Yggdrasil’s Easter Island series has been lauded by Pawel Piotrowski, new games manager at the firm for ‘exceeding’ the company’s expectations when it comes to longevity and has ‘performed well outside of the Easter season’.
Launched just over a month ago, Easter Island 2 saw the return of the ‘iconic’ Moai statue duo in the six-reel video slot which offers between 25-55 paylines.
SlotBeats spoke to Piotrowski to delve into the success of the Easter Island series, the impact of seasonal titles and its appeal whilst also looking into the future to see if seasonal trends will be a mainstay fixture for years to come.
SlotBeats: You’ve recently released your Easter Island 2 slot title, what made you bring back the Moai statue characters for an Easter-themed title?
Pawel Piotrowski: We released the original Easter Island title three years ago and the game is still a good performer with players regularly coming back to it. This indicates to us that the game has developed a bit of a brand in itself and it is now recognisable by players.
Releasing an Easter-themed slot around Easter time also ensures we can leverage the seasonal impact, with players keen to test out new topical content. It therefore made sense to us to develop a sequel with the elements that players know and love but that also takes the game to a new level.
SB: How did your initial idea of the title develop over time, was Easter always the theme for this title or was it more a focus on creating a sequel for the Moai statues?
PP: It is worth pointing out that Easter Island is not your typical seasonal game as it does not come with eggs and chickens or other Easter symbols. We have played on the seasonal element through the title of the game while ensuring that the theme and characters are relevant all year round.
Basically, we wanted to create a sequel to a successful game so both the Easter theme, and the popular characters played a part in the idea. For Easter Island 2 we have modernised the math design slightly to adapt it to what we know is popular with players at the moment as these trends change. We have also added higher volatility as we see these games resonate better with our target audience.
Additionally, we included a mechanic which is similar to our proprietary Game Engagement Mechanic (GEM) GigaBlox which has been proven hugely popular in a number of our titles and have also been taken by several of our YG Masters partners for inclusion in their upcoming content.
SB: In terms of seasonal titles, how much of an impact do they have on the market? Do they survive the ‘test of time’ beyond the seasonal period?
PP: Yes, if done right they do, and we would not have made the decision to produce a sequel to a seasonal slot if that was not the case. The challenge is to take it beyond the seasonal appeal and with Easter Island 2 we have done this by incorporating simple, fun mechanics, a light-hearted theme, and great production quality.
The Easter Island series has exceeded our expectations when it comes to longevity and has performed well outside of the Easter season.
SB: Seasonal content is evident throughout the whole igaming sector, from the upcoming Easter titles to Chinese New Year. What continues to be the appeal for seasonal titles?
PP: This trend is driven by players’ demand. Players want to play seasonal games and that is why the operators are keen on pushing them.
Seasonal skins of existing games can be created relatively cheaply and quickly so that adds to why we see such volume of this type of content.
In contrast, the majority of our seasonal titles are completely new with original mechanics to ensure they bring something innovative and exciting to attract players and keep them engaged.
SB: Are season slots driven by player demand or an expectation that developers create slots around certain key calendar events?
PP: There’s definitely a demand among both players and the operators. Players like seasonal content because it adds to the excitement and build-up to the celebration. For operators, these titles add something different to the main offering and can be used as a marketing tool to attract players and they are heavily pushed during the seasons.
As mentioned, the goal for us at Yggdrasil is to create content that will perform throughout the year, even though the popularity of course spikes during the seasons they are created for.
SB: Finally, do you see seasonal trends continuing to be a main fixture within the slot calendar or is it a trend which will fade?
PP: Seasonal games will continue to be a highlight of supplier’s roadmaps and we will most likely see an increase over the next few years.
With the market currently so saturated with content from hundreds of different providers the lifespan of games has been shortened. This has made it extremely important for titles to bring in large revenues during the launch month and this is where seasonal games come in handy.
