Rob Procter, Vice President of Game Development at SG Digital, sits down with Bigwinboard to chat about past releases and what to expect in 2022. Let’s hear what Rob had to say…
Bigwinboard: 2021 proved to be a busy year for SG Digital, you released some heavyweight slots including Cluedo Cash Mystery, Invaders Megaways and Rainbow Riches Race Day… Can you give us an insight into some of the big-name games you’ve got planned for 2022?
Rob Procter (RP): 2022 is going to be a really exciting year for SG Digital and we’ve got some great new content that we’ll be releasing over the coming months. We’ve devised a blended roadmap to ensure our games are appealing to the widest audience possible, packed with innovative mechanics, land-based inspired content and new instalments from some of our most popular game families.
We most recently launched Tiki Magic, an interesting title that deploys our Quick Hit Ultra Pays mechanic that US players will already be familiar with. The mechanic is easy to understand; six jackpot prizes are shown on the left-hand side of the reels and players simply have to match the minimum number of Tiki Magic Scatters required to claim an instant prize. Our hope is that more users across the UK and Europe will enjoy the format as we introduce Quick Hit Ultra Pays into more of our titles.
Heading into February, we have Direct Hit going live and that’s our latest reactor-style game. It’s innovative to say the least and looks very different from what you would traditionally expect from SG Digital. Again, it illustrates how we’re looking to push the boundaries and go out of our comfort zone to ensure we deliver a greater mix of games that appeals to all player tastes.
March will see the release of Stargate Megaways, set to be one of our flagship games of the year. It’s an unbelievable slot that we’re so excited to introduce to operators and players. Having played it a lot during testing, for me it really ticks all the boxes in terms of design, math, mechanics, animations and sounds. Elsewhere, Rainbow Riches fans are in for a treat with our latest instalment Rainbow Frenzy, but wait and see for more details on that particular game.
Bigwinboard: Last year we saw SG experiment with new mechanics, most notably within Invaders Megaways, as well as the creation of the Dual Ways Pays feature. Can we expect any new mechanics from SG over the coming year?
RP: Developing new mechanics is an important part of our ongoing development process. We’ll do more with Dual Ways Pays, taking key learnings from its debut last year and making the necessary tweaks to make it even better in future titles.
In Direct Hit that’s due for release in February, we’ve got a mechanic called Money Zone that we’re looking to build into future games too. Money Zone is a 7×7 grid that appears within the gameplay where symbols can be enhanced and it moves around with each spin. During Money Zone, there’s a chance of care packages falling to award blue or red gems to lead the way to the bonus rounds. We’ve got more mechanics in the works behind the scenes and really see the potential to build game families around them.
Bigwinboard: We’ve heard rumblings about Stargate Megaways, but we’ve not got too much information about this upcoming release just yet. Would you be able to give us some insider information on what we can expect from this branded slot?
RP: It’s slightly different from the previous Megaways games that we’ve produced at SG Digital. We always have the mindset of using Megaways differently to how the basic mechanic works and this sums up our continued approach. We’ve incorporated the Trail Ways format, something that other providers have used well in recent times but we feel we can take the model up a notch. In essence, players need at least five cascading wins to trigger a bonus, while nine are required to activate the top-level bonus. It’s inspired by the classic ladder trail that you would come across in a fruit machine.
We’ve got a few surprises within Free Spins that players are sure to appreciate, including the Eye of Ra feature that re-starts the Bonus and means players have another opportunity to collect even more winnings.
Bigwinboard: Why Stargate? Is there someone within the development team that really enjoys sci-fi? Or are their bigger plans in the pipeline to release more games based on pop-culture classics this year?
RP: The opportunity actually came about from our US counterparts and their existing relationship with MGM Studios, the licence holder which owns the Stargate IP. Part of our ongoing strategy at SG Digital is to bring more of the branded content into our own hands, as historically we’ve worked in tandem with the land-based team on these types of creations. Now we’ll be in a position to take the lead and be the first to work with licence holders on future collaborations.
We decided to take the Stargate IP because of the opportunities it brings. From an audience perspective, it covers a few generations given the brand has been reincarnated a few times over the years. There are also plans to release a new film, which illustrates the brand’s continued popularity and our game should appeal to a large section of players, whether they’re Sci-fi fans or simply love experiencing high-quality slots.
Bigwinboard: SG Digital has gained a bit of reputation for acquiring big-name studios, especially in the last few months, with Lightning Box, Authentic Gaming and ELK Studios being snapped up. The company clearly has an eye for talent, is there more to come in terms of acquisitions?
RP: Absolutely, if the opportunity arises to acquire a studio that fits our own ambitions, we will seriously consider our options. Scientific Games has a strong track record for M&A activity and will have no hesitations if it’s the right move for the business. It’s early days since we announced the trio of M&A deals last year, but we can already see the benefit of bringing Lightning Box, Authentic Gaming and ELK Studios into the SG family.
Bigwinboard: What can we expect to come from Lightning Box and ELK across 2022, now that they’re under the SG banner? Can we expect more games from these studios, increased investment for their development capabilities?
RP: In truth, you won’t see an awful lot of changes in terms of the games that these guys produce, largely because they’re fantastic at what they do already and we wouldn’t want to disrupt their development process. Both have a great portfolio of games that appeal to different audiences. Lightning Box has forged a great reputation for developing land-based inspired content that is very popular in the US right now, and that’s given SG a big boost in a huge marketplace. ELK on the other hand has made its mark on the UK and European markets with its unique style of games, underpinned by great leadership, but we also want to help them expand into other territories, including the US.
SG’s role in all of this is to scale up their respective businesses. As both a platform and content provider, we have the expertise and back-end functionality to support these studios achieve business growth more quickly and enter new markets. Again, from a content perspective we really want to keep that in the same hands as those business leaders and creative minds who delivered their initial success in the industry.
Bigwinboard: In addition to your own branded studios, SG works with a number of independent developers to bring them into different markets, including the US. How does the content differ? Have you needed to adapt your games roadmap accordingly?
RP: From a US, Canada and LatAm perspective, it’s really interesting to see how player habits are constantly changing, arguably at the fastest rate too, certainly from the iGaming markets that I’ve got experience in. Traditionally when a new state or province launches online gaming, players have a tendency to choose the games and brands they trust the most, which is why the likes of 88 Fortunes and our Duō Fú Duō Cái games series do particularly well upon a new market launch.
What we’ve seen, however, is that players move quite quickly onto other games that are more digital-first, such as Megaways-themed titles. That’s often driven by the fact they can explore games with different mechanics and volatility more easily in the online space, or a marketing promotion has directed them to experience a new game. We’re getting better at understanding these trends and tailoring our roadmap accordingly. Leveraging our land-based business is still a major differentiator for us though and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
