During the past year Yggdrasil has continued its transformation from being a slot supplier to becoming a global publisher of online gambling content. Several new game mechanics were introduced and have boosted Yggdrasil’s games portfolio in 2020.
SlotBeats spoke to Yggdrasil’s Pawel Piotrowski, new games manager, and Anna Pace, campaign manager, about what 2021 has in store as the supplier sets its sights on further enhancing its player engagement tools and the use of Network Campaigns to stand out from the crowd.
SlotBeats: Yggdrasil has had a busy year with plenty of gaming releases and the introduction of new mechanics. What is the plan for 2021?
A notable share of our roadmap going forward will be built on our set of proven mechanical frameworks released in 2020. Following the success of our games Lucky Neko and Hades, Gigablox will play an essential role in our 2021 roadmap.
We are also working on a fourth part of our blockbuster Vikings series and a sequel of our all-time fan-favourite Golden Fish Tank. You can also expect some new and exciting mechanics and games with a buy bonus feature, a gamble mode, special bets and more.
There’ll be something for everyone on our roadmap next year, starting from low to extremely high volatility levels.
SB: The competition in the industry is ever-increasing with more games and suppliers popping up every year. How do you plan to stay ahead of the pack?
Yggdrasil has continued its transition from being a games supplier to a worldwide publisher of online gambling content. We are building a global partner network for online gambling with market leading operators, YG Masters partners and Franchisees.
We call it the Decentralised Aggregation Network (DAN). This is a game changer for the iGaming industry as it enables all network partners to add and share content, all powered by our unique and pioneering GATI technology. Our YG Masters program, powered by GATI helps eliminate entry barriers and shortens the time to market for studio partners and game developers to commercialise their content.
During 2020, we have significantly expanded the programme and added several fantastic studio partners and we are very excited to showcase the result of our collaborations next year.
Our slot productions remain at the heart of the company. We invest heavily in user research and pre-production and have an excellent understanding of the current market trends. In addition to our usual high-quality production, we have tremendous confidence in our 2021 roadmap.
SB: Your network campaigns are very appreciated by players. What can your clients and players look forward to when it comes to Yggdrasil campaigns in 2021?
Next year we will ramp up our popular network campaigns. We will run two-week campaigns at the beginning of each month. The campaign prize pools will expand to an impressive €80k-€100K.
Adding to this, we plan to launch new compatible tools in our BOOST offering, allowing us to run two campaigns simultaneously. Our network campaigns are an important feature as it greatly enhances player engagement and retention for our operator partners.
SB: Tell us more about your BOOST tools. What changes did you make in 2020, and what can we expect in 2021?
In 2020, our player engagement BOOST tools became more customisable. Operators can now choose the colour scheme for their campaigns, upload custom logotypes, and prize drop images, including GIFs.
We want our operator partners to be able to create campaigns that meet their needs and visuals to support the idea, whether it is a giveaway dedicated to the casino’s anniversary, a ‘dark’ Halloween Tournament, or a ‘happy’ summer Mission.
We introduced a new Tournament criteria – highest multiplier win. It will soon replace the ‘highest single coin win’ criteria that our Tournament Leaderboard initially was based on. ‘Multiplier win’ is a more universal parameter and can also be used in regulated and restricted markets like Germany, where games with coins are no longer allowed after a change in regulations.
SB: What is the benefit of BOOST campaigns and how can online casinos use them to increase activity?
It’s all about increasing player engagement and ensuring players have an incentive to come back to your casino. With BOOST tools, operators can create various campaigns, either Leaderboard-based Missions and Tournaments, or Prize Drops, where prizes are randomly awarded to participating players.
The campaign setup is straightforward and intuitive with lots of customisation options: the operator can run its own campaigns for all the players or just a particular segment, choose cash prizes or custom, upload its own images, TCs etc. For the players, all campaign-related information is available in the game.
They can also follow their progress on the Leaderboard without leaving the game. This makes it more enticing for players to play the games and will ensure they return to climb the Leaderboard and win the missions.
Our network campaigns are free for operators to take part in. Except for attractive prize pools, Yggdrasil provides all necessary assets to help operators promote the campaign and attract players.
We pay all the winnings in cash, without any wagering requirements. It’s a great way for operators to increase customer activity while players benefit from a more exciting experience.
