“We Aimed for a New Generation of Online Slots”

Evoplay Entertainment’s CEO, Alexander Levchenko on studio’s mission and uniqueness

Earlier this year, the team of KeyToCasino came across a fun and truly original Necromancer slot machine by Evoplay Entertainment. As many of our readers have already noticed, we are on a mission to discover new software developing studios, so naturally, our initial reaction to the game was to reach out to its creators. To our surprise, we found its headquarters based in Ukraine, so we gladly add a new gaming destination to our website’s casino world map. Without any further ado, here is the interview with brand’s CEO, Alexander Levchenko, where he shares his thoughts on the industry and teases about some exciting unique technologies that the company is about to introduce.

The history of Evoplay Entertainment dates back to 2016, and we are eager to learn more about the entrepreneurs who created the brand, as well as how much the managing team has changed since then, and how big the team of the company is right now.

Evoplay Entertainment started as a small team working on a common project back in 2016, maybe even a bit earlier. By early 2017, we grew from a project into a complete game studio with a real structure and departments all working for the common purpose. The management team which makes the core of Evoplay Entertainment didn’t change a lot – we have started together and now we are here facing new challenges and getting our products to the next level. We are a team of 60+ people now and keep growing.

I’ve been with it from the very beginning and now serve as the CEO leading our company to the common goal, sharing my passion and vision and making sure everybody follows the same beat.

We had the concept of what we would love to do, what we can do and what the industry might be still missing - this is how we started creating our first games.

When the company was founded, was the original intent to only create games? And what were the first releases and the response to them from the gaming community?

We had the concept of what we would love to do, what we can do and what the industry might be still missing - this is how we started creating our first games. And yes, we aimed for a new generation of online slots. The core team had a strong expertise in development and fairly good knowledge of the iGaming industry, which we keep on growing even now that we have an established game studio with over 50 games portfolio.

The best feedback we have had so far was, of course, the hundreds of “wow”-s that we received during ICE 2018 and after – this was the release of our Necromancer slot, unique on the market in technology and art – it’s a full 3D HTML5 slot with VR mode.

The best feedback we have had so far was, of course, the hundreds of “wow”-s that we received during ICE 2018 and after

What did it take to bring the local Ukrainian business to the international level? Do you remember the game-changing partnerships?

Ukrainian people are a great talent, if they also breathe with one passion for the common goal – it’s a way to success. We develop outstanding games and it wasn’t hard to get noticed at the international level.

I am sure some of our biggest partnerships have been sealed since our start but many more are yet to come! We have agreed big and small deals and now our focus is to enter new markets – we are actively working on UKGC and MGA licenses to be able to deliver our slots to new players in new locations.

Which of the produced slots would you call the most successful one thus far? And which is your favorite one?

It’s impossible to pick up the most favorite one – every slot in our portfolio is my favorite. Each and every one is a part of me ☺. Speaking of the success – it depends on how we measure it – if it’s about the revenues then I can say the biggest ones are coming from Elven Princesses and Epic Gladiators, the former is very popular in CIS and EU areas and the latter – in Asia.

The most of effort and hope is paid to our innovative 3D VR slot “Necromancer” – we embodied our technical capabilities, excellent art and advanced mechanics in it and are really proud of the result. It will become available to our existing partners this summer and we’re anticipating the feedbacks.

Would you say it is hard to compete with other software developing companies because the industry is rather crowded right now? What are your target markets, audiences, and aces up the sleeve so to speak in terms of the unique services you offer?

Crowded it is, as well as it’s never easy to stand out, especially in creative environment. But we have the key to success and are ready to share it: work hard and be demanding, I’d also love to say it’s about unprecedented quality, which is, however, fairly impossible to achieve, so I’ll just say – High Quality.

I would say, our uniqueness is in the ability to look at the industry from a different angle, not being bound by corporate style, market trends or any other boundaries.

We target Eastern European, CIS, Asian markets for now, entering soon in the UK and most EU countries as we get our licenses. As of our uniqueness – that’s a very good question. Many companies would state they have unique UI, mechanics and concepts. It is important, but when everyone claims exclusive – there is no more exclusivity in place. I would say, our uniqueness is in the ability to look at the industry from a different angle, not being bound by corporate style, market trends or any other boundaries. We are flexible, we think outside of the box, we don’t follow anybody and we do know that nothing is impossible. This is how we created our first and by now the only one in its kind – fully 3D VR “Necromancer” slot. This is the game that is really exclusive – you won’t be able to find even a similar one on the market now, and, thus, you won’t mix it up with any other game out there. This is what our uniqueness is about.

Speaking of the targeted market, how would you describe your players? Are they a tough crowd to impress?

As we said earlier – it is a competitive space we are living in and the players get more and more advanced in technology and demanding of flawless picture and experience. And their devices are getting more advanced too – we are aware of all of that, totally meeting recent and new technology levels as well as working on impressive ideas and next generation slots.

… we plan to release a new slot built on a totally new technology which hasn’t been used in the industry before

Can you share any details regarding upcoming slot releases?

Not too much, but this summer you will see our next 3D VR slot and right after that, we plan to release a new slot built on a totally new technology which hasn’t been used in the industry before. Let it be a surprise for iGaming world and stay tuned!