At the beginning of the year, RAW iGaming found itself as a newly established supplier with a team of two, as they launched their first game engine, SuperSlice.
Fast forward 12 months and the company boasts 70 employees with an array of proprietary mechanics to help the studio stride towards its aim to provide players with “an entirely new way to play casino games.”
In an interview with CasinoBeats, the CEO of RAW iGaming, Tom Wood, reflected on the supplier’s development over the course of 2022, discussing key acquisitions, how to stand out amongst the competition and ambitions for the new year.
CasinoBeats: At the beginning of the year we saw the launch of the SuperSlice game engine. How has this tool impacted the company’s evolution in 2022 and has it performed to your expectations?
Tom Wood: RAW is all about innovation and creating something new and innovative for players in what we call the Sea of Sameness. A never-ending sea of similar games that players have seen time and again. SuperSlice defines this perfectly and has been the basis to our vision on the type of games and products we want to innovate.
As with all new game mechanics that are this different, there is a period of learning for all players. We knew this going in, so we haven’t been expecting stardom with the first set of games. To our surprise they are performing better than we anticipated and with each iteration we are seeing better and better performance.
We are data-driven and work hard to understand how players are interacting with SuperSlice and constantly working to improve the engines. What we have also learned is that when SuperSlice is launched on a new operator with supportive campaigns or educational direction, we are seeing much better player acceptance and retention.
CB: Earlier in the year, RAW iGaming told CasinoBeats of a wish to avoid a ‘Sea of Sameness’ in the gaming industry, what significant efforts have been made throughout the year to stand out from the crowd?
TW: There has been a lot happening for RAW around this specific point. First off is the release of SuperTracks, our second patent-pending mechanic that once again delivers a completely new experience for players.
Today, a lot of games use so many win lines or symbols which can be difficult to see on a small mobile portrait screen as well as understand how or what you won. SuperTracks simplifies this where you only must follow a limited set of symbols on their journey across the tracks.
This makes things far easier to understand, simplifying the game while at the same time creating an entirely new experience for players. Our third patent-pending mechanic will be released at ICE in London so don’t miss out on that.
Beyond the games, RAW has just released their RAW Arena aggregation platform where we plan to stand out in that sea of aggregators and give studios a heavily distributed platform to plug into with unique support programs that help our partners become the best versions of themselves delivering premium games to market, holding down costs, as well as never limiting them to a set number of games they can release. We believe that we can be nimbler and offer better services for our partners than many of the existing aggregators out there.
We are already attracting premium studios that believe in innovation and working together to deliver better games to our operators and their players.
CB: Acquisition has been at the forefront of the company’s efforts throughout the year. What was your aim going into the year in expanding your portfolio and, in reflection, how do you think you’ve performed?
TW: RAW hasn’t been specifically focused on acquisition but where opportunity knocks and it makes sense, we have not been afraid to acquire products and studios that complement the existing offer and bring new elements or opportunities to the RAW family, philosophy, and vision. The latest acquisition of Spigo is an excellent example of this.
We believe there is the same lack of innovation and similarity of games in casual gaming and Spigo provided an opportunity for RAW to look at a new channel with our unique sense of creativity. So far with all of our acquisitions we have been over the moon, and we believe we have built a solid foundation and integrated tremendous talent to lead us into a prosperous future.
CB: What was the highlight of 2022 for RAW iGaming?
TW: For RAW there was no single highlight, we have many. From growing from two people to 70 this year, to launching our first seven SuperSlice games, to launching our first SuperTracks game, opening several offices across the world, as well as integrating many amazing new employees into the RAW Family.
Perhaps our biggest success is acquiring multiple companies, integrating the teams, and getting everyone on board with the RAW vision and philosophy. It has been extremely rewarding watching the family form and the amazing support and skill each person brings to the table in creating amazing innovative games, platforms, and products.
CB: With the new year just around the corner, what are the company’s ambitions for 2023?
TW: You wouldn’t believe me if I told you RAW is very ambitious and that is visible in the incredible goals we have achieved during 2022.
The excitement will not stop for RAW in 2023 and at our booth at ICE will be the launch of many exciting news bits so get onboard the RAW super-train and hang on for it’s going to be a wild ride for sure… More to come!