Relax Gaming’s Money Train 2 was named Slot of the Year 2021 at last night’s CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards, where Malta’s igaming industry gathered to celebrate the innovation and creativity of the teams behind online casino’s hit titles.
The inaugural Game Developer Awards ceremony, hosted by Trudy Kerr at the InterContinental Hotel in St Julian’s, Malta, recognised the achievements of both the industry’s biggest names and emerging studios across 14 categories.
The Relax Gaming team enjoyed a pair of wins in the Game Performance section, as Money Train 2’s Slot of the Year 2021 success was followed by Book of 99 being named Slot to Watch 2021.
Alchemy Gaming’s Wheel of Wishes claimed the Slot Studio Debut 2021 title, while SG Digital’s Rainbow Riches took the Slot Legacy Title honour, and the Slot Collaboration of the Year award went to Red Tiger and Big Time Gaming for Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays.
In the Game Creation categories, AvatarUX took the Game Innovation honour for the CherryPop, TikiPop and HippoPop titles from its series of releases using the PopWins mechanic.
Blueprint Gaming’s Rick and Morty MegaWays took the Game Licensed Content prize, while Rainbow Riches Race Day gave SG Digital its second success of the night, this time in the Game Retro-Style category.
Push Gaming’s Dinopolis secured the Game Design & Art Direction title, iSoftBet’s Moriarty Megaways came out on top in the Game Narrative category, and NetEnt’s Hotline 2 won the Game Music / Soundtrack trophy.
The Game Marketing section of the ceremony saw Evoplay take the Innovation in Marketing honour, LetsGiveItASpin of CasinoGrounds crowned Streamer of the Year, and ELK Studios named Content Creator of the Year for its work to promote Nitropolis 2.
Rasmus Sojmark, founder and CEO of the event’s organiser SBC, said: “Huge congratulations to all the winners at the CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards.
“The judges and voters faced some very difficult choices when deciding the winners. The shortlists were full of fantastic entries that demonstrated the depth of talent in the industry, the continuing excellence of the established players, and the emergence of some really exciting new studios.”
Sojmark added: “Events such as the Game Developer Awards are made possible by the ongoing support of our sponsors and partners. I’d like to thank BetConstruct, AvatarUX and Internet Vikings for being headline sponsors, as well as all the other companies that continue to work with SBC.”
The Game Developer Awards were the concluding event of the two-day CasinoBeats Summit conference, which took place in an integrated live and digital format, with a select group of senior executives attending in person at the venue in Malta and an international audience joining an online broadcast of the content.
All conference sessions from the event are available to view online by registering for a free digital pass at the CasinoBeats Summit website.
CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards Winners
Slot of the Year 2021
Winner: Relax Gaming – Money Train 2
Silver: Nolimit City – East Coast vs West Coast
Bronze: Pragmatic Play – The Dog House Megaways
Slot to Watch 2021
Winner: Relax Gaming – Book of 99
Silver; Push Gaming – Jammin’ Jars 2
Bronze: Fantasma Games – Golden Castle TITANWAYS
Slot Studio Debut 2021
Winner : Alchemy Gaming – Wheel of Wishes
Silver: Peter & Sons – Johnan Legendarian
Slot Legacy Title
Winner : SG Digital – Rainbow Riches
Silver: NetEnt – Starburst
Bronze : Blueprint Gaming – Fishin’ Frenzy
Slot Collaboration of the Year
Winner : Red Tiger + Big Time Gaming – Gonzo’s Quest MegaWays
Silver: Relax Gaming + CasinoGrounds – Iron Bank
Bronze : AvatarUX + Yggdrasil Gaming – CherryPop
Game Innovation
Winner : AvatarUX – CherryPop, TikiPop, HippoPop
Silver: Spribe – Aviator
Bronze: Nolimit City – East Coast vs West Coast
Game Licensed Content
Winner: Blueprint Gaming – Rick and Morty Megaways
Silver: SG Digital – Cluedo Cash Mystery
Bronze : Playtech – Rubik’s Cube
Game Retro-Style
Winner : SG Digital – Rainbow Riches Race Day
Silver: Triple Edge Studios – Attack on Retro
Bronze : Evoplay – Fruit Super Nova
Game Narrative
Winner: iSoftBet – Moriarty Megaways
Silver: Relax Gaming – Money Train 2
Bronze : SG Digital – Cluedo Cash Mystery
Game Design & Art Direction
Winner : Push Gaming – Dinopolis
Silver: Evoplay – Dungeon: Immortal Evil
Bronze: Stakelogic – Candyways Bonanza Megaways
Game Music / Soundtrack
Winner: NetEnt – Hotline 2
Silver: Kalamba Games – Sadie Swift: Guns ‘n Glyphs
Bronze : Hacksaw Gaming – Chaos Crew
Innovation in Marketing
Winner : Evoplay
Streamer of the Year
Winner: CasinoGrounds, LetsGiveItASpin
Silver: Brian Christopher Slots
Bronze : CasinoDaddy
Content Creator of the Year
Winner : ELK Studios – Nitropolis 2
Silver: Push Gaming – Jammin’ Jars 2
Bronze : FunFair Games – AstroBoomers: To The Moon!