Online casinos have seen a huge rise in demand during 2020, which is great news for slot developers. With many bricks and mortar casinos having to close their doors because of the global pandemic, playing at online sites is more popular than perhaps ever before.
Slot developers are poised to take advantage of this spike in demand, with new games likely to be met with more interest from the general public as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
But how do slot game developers earn their money? Let’s take a look and find out!
By taking a percentage of online casino profits
Once a studio becomes a leading developer of online slot games, they have a lot of leverage. This means their games take pride of place in the best possible spots at online casinos, which leads to more players picking these slots.
As a result, top slot developers can demand a percentage of the profits an online casino makes from their games. This is not an option for companies that are new to the industry, but it is something they can be working towards when they first enter this competitive sector.
The number of developers has grown from 4 in the early 2000’s to over 200 in the 2020’s and as more companies start to create new slot games, this figure will continue to expand in the future.
Taking a percentage of profits from online casino play can be extremely lucrative for slot game developers, helping to bring in money that can be used to create innovative new titles. NetEnt and Yggdrasil are two of the slot developers that are big enough to demand a cut from casinos.
By working as developers for hire
Some smaller game developers may work on games on a for hire basis. While this is not likely to bring in as much cash as taking a percentage of online casino profits, it can still yield decent returns for companies that gain a reputation in the industry.
By working as developers for hire, newer companies can create games that start to make a name for themselves. As a result of doing this, they will be able to demand a larger fee the next time that they take on a similar job.
The downside for slot developers of this type of work is that they may not be able to show their creativity. If they are working to a tight brief, it might just be a case of doing a solid enough job to ensure that there is 100 per cent satisfaction from the client.
Doing good work as developers for hire can lead to more lucrative opportunities in the long run.
Through buying out popular brands for slot games
Among the areas of the online casino world that is growing the fastest is online slot games that are based on existing properties, which are usually TV shows or blockbuster movies.
Branded slots are big drawcards but the royalties are high
Over the course of the last few years, the industry has seen the release of slots based on Game of Thrones and a variety of superhero movies, which all tend to be very popular.
Top slot game developers will buy up the rights to these movies and TV shows so they can include characters from them in their slot games. The idea is that these games will be attractive to fans of the movies or shows, enticing them to play the games at the favorite online casino.
As online casinos know these games are popular with their customers, they may be willing to pay a premium for a slot of this type, whether that is in a fee for development or perhaps as a percentage of the profit made, as we detailed above.
An example of a slot game developer that has focused on this type of slot is Microgaming. The studio has made slots based on movies such as The Dark Knight and Hellboy, with more likely to be on the way in the coming years. This has helped the slot game developer to become one of the biggest names in the industry.
Slot game developers are always trying to find new ways to make money but taking a percentage of the profits from online casinos, or working for hire, remain very useful for them.
