George Olekszy Head of Game Retention at Play’n GO.

At Play’n GO, we’re driven by simple, steadfast goals: developing a strong culture of quality in every aspect of game development results in an impressive collection of titles that our partners and players can rely on.

From successes like Legion Gold and Rise of Olympus and our launch into North America – it’s clear quality slots and sustainability can co-exist in harmony. 

Play’n GO started as a small Swedish startup. Today, it has become a dominant player in the online slot industry and shows no signs of slowing down. With a global team of hundreds of skilled individuals, the company regularly and consistently produces exciting and inventive gaming experiences, introducing a new immersive title each week. That’s no small feat.

As Play’n GO’s Head of Game Retention, one of my biggest challenges has been to keep each title as steadfast and groundbreaking as the last. Despite our rapid game turnaround each week – there are countless hours, hard work, and dedicated team members across our global network to ensure this happens smoothly.

I have personally seen how our commitment to growth and excellence affects the games we produce. One of the biggest challenges for game developers is creating games that appeal to both novice and experienced gamers.

With new and stricter regulatory changes, we’re appreciate process takes time – especially in markets like the US. That’s why our strategy is to establish solid connections with operators, attentively considering their feedback, and closely keeping track of progress and keep player safety at the centre of our game development. 

Our studio was the pioneer in developing and releasing grid slots, our first being GEMIX which now has a follow-up game too. As these games necessitate a lot of expertise to develop, we are in a superb position to push further innovation in this field. Since GEMIX we have continued to release more popular grid slots such as Rise of Olympus, Honey Rush 100, Sweet Alchemy 100, and Hugo Legacy. 

We’re also proud to announce that we have joined more than 400 companies worldwide in signing The Climate Pledge. This demonstrates our commitment to achieving a net-zero carbon future by 2040. As a Swedish gaming giant, we are taking responsibility for our impact on the environment and are dedicated to accelerating cross-sector collaboration and responsible change to achieve this goal. 

The Pledge requires us to strive for net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, ten years earlier than the Paris Agreement’s target of 2050. However, we’re determined to go even further by achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 – an entire decade before The Pledge’s deadline.

Equally, this summer we were proud to celebrate our very first land-based launch. Our popular game, Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead is now available in a UK land-based setting for the first time. We have partnered with William Hill to bring the game to their fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in over 100 stores, with plans for a full rollout in the coming weeks. 

This partnership shows our dedication to innovation and commitment to the UK gaming market. This new framework developed by Play’n GO will eventually allow all our games to be played in retail spaces without an internet connection. We have released over 50 new slot titles in the past year and have over 300 titles in our portfolio, including the cult classics Boat Bonanza and Legion Gold.

We know our slots go the extra mile. Gerard’s Gambit – a welcome addition to the Wilde slot series – is proudly the world’s first educational style slot where players progress through various levels and are introduced to new slot mechanics as they play. This title is emblematic of our connection to both slot newcomers and seasoned players alike, but also reinventing our core IPs in new, fantastical ways. 

There’s also a lot of cross-connectivity between our slots, even outside of direct game franchises. There’s an overlap between our Dead series and the Wilde series for example – as well as our newfangled ‘100 Slot’ subseries that encompasses numerous games from a slew of our franchises. I believe as Head of Game Retention, continuing along this path will lay the groundwork for new, exciting creative avenues and as a result a bigger, better and more sustainable future of iGaming.