Online casino games are released more rapidly than any other offerings in the game industry. The sector moves so fast that developers need to stay on their toes, ready to release the next state-of-the-art game when the iGaming audience needs it most. This means that a lot of the time, studios use preexisting game engines to make titles instead of building them from the ground up. These game engines are often innovations that help to push the industry forward in its evolution. Game creators who come up with new engines using future tech developments can prosper as the online casino sector continues to expand.

A row of traditional slot machines

What are Game Engines in Online Casinos?

In layman’s terms, game engines are basically software frameworks that give developers a template to work with when they make a game. The studio will choose the engine that they want to use first, and then add their own themes, animations, symbols, and other facets that make a modern slot game. One of the top engines used for casino online games in 2023 is the Megaways engine, which was a major hit in the industry. It has been used for countless titles including Tyrant King and Rumble Rhino. It’s so famous now that players are familiar with the engine, and they often search for games that use it. Online casino operators know how popular it is, and sometimes arrange all their Megaways games in a convenient location on the site so players can find them easily.

Game engines play a vital role in helping creators come up with titles that have smooth gameplay and realistic graphics. They also come with special features in place that players want to enjoy. For example, the Megaways engine was an innovation from Big Time Gaming, and it enabled more than 100,000 win lines. Players loved it so much that other developers wanted to use the engine for their own games. BGT franchised the engine and allowed others to build titles with it as well. Players know what they are getting when they see the Megaways name attached to a game now and understand that the title has been built with that engine. It will have its own name and theme, but the core gameplay will revolve around the Megaways concept.

Game engines are nothing new in online slot creation. Indeed, well-established industry-leading studios like Microgaming have been using them for a long time. The studio created its own engines for 5-reel slots in the early days of the industry and then used that template to create future games. Over time, engines like these are tweaked and improved to align with modern tech developments and industry trends. It’s not just in the online casino industry either. Game engines can be found in every offshoot of gaming, and some are world-famous. The Unreal engine from Epic Games, for instance, is now in its fifth generation. It has previously been voted the most successful video game engine and has helped push gaming innovation forward exponentially.

What is the Potential for Game Engine Market Growth?

The invention of the Megaways engine was a landmark development in recent iGaming history, as it showed the vast potential for new engines to enjoy success on a massive scale. Some would say that the slot market had become stagnated before the introduction of Megaways, and it was hard to pinpoint what the next stage of its evolution would be. When Megaways came along, it was clear that audiences were hungry for these slight innovations that provided a different way to experience slot games. After Megaways, numerous other engines started to flood the market. None have been quite as successful, but they have shown that there is potential to expand the slots market in this way over the next decade.

Some of the other recent innovations in the slots market include Link and Win, Hyper Hold, and Express Collect. These games use the traditional online slot format with minor tweaks. The main point to note is that all these various new ways of playing allow the slots category to branch off in different directions to appeal to even more players. The abundance of diverse themes for the titles used to be the best way to bring in new audiences, but now engines are serving that purpose as well. This is helping the iGaming industry expand further, which is why it is projected to be valued at over $153 billion by 2030. As slots continue to evolve like this, it prepares them for future tech developments that may arise as well. Players will be ready for new innovations on platforms like augmented and virtual reality.

How Could Future Game Engines Expand the iGaming Industry Further?

It’s clear that slot games are now evolving and branching off in different directions. Over the next few years, developers will focus on trying to come up with their own engines that could potentially be as big as Megaways. Advances in technology could help with this and may lead to more fast-paced progression and expansion in the industry.

Future game engines will also need to adapt to upcoming platforms that could change the way people play online casino games. There’s still a lot of uncertainty about how slot games will look when VR becomes a mainstream piece of technology. There could be brand new ways of playing these games, and they could take place within fantasy worlds. When this happens, developers will need to construct new game engines that are in line with this format. It will be a prime opportunity for innovation, and the studios that invent the best offerings will profit.

Game engines are an essential aspect of the online casino industry. They provide a go-to template for developers to work on, and this can lead to further improvements and innovations. As new technology emerges, studios will have to come up with original engines designed for fresh platforms like VR.