Galaxsys SVP Sales and Business Development Gil Soffer talks about the emergence of fast and crash games in the marketplace and the steps that developers can take to make these popular formats even more successful and engaging.
CasinoBeats: Crash games have emerged as a strong trend in the igaming industry over the past 18 months; why do you think that is?
Gil Soffer: Fast and crash games first appeal to a slightly younger demographic of players looking for a quicker game experience with a more straightforward game UI and feeling in control of the game outputs. Crash games have been around for some time and are very popular within the crypto space, so it was only natural that this style of digital gaming would gain more mainstream adoption and recognition.
CB: What can games developers do to build on this success and make the games even more engaging?
GS: Long term, there will be strong demand for crash games, as the marketplace, in general, is looking for less complicated gaming experiences with fewer decisions having to be made by the player. In terms of what could come next, crash games are very social, as players talk a lot about their experience, whereas traditional slots are insular and passive at best. Therefore, entwining more socialisation, gamification, and sharing to create a sense of community will likely provide the next generation of crash games.
CB: Have you seen any regional differences in the popularity of fast games and crash games? And what efforts have you made to localise titles to take account of player tastes in various markets?
GS: Overall, the market appeal is for a simple interface and interaction in the game session, which is a prerequisite as players don’t have the time to read game rules or understand wilds and features. It is almost that the player has 10 minutes spare, and they want a sit-and-go style experience, especially if the player is playing via a mobile device.
From a game theme, we shall see some regional or localisation genres coming into play to familiarise players with the game style. However, as I said, the barriers to players new to the category are much less than standard traditional slots, of which some can be very overwhelming.
CB: Is the crash games trend here to stay or will players soon start to drift back to their favourite traditional slots?
GS: We don’t see any evidence of that; the market isn’t saturated like traditional slots. Also, the appeal is different; as mentioned previously, today’s digital natives want fast gaming experiences on demand and on their terms – fast games deliver that customer proposition.
CB: Galaxsys also offers a range of skill games; how do they fit alongside the fast games in your product portfolio?
GS: Overall, they are a natural fit. As we discussed, players seek faster experiences and the feeling of control that fast games provide, but they also embrace skill games. Again, the reason is a feeling of control and game progression, so both game sets have cross-over appeal.
CB: What recent new games has Galaxsys released for operators?
GS: We have a firm release cycle over the remainder of this year as we broaden our portfolio. We have seven new games including Ninja Crash, Jungle Wheel, Roulette X, Scratch Map, Totem, Magic Dice, and Coin Flip.
Several of the games are built on known themes, such as Ninja Crash which is unique in the market and a popular social gaming concept and easy to understand for players, thus reducing barriers to playing the game.
On the other hand, Totem is a new board game where players use dice to determine their moves on the board. Players must navigate strategically, avoiding losing sections and targeting multipliers or bonus sections to win bets. When the player moves to the bonus section, the wheel of fortune opens, and there are no losing sections in this wheel.
Coin Flip is a top-rated and highly-entertaining game where players bet on the outcome of a coin toss. They can choose a bet amount and a difficulty level (with 1, 2, or 3 coins), and then they must guess whether the coin will land on ‘H’ or ‘L. If they guess correctly, they win and receive a payout based on the chosen difficulty level and bet amount.
Overall, the new games follow our focus of easy to play and are highly engaging for the player.
CB: Galaxsys is still a relatively young company. How do you assess the progress it has made so far, and what does the next 12 months hold for the business?
GS: Galaxsys’ focus is driven by how we can enable our games that increase player engagement, and in-game sessions, which increase revenue opportunities for our partner operators and improve the overall player experience.
We introduced features like Half-Cashout and promotional tools like Lightning Bonus and Leaderboard into the market.
We now have one hundred plus partners, which include regulated operators, platform providers, and tier-one aggregators, with a diverse range of over 30-plus fast and skill games, focusing on innovation and player engagement. Our growth is looking to be on a similar trajectory this year in terms of pipeline, and we are excited about what the future holds for the business.
