Rabcat, back in 2014. Similar deals include developers such as Iforium, Kiron Interactive, Pariplay, NextGen, Realistic Games and many more.

And just for the sake of piquing your curiosity…

…this leading brand is not the only one inking agreements with smaller developers. Yggdrasil and Playtech do the same, and this is merely scratching the surface.

Food for Thought

Carefully analysing all the brands listed on Microgaming’s page, we discovered (too) many likenesses between their independent partners.

First of all…

…when landing on any of the official websites, there’s that feeling of déjà vu, as somehow all of them look overly similar. For example, all the studios represent themselves as experienced experts, filled with knowledge, innovations, creativity, skills, etc.

On the other hand, none of the pages features bios of any of those experts, so that the community would get a better insight into who’s behind all those colorful, feature-filled releases.

These partnerships…

…undoubtedly diversify Microgaming’s lobby, but leave numerous questions unanswered. It’s those enormous similarities between the featured studios and giant’s insatiable desire to ink deals with so many (different?) small autonomous brands, that bother us the most.

How about you?

Source: Microgaming.co.uk Studios page