Yann Bautista, Founder & Commercial Director at Peter & Sons, reflects on the company’s journey from start-up to industry disruptor, and how its mantra of ‘doing things differently’ has shaped its newest title, Barbarossa Revenge.
The last few years have been filled with a whole lot of change for the igaming industry. We’ve seen plenty of new companies flood the market, new jurisdictions embrace the prospect of regulation and player preferences shape the development of new verticals.
But with all this change, gaming companies have faced the challenge of ensuring that they not only continue to stand out from the crowd, but that they are catering to the ever-changing needs of players. That’s much easier said than done.
To understand how Peter & Sons has gone about facing these challenges head on, I first need to take you back to the early days of the company.
A mission to disrupt
Founded back in 2019 by a team of gaming veterans, we vowed to do things a bit differently. That was a message that we aimed to convey in everything that we did – from partner relationships to game development. For us, taking a path less trodden would be the key to helping us stand out in an increasingly crowded space filled with slots developers.
Like many other newly established studios, our early days were largely spent securing agreements with distribution platforms. Without these, how would we broaden the reach of our games?
We were lucky enough to successfully sign distribution agreements with a number of industry leaders, including Yggdrasil YG Masters, Relax Silver Bullet and Oryx Blue Horn.
Working with such titans in the industry enabled us to exponentially increase our reach and exposure to brands across the globe, allowing Peter & Sons to quickly become a well-renowned studio.
But while we were busy securing distribution partnerships, we also wanted to solidify our presence as a studio that regularly releases player-favourite titles that feature innovative, disruptive mechanics and features, not to mention cinematic graphics and audio.
Bringing added excitement to the world of slots
By focusing on the look and ‘feel’ of each slot title, the team at Peter & Sons has not only added an additional layer of excitement to each title it has developed, but we have also given our partners the opportunity to provide unparalleled gaming experiences to each of their players.
Following our initial successes with the distribution platforms, Peter & Sons entered the second phase of the company’s journey. This, we shall call the expansion phase. Our international recognition meant that we were able to secure a significant cash injection from a board of investors, acquire a best-in-class platform and were also able to begin acquiring key licences to engage directly with tier one operators.
This opened so many doors for us – in fact, in 2024, we are now livewith operators in multiple markets around the world, including Argentina, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
But that’s not all. In the coming months, we also have plans to take our content live in both New Jersey and Peru, bolstering our international footprint even further.
We have also been given the green light to take our content online with industry giants such as Hub88, IGT, Light & Wonder and Relax Gaming, as well as a range of tier one operators. You can probably understand why I refer to this as the ‘expansion phase’.
New levels of success
As you can see, we’ve hit a number of major milestones over the last five years. Among the number of titles that have contributed to Peter & Sons’ success is Barbarossa – a high volatility slot that includes our double multiplier feature.
This title is testament to the founders’ initial mission to deliver something different to the igaming industry. It included features and mechanics that, at the time, the industry had never seen before. Since its release, Barbarossa quickly became a favourite among players, delivering an unparalleled gaming experience with its engaging and innovative features.
The title invites players to set sail on a pirate adventure, braving shark-infested waters to uncover the ultimate treasure. This 5×3 grid slot game offers 243 Ways to Win and boasts a maximum payout of 20,000 times your bet!
Why Players Love Barbarossa
- Double multiplier feature: Each win triggers a cascade, adding wilds and doubling multipliers up to three times per spin, enhancing the excitement and potential for big wins.
- Multiplier jump: With each cascade, there’s a chance for the multiplier to jump up to three positions, significantly boosting your winnings.
- Free spins bonus game: Triggered by landing three scatters, awarding free spins with a multiplier jump that doesn’t reset and can get to 20,000x, keeping the thrill alive throughout the bonus round.
- Golden bet and buy free spins: Increase your chances of hitting free spins with golden bet or dive straight into the action by purchasing free spins.
The development of this new sequel, aptly named Barbarossa Revenge, has largely been centred around feedback from both players and operators. The team wanted to ensure that we are delivering on the wants and needs of our audience.
Given this significant level of popularity, we saw huge potential to deliver a sequel that moved the dial even further in terms of engagement. The newest title in our portfolio promises to introduce a new, super cool feature called Cannon Cashout, which almost guarantees a win when it appears – something that we are confident players will love!
Barbarossa Revenge will deliver on every aspect that you would expect from a hit title; from the unique theme and experience-enhancing animations to the mechanics that make it a standout contender. It’s everything you would expect from a great sequel!
What Players Can Expect
When developing Barbarossa Revenge, we wanted to build on the success of the original game, maintaining similar gameplay with even higher volatility. We know that creating a sequel can be incredibly difficult – you just have to look at the film industry to see how true that is – so we’ve kept the beloved multiplier-building behaviour, allowing players to reach even bigger multipliers through multiple consecutive cascades. Ultimately, this provides an experience close to the original game while also delivering new and exciting experiences for players.
Enhanced Gameplay and Features
- Higher volatility: The game is designed to be more volatile, increasing the frequency of big wins without causing rapid player wager burnout. This balance ensures a thrilling experience with the potential for substantial rewards.
- Increased maximum win: We’ve raised the maximum win from 20,000x your bet to an impressive 30,000x, giving players even more chances to score big.
- Multiplier jumps: Retaining the popular multiplier jumps from the original game, this feature continues to help build bigger multipliers and enhance winning potential.
New Exciting Feature
- Cannon cashout feature: This special cannonball guarantees a win when it appears, adding a layer of excitement and ensuring that players always have something to look forward to.
We wanted to make sure that Barbarossa Revenge is an epic continuation of the pirate adventure that we had created with the original Barbarossa, but this time with even more thrilling gameplay and opportunities for big wins.
We invite players to dive into this new experience and see why Barbarossa Revenge is set to become a favourite among players. Join us as we set sail on another unforgettable journey with Barbarossa.
Barbarossa Revenge is due to be released on 1 October and will be made available across Yggdrasil’s distribution platform. Keep an eye out for an upcoming episode of Beyond the Reels, with Peter & Sons set to dive into the making of its latest slot sensation.
