Interview with G3 Media and Steven Valentine
The Rainbow to Riches: Why Launching a New Slot Studio Has Never Been Harder
Think of a slot title that has really stood out over the last 20 years — not one with short-term success because of a heavy marketing budget, but games that players really sought out and wanted to play. For me, there are perhaps five: Rainbow Riches, Gonzo’s Quest, Book of RA, Sweet Bonanza, and Mega Moolah. If you’ve been in the industry for more than five minutes, then these are titles where you immediately know which company made them and why they matter.
It’s estimated that there are now over 10,000 new slot games released every year — and yet only a tiny fraction break through the noise. Creating a high-quality game is just the beginning; with 1000’s of game vendors, the real battle now lies in convincing operators to feature your content.
Operators Hold the Power
Even if a studio does build a solid game, operators often wield the ultimate power when it comes to exposure. Getting featured on a casino homepage or in a “Top Picks” section can make or break a game launch. But these prime positions have to be negotiated, and typically at a significant cost.
Studios are frequently asked to:
Fund large-scale free spin promotions — often thousands of spins per operator, per game
Offer steep discounts
Agree to exclusivity periods in return for limited visibility
These marketing demands might be manageable for an established provider with a back catalogue of top-performers. But for new entrants operating on thin margins, they can be unsustainable. Worse, there’s no guarantee these promotions will translate into long-term success. Many of the players brought in by free spins or incentives churn quickly, especially in bonus-hunting markets.
Page Position Is Pay-to-Play
The reality is, many operators now treat page position as a monetised commodity. If you want your game to be seen, you’re often expected to pay for it — either directly or through value-added incentives.
Some casinos go so far as to set internal “rate cards” for homepage positions or tournament inclusion. For a new provider trying to get off the ground, this means a tough decision: do you spend your limited capital on development, or on buying visibility?
If the answer is both, and you are a fairly new studio, the likelihood is that you are running at a loss.
The Regulatory Gauntlet
As if commercial pressure wasn’t enough, the regulatory environment adds another layer of difficulty.
These processes take time and money, and they’re non-negotiable. Without market access, even the best-designed game can’t generate revenue. But securing these licenses before you’ve even made a name for yourself can easily burn through a lot of cash.
Too Many Games, Not Enough Shelf Space
If you walk around any of the 100’s of gaming shows it’s easy to see that iGaming market is not slowing down and every show reveals many new game vendors. But while more games are being released than ever, fewer are making a lasting impact. The explosion in aggregation platforms and white-label content means that a single casino might carry over 5,000 titles — but only feature 20–30 on its homepage or main lobby at any one time.
For a new provider, getting into that short list is everything. But operators are often incentivised to push games from their own in-house studios or long-term partners, leaving little room for new entrants to gain traction organically.
This forces new studios into a difficult position: either play the operator’s game by offering heavy incentives, or accept obscurity while hoping word-of-mouth or streamer adoption will generate momentum — a rare and unpredictable outcome.
Final Thoughts: Is It Still Worth It?
The dream of becoming the next studio behind a legendary slot like Book of Ra or Sweet Bonanza is still alive — but the path is narrower, steeper, and more competitive than ever before.
I saw a quote on LinkedIn the other day by a new studio, it said “we wont ship games we won’t play ourselves”, I like that a lot and we are taking the same approach. However to succeed in today’s market, new slot providers must be more than just creative. They need to be shrewd negotiators, smart marketers, and most importantly, financially resilient. Comtrade Gaming has been a successful gaming company for over 20 years, and we have many high profile clients on our iGaming platform. This gave us a naïve confidence that success in games would come much sooner than most. However, launching ourselves as a game studio has been one of the toughest things we have ever done, and we are only at the start of the journey, with much more hard work to come!
Interview published: G3 November 25 :: 50