Ready for Exclusive News from Blueprint Gaming’s Team?

Blueprint Gaming entered the year 2018 with major news about the acquisition of the Games Warehouse. Stating that this purchase will deliver “a greater number of high-quality games to the market”, and taking into consideration a handful of other exciting news that the company announced earlier in 2017, we realized it is high-time to catch up with the team and have a chat. So, without any further ado, here are some exclusive and juicy details from the software developing giant, delivered by Matt Cole – the managing director of the company.

In 2017, Blueprint Gaming was a major newsmaker with updates on adding content from other software developers to its product offering, expanding the Jackpot King family, and appearing in libraries of operators like LeoVegas, just to name a few. Would you say that all of the goals for 2017 were achieved?

It’s been a really pleasing 12 months for us, having achieved great success with both existing and newly-launched operator partners.

We expanded our international footprint by launching with major operators, including Kindred Group, LeoVegas, Gamesys, 888 and GVC.

Blueprint Gaming is continuing to grow in the UK, while also moving further into Europe after receiving approval in the regulated markets of Demark and Romania.

Some ideas from 2017 and even 2016 won’t become reality until 2018 or beyond, so it’s as much about positioning for a successful future as achieving positive results during the year.

But, it is fair to say that the last 12 months have been significant for us and we’re happy with the progress we’ve been making.

“Blueprint Gaming is continuing to grow in the UK, while also moving further into Europe after receiving approval in the regulated markets of Demark and Romania.”

Talk to us about the latest news of the year that passed – the acquisition of Games Warehouse. How long did it take to finalize the deal, what value will it bring to the company, and how will it affect the acquired developer?

We had been speaking with Games Warehouse for some time, but discussions stepped up a level in Q4 and we were pleased to conclude the acquisition in January 2018.

The acquisition strengthens and broadens Blueprint’s game creation, as well as our portfolio with the addition of popular titles, including Wild Bandits, Birdz and Gold Strike.

These are already live across numerous gaming sites and retail outlets of some of the UK’s leading operators.

The team is very much a stand-alone development force and has a depth of experience across design, graphics, maths, software and delivery.

Games Warehouse will continue to create end-to-end games from their Derby base and help us to meet our intended yearly targets within the markets where we operate.

In October, the company shared news about adding Merkur Gaming’s and Reel Time Gaming’s content to the product offering. What markets were you willing to reach, and are you satisfied with the results? What markets are still to be reached?

Both Merkur and Reel Time’s games are a different style to much of our portfolio and we are already seeing strong results within a variety of markets and player segments.

The additional content has enabled us to diversify our games offering and appeal to a new demographic, drawing on the success they have achieved working with land-based operators.

We’re hopeful we can work together in making the crossover into the online gaming world smooth and successful.

“The additional content has enabled us to diversify our games offering and appeal to a new demographic, drawing on the success they have achieved working with land-based operators.”

However, it would be overly simplistic to expect these games to work solely in markets where they’ve been available in land-based venues. At Blueprint, we have seen excellent results with online only casino players, and we believe we can be successful with these games in all of our markets.

Share your thoughts on the e-gaming market today. It is evolving so quickly. Is a simple slot with one type of a bonus round still enough to keep the player interested, or does it take more today to produce and promote a commercially successful reeled machine?

Of course, there is room for the more simplistic games, just as much as there is a mass market for players who want a level of depth and entertainment delivered through graphic multi-bonus games.

There is still limited evidence that players want complexity for the sake of it. There will be some that are keen to just turn on and play without the learning curve of a more complex game.

What is undoubtedly the case at present is that games don’t have much breathing space in terms of launch exposure for some operators.

Considering all this, will new small software developing studios have a chance to compete with the tech giants in a struggle for player’s attention?

In the past few years, there have only been a few new games from new or existing suppliers that have managed to successfully breakthrough.

Unfortunately, there are games in the thousands and developers in the hundreds that have failed to make a real impact on the industry.

The bigger names have more financial power and a greater pool of games to keep players engaged, thus experiencing a steady flow of revenue.

“Unfortunately, there are games in the thousands and developers in the hundreds that have failed to make a real impact on the industry.”

Which of the company’s 2017 game releases turned out to be the biggest success?

TED was our standout launch of the year and it exceeded our expectations in terms of player conversions.

The branded-game, based on the popular Hollywood film, became one of our best-performing slots and is still growing in popularity to this day. We’re extremely proud of its achievements.

The most encouraging part has been the range of markets that it has successfully worked in and the different demographics we have been able to engage.

The gameplay of TED was crucial to its growth, as our design team worked wonders to bring it to life and keep players engaged.

Please, share some teasers about a few of the upcoming 2018 releases.

We have some exciting developments to reveal, including a change of direction on our proven bonus format, as we evolve our offering. We are confident that these fresh ideas, including some off-the-wall concepts, will be appealing to our existing and new players alike.

We will be showcasing some of these new concepts at ICE, which range from engaging promotional tools to an all-new multi-player concept.

Visitors to our stand (N4-210) can also take a look at our latest branded game, Inspector Gadget and check out its new Spin King promotional tool, along with some of the new titles, including Wish Upon a Leprechaun.