If you’ve been visiting online slot sites for a while you’ll have surely noticed games based on popular movies or TV series. Among these you might have seen the Peaky Blinders slot, or any of a number of games based on the popular adult animated series Rick and Morty. There’s even a series of slots based around rock bands from the 80s and 90s that are released regularly by Play’n GO! With such titles available you might wonder how such licensed slots might come around. If this ever comes to mind then keep on reading, as we’re here to tell all about the process of creating licensed slots.
But What is a Licensed Slot?
We’ve already mentioned the term “”licensed slot”, but what does this actually include? A licensed slot, regardless of its being an online game or a physical cabinet at a land-based casino, is one based around intellectual property (or IP) from a well-known brand. We’ve mentioned films and TV, but the brand could also be a band, celebrity, or even another game. This IP will, of course, figure heavily throughout the game, typically making its high-paying symbols and showing up in some way during the bonus features.
The idea behind any licensed slot is to bring a full branded experience for players. A lot of times licensed slots are launched ahead of a movie release in order to build up hype. Other times it’s a case of a slot provider deciding the time is right to introduce a game based on a property that perhaps ended up on the wayside. Whichever the reason, ultimately the job of the branding is to have more players spin the reels, bringing a profit to the slot developer, the owner of the brand, and the online casino hosting the game.
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How to Make a Licensed Slot: A Step By Step Guide
We’ve described what a licensed slot is, so how do you get around to make one? The process is actually a bit more complicated than asking the owner of an IP to lend you their property for use on a slot. With this in mind let’s go through the steps involved in creating a game based around a favourite movie or TV show.
1. Securing the Licence
The first thing a slot provider needs to do in order to create a licensed game is to, well, get the licence itself. This can work in one of two ways - the provider approaches a brand with an idea for a slot, or a company hires the provider to create a slot based on one of its properties.
With this in mind, let’s say a provider wants to create a slot based on Stranger Things. To this end it will need to approach Netflix with its proposal and then negotiate a licensing agreement. Here lawyers will head to the boardroom to decide on which characters to use, what kind of images would be most appropriate, the rights to any music, and how revenues or royalties will be divided. These agreements are not permanent, so their duration will also be decided upon here. Getting a licence is a pricey proposal, but it can prove lucrative if the game becomes a hit.
2. Designing the Game
Once the provider has the licence in hand it’s time to start creating the actual game. The first step in creating any game requires coming up with a design. This covers how the game will look and feel, as well as how it will play. Artists will create the appropriate symbols and sound effects, while game designers will think about what the bonus rounds will involve. For instance, Blueprint Gaming’s Rick and Morty slots feature art lifted directly from the show and zany bonus rounds that reflect its theme of hopping between multiple dimensions in the name of whacky scifi adventures.
Note that sometimes providers go for the easy way out, and simply slap the required imagery on an already existing game. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, as the saying insists, right? But whichever route the provider takes, each one of its decisions needs to be approved by the licence holder, a process that can take longer than expected.
3. Development Starts
Once the final design is locked in and approved the actual development can kick off. Here programmers and mathematicians build the Random Number Generator (RNG) powering the game’s reels together with the aforementioned bonus rounds. Since we’ve already mentioned the Rick and Morty slots, take Rick and Morty Wubba Lubba Dub Dub - this slot has 15 bonus rounds. Some can be triggered randomly (which requires additional elements to the RNG) while others by landing bonus symbols.
If you’re curious, modern slots are built using HTML5. This technology is a replacement to the previously used Macromedia Flash, and allows for games that can run on modern browsers without any additional downloads. Not only that, but these games can run perfectly on all devices, with the visuals adjusting automatically for smaller smartphone displays!
4. Testing and Approval
It’s not enough for a provider to build an RNG - this has to be approved by a third party to ensure that it is truly random. This is where agencies such as eCOGRA come into play. Furthermore the game needs to go through rigorous testing to confirm that it is free of any bugs that might mar the player experience, if not any potential winnings. The licensor remains in play throughout this process to confirm that the game truly reflects its brand.
5. It’s Launch Time!
Once both provider, licensor, and testing agencies are happy it’s time to bring the game to the wider audience! Licensed games represent a major investment, so the provider will generally pull all the stops to ensure success with marketing on social media and slot review sites. They might even provide partner online casinos with free spins or organise a tournament based around the game launch. Take Play’n GO, who has the bands from its music series of slots record a message letting the fans know about the new slot based around their tunes and imagery.
Licensed
Have Fun Playing Licensed Slots!
Licensed slots bring the worlds of popular content and online casinos in an often great whole. However as you can see here this meeting of worlds is a multi-step process involving rights holders, lawyers, designers, artists, musicians, and programmers working together to bring a single game to the table. So think about this the next time you’re playing the Jurassic Park or Terminator slots - these weren’t simply made, they were licensed!
Enjoy the licensed slots available at your favourite online casino sites, and remember to always play responsibly.
