The online casino industry is one of the most competitive industries in the online market. At its foundation are the software developers that produce the games that the customers enjoy. Who are they? Here is a presentation of seven companies that you might not have even known exist. They have each helped pioneer new innovations in iGaming and have maintained high standards that casinos and their members have grown to expect in each new release.
Creating Software in a Harsh Environment
Casinos have an easy job within the industry. They are merely an online shop with shelves stocked with games made by top developers. Casinos do not (well, perhaps except for one or two) make their own games. Instead, it is the software developers that create their products for a market full of these ‘online shops’ that are looking to service a worldwide audience of players.
The competition is harsh. With over 50 new casinos and five new developers breaking onto the scene each year. Maintaining a position at the forefront of design, creativity, and popularity amongst gamers is absolutely no easy task.
So, who are the trendsetters, the teams leading the pack, the masters of their craft? Who are the best software developers in the iGaming industry right now?
7 Best Developers Online
To help us compile this top list of developers, we took guidance from Eija Virtanen, Editor-in-Chief at netticasinosuomi.info, the leading Finnish casino game comparison site. Here is what Eija said of iGaming developers:
“It’s crazy to think that there is a hub of roughly 100 developers, all producing work that fuels 1000’s of online casinos that stretch from America into Europe and out to Australia. If it weren’t for their commitment and energy, there would be no online casino industry, we have a lot to thank them for. Those that make it on the list of top developers do so because they put a 100% commitment into an excellent product. Players will not choose shoddy graphics, or sub-standard features. The average player knows exactly what they’re looking for and will have a definite set of favourite developers.”
Based on data gathered by Virtanen, the following are the top developers that make it on the list.
#7: Play’n GO
If ever there was an outsider that was able to influence so many, this is perfectly defined by how Play’n GO seem to work. Having been in the business since the mid-90s, their portfolio is perhaps one of the smallest for such an influential company.
They typify the terms quality over quantity and when a game of theirs does drop, it is usually one of kind that most will try to emulate thereafter.
Their focus seems to begin with innovation, if you can change how players play, then the idea of what the game is will come. They have set the benchmark so many times and in 2017, the release of Viking Runecraft highlighted this perfectly, which lead to another Game of the Year Award.
Top 5 Must-Play Play’n GO Games:
- Rabbit Hole Riches™
- Reactoonz™
- Rise of the Dead™
- Viking Runecraft™
- Rich Wilde and the Tome of Madness™
#6: IGT
They are the largest American iGaming company out there and, as it is with the American way, their games are all about going BIG! IGT are the only iGaming company to also appear in the Forbes Top 500 and have literally won every award that can be won within the industry. From technology to games, they have won praise in every field.
They are also one of the few developers that have their own distinct style. Their gaming layout is unique, incredibly refined and does not fall into the typical look of an online slot. It looks and feels American.
They are a treat for any casino online that is willing to partner with them because their games literally give you a different way of playing casino slots online.
Top 5 IGT Must-Play Games:
- Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Blackwood
- Ghostbusters™
- Family Guy™
- Baywatch™
- Star Trek: Against All Odds™
#5: Big Time Gaming
The only iGaming company to come from Australia, Big Time Gaming certainly have ridden the waves of success to make it on this list. In the past eight years, they have managed to alter the slot machine so much that their work now appears in almost every casino online. They created the Megaways design; the only way to describe it is as taking the humble slot and giving it way too many steroids. The Megaways gaming development unleashed a monster with hundreds of thousands of ways to win, huge gaming grids, and loads of slot symbols. Because it was so unique and so big, it was an absolute hit with players. Nearly every top online slot machine is now a Megaways game. So, for Big Time Gaming, their collaboration portfolio is the biggest in the business.
Besides this, they also make pretty kick-ass games in their own right!
Top 5 Big Time Gaming Must-Play Games:
- Monopoly Megaways™
- Kingmaker Megaways™
- Holy Diver™
- Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: Mystery Box™
- Bonanza Megaways™
#4: Playtech
Let us give you the perfect analogy of who Playtech are. If the casino world was that of Hollywood, then Playtech are your Netflix. They are the outsider that is taking all the glory. The analogy fits perfectly because they are the developer which has two of the biggest gaming series ever created.
The largest jackpot gaming series is Age of the Gods, which boasts about 30 different slot games all based on Greek mythology. The jackpot series holds four possible jackpots that are separate from their other newly released series Kingdom’s Rise.
But this is just the tip of their gaming prowess as they also have developed the largest selection of official comic book slots, from Dark Knight Rises to Suicide Squad.
Technically masterful in every respect and a must for any slots fan to experience.
Top 5 Playtech Must-Play Games:
- Age of the Gods™ (series)
- Big Bad Wolf™
- Kingdom’s Rise™ (series)
- Man of Steel™
- Gladiator Jackpot™
#3: Red Tiger Gaming
Perhaps the newest kid on the block on the list. Red Tiger sprang up in 2010 with such vibrancy and excitement that only took five years for them to become in-demand property for online casinos. Why? Because at some point between 2010 and 2015, they changed how online jackpots could be won. They basically evolved the progressive jackpot feature in a way that helped the industry to utterly boom beyond all proportions.
The Daily Jackpot was created. This gave players a chance to win hourly, to win a jackpot each day, and to have a mega jackpot drop randomly. These came to be known as Must Drop Jackpots, a term used to describe how incredible the development was because the jackpots really needed to have been won before an amount was reached or by when the time was up!
70% of their portfolio of about 100 games are linked to this Daily Jackpot feature – its easily now one of the most played series within the casino world.
Top 5 Red Tiger Must-Play Games:
- Dynamite Riches™
- Phoenix Fire™
- Mystery Reels™
- Rainbow Jackpots™
- Totem Lightning Reels™
#2: Microgaming
Someone had to make the first online slot. Here is Microgaming, the grandfather of them all. There is no higher respected developer in the business and since 1996, they have maintained their dominance over the industry like a King.
They created the progressive jackpot and formed the most successful online slot to date that has paid out BILLIONS to players. With this slot, they also hold the world record for the highest paying jackpot which landed one lucky winner in the UK 18 million pounds. This game is the famous Mega Moolah!
To date, they have produced over 800 games and have created some of the most staggering gaming titles of all time with licenses that include Game of Thrones and Playboy!
If you join a casino that offers you Microgaming products, take it as a good sign that the casino knows good quality.
Top 5 Microgaming Must-Play Games:
- Game of Thrones™
- Lara Croft: Temples and Tombs™
- Mega Moolah™
- Terminator 2™
- Playboy Fortunes™
#1: NetEnt
Also starting out in the online casino world in 1996, was this Swedish company called NetEnt. They have produced over 500 games since and have amassed a portfolio that has official games for Jimi Hendrix and Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen.
Their ability to gain big license deals comes from their incredible technical abilities. NetEnt games have a look and feel like no other. They have one of the highest average turnovers of new game releases with an average of three or four a month!
They have won all there is to be won and have produced a successful run of progressive jackpot games and have also developed their own live casino games.
Right now, they are the biggest and best in the business and it is why nearly every online casino across the world uses their games.
Top 5 NetEnt Must-Play Games:
- Starburst™
- Mega Fortune™
- Jumanji™
- Planet of the Apes™
- Gonzo’s Quest™
Our thanks again to Eija Virtanen at Netticasinosuomi.info, for helping us compile this list and where you can access all these games and play them for free in their demo mode.
