As the pace of innovation in the slots arena continues to show no signs of plateauing, FunFair Games has asserted confidence that the games will always remain the premiere draw for players online.
Making the comments after the subsidiary of blockchain group FunFair Technologies officially debuted as a standalone provider, it comes ahead of the first CasinoBeats Slots Festival which will take place this week on Wednesday 18 February.
The event, which becomes the latest in a string of virtual offerings amid the remote working environment that has dominated 2020, aims to place gameplay at the heart of product selection.
Slots Fest will take place in a vibrant online environment that mirrors the one that players have at their fingertips when they log in to their favourite casinos.
“While we’re all working remotely, this Slots Festival is a fantastic opportunity to see the new and innovative ideas coming out of the market,” stated Lloyd Purser, COO at FunFair Games. “Content developers are doing some great things in the slot space, and it’ll be very insightful for us to see these products demonstrated first hand.”
Attendees will be able to drop in at a time convenient for them on the day and try out a host of games in free-play mode, enter slots tournaments with eye-catching prizes, and watch some of the leading casino streamers playing the slots.
While Slots Festival will be fun, its primary intention is to give participants a valuable overview of the games market and the latest trends, providing a new perspective as they develop their product roadmap into 2021.
“Without doubt. Slots remain a huge draw for players and I’m confident they always will be”
Purser continued by taking a look at the part opportunities, such as Slots Fest, which FunFair Games is sponsoring, could play in getting content to market: “For us, it’s a little different to some of the studios participating,” he says.
“We’re not a slot-focused studio, although our team is well-versed in building slots in the past. Our FunFair Games brand is driven on building a new genre of multiplayer games, focused on attracting the Gen Y and Z audience who want to explore new, alternate gaming avenues.
“As our first game is due in Q1 2021, our sponsorship of Slots Festival is a great opportunity to put our brand out there to the industry’s key decision makers and start making some moves on the business development side.”
In light of this week’s impending slots extravaganza, Purser switched focus slightly to examine whether he believes that slots still hold the same draw that they traditionally have online: “Without doubt. Slots remain a huge draw for players and I’m confident they always will be. It is true, though, that not all player demographics engage with slots on the same level, despite the broad range of game types and genres in the vertical.
“This is why we’re developing a different style of community-driven, multiplayer game that requires active decision-making by players. This type of game offers a point of difference and we believe, will be a great compliment to the well-established content categories that casinos rely on for their core business.”
Alongside its debut last week, FunFair Games outlined that its first launch will be titled Rocketeers, To The Moon!, with the firm lauding the distribution capabilities of its multiplayer game content, which had previously been available solely to blockchain players.
Asserting an aim of attracting the next generation of gambler, the firm is to place a heightened focus into that of multiplayer content as its strives to foster an increased sense of community.
“Incremental innovation is so important to ensure content remains relevant”
With its own outlook on innovation touched upon, that of casino gaming as a whole was addressed as well as if there’s more that suppliers can do to assist operators in attracting new audiences: “Innovation in slots has been impressive in recent years, mainly from a feature point of view though, rather than wholesale changes to how slots are played or presented, which is perhaps where more could be done.
“Incremental innovation is so important to ensure content remains relevant and to keep up with progress elsewhere in the casino space, and that’s what slot studios have managed to execute well of late. Saying that, we’re taking a more radical approach and looking for that wholesale change by building a whole genre of different game.
“And to be honest, given how competitive this market is, and considering the quality and variation out there, does the industry really need another slot studio?”
After Yggdrasil revealed that it’s looking as far ahead as 2022 in terms of pre-production, Purser concluded by taking a closer look at the FunFair Games roadmap: “We have three multiplayer games in production at the moment,” he says.
“All of these are what we label ‘multiplayer to single outcome’, which means all players are realising the same RNG in that game round, but with no impact on each other’s outcomes.
“This enables us to offer the excitement that comes with big multiplier potential, which players are well-accustomed to in igaming, but with the added social element of playing in a group. Being able to witness other’s bets in real-time, communicate through emojis and celebrate wins takes our games to a new level of engagement and connectivity.
“Our first game, Rocketeers: To The Moon!, takes its inspiration from the crypto gambling world and specifically crash-style games, but with the added elements of high-spec graphics and audio that casino players are used to and expect. With massive win potential of up to 250,000x, we’re excited to see how it takes off when launched in the middle of Q1 2021.”
Gaming professionals, such as members of operators’ casino teams, slots and casino affiliates, content aggregators, and igaming industry media, can register for the CasinoBeats Slots Festival for free by clicking here.