Interview with Playson
is a successful RNG game supplier working in 17 jurisdictions and across multiple channels from digital to land-based. Playson works with operators directly as well as iGaming aggregators.
Today, we're chatting with , who is a Game Producer at Playson. He is one of the multiple brains and hands creating the magical experiences slot fanciers love so much.
Please introduce yourself :)
Hello, it's fantastic to meet you! My name is Nikolay Illiustrov, and I am a Game Producer at the omnichannel casino content developer, Playson.
What are your three most popular slot titles and why do you think these reached such levels of success?
The vast majority of our games have drawn widespread popularity in a range of regulated markets across Europe and beyond, however, our top-performing titles are as follows:
- ,
- ,
- , and
- .
Explaining a particular slot's popularity is always difficult because there is a wide variety of different factors that come into play, but each of those games has all the fundamental features that make a good slot:
- world-class mathematics,
- stunning art, and
- immersive sound effects.
Added to that, each deploys classic casino themes that players know and love.
Tamas Kusztos was just appointed as Playson's new COO. What do you think his experience will bring to the company's commercial strategy and success?
Tamas is a hugely talented and hardworking professional, whom we are . His remit will include the management of our commercial strategy, helping our ever-growing global footprint to continue extending, thereby cementing Playson's position as a top provider in regulated markets worldwide.
Our new COO will be further developing the localised approach which has brought us tremendous success so far, driving retention and engagement for our operator partners with a regionally tailored outlook that will be particularly beneficial for Playson clients operating in highly regulated markets.
Playson currently supplies games within seventeen regulated jurisdictions. How do you scale to so many when we know how regulated gambling is in most countries?
The recent addition of Greece actually takes the total number to 18! Each of the markets in which we supply our games brings a different set of challenges and opportunities. In such a crowded and competitive environment as today's iGaming landscape, providers need to maintain a presence across a multitude of jurisdictions in order to thrive.
Certain European territories have been opening up their gambling markets with newly implemented regulatory frameworks, and we hope to see those that haven't yet, follow suit soon. We'll be monitoring the situation very closely, and are well-positioned to plant the Playson flag in markets that begin to regulate.
What are the differences between supplying games directly to an iGaming operator versus an aggregator?
We are very proud of the outstanding integration team here at Playson, who do a fantastic job of on-boarding partners, be they content aggregators or iGaming operators. From a technical point of view, therefore, Playson stands ready to deliver the goods for both direct integrations with operators, and those which take place through an aggregator.
As an omnichannel game developer, which platforms are the easiest, and which are the most challenging, to develop games on?
Within today's casino industry, game development is a very challenging endeavour regardless of which platform you use, because the number of different devices and browsers that players have to choose from is vast and varied. Each brings a specific set of challenges - the key to success is having an approach that is adaptable enough to embrace technological change.
Take the example of our newly-enhanced UI, designed for players gaming using portrait mode while they are out and about on mobile. With coronavirus restrictions loosening in countries across the globe, it's the perfect time to release a mobile-friendly update designed for gameplay on the move!
Playson develops amazing slot and table games, do you plan to get started with different categories?
At Playson, we firmly believe that it's better to narrow your focus on the products that you can create in a way that stands out. Instead of prioritising quantity over quality, we've carved out space within the entertainment industry where we can lead the way - the provision of world-class slot games!
Having said that, it's important to remain adaptable and adjust to current trends and circumstances, so enlarging the scope of our offering certainly isn't something which we would rule out.
How long, and how many people, does it take you to launch a game from the moment someone got the idea?
That depends on the concept in question. Sometimes it only takes around a month to create, but in other circumstances, the process can continue for up to a year. In game development, most of the different elements of the pipeline take place simultaneously, but if you were to divide it into the main overarching categories they would be as follows: concept forming, production, and launch.
With hundreds of popular slot games across all developers, how do you ensure new games are differentiated enough but not too different as to lose a gameplay so many players love so much?
We research the market thoroughly and rigorously in order to ascertain exactly what players are looking for. A data-driven approach to game development, as well as the deep knowledge and expertise of our skilled team, is what makes our games stand out from the crowd. And with an ever-growing army of fans spread across regulated markets throughout the globe, the results speak for themselves!
Operating from Malta, you're competing with dozens of game developers of all sorts. How do you keep on being attractive as an employer in such a crowded Maltese marketplace?
Implementing our company values in practice, rather than only offering empty slogans, is what differentiates us from the rest. We put people first - primarily in terms of the way we treat staff because Playson is a company where everyone pulls in the same direction, but individual goals and achievements are also always rewarded.
However, that user-centric approach also applies to our partners - take the example of our . It was released for operator clients who exist in tightly regulated markets such as Germany, where stake limits are set low. Taking a customised approach to each partner is a big part of how we stand out.
Do you see a future in VR casino games and do you spend time developing proofs of concept?
Gambling is an industry that utilises a wide range of different technologies. However, despite having very strong potential, VR technology has not yet been adopted en masse. Once such solutions take hold and become more popular, Playson is always open to adapting our offering accordingly.