Latest News

Love at First Sight: Kwalee Acquires Narrative Specialists Tictales

Published

4 years ago

January 24, 2022

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Kwalee, a world-leading game developer and multiplatform publisher, has made its first ever studio acquisition with a deal that brings French developer Tictales into its increasingly-global family.

Established as one of the world’s foremost mobile game developers and publishers, Kwalee has achieved more than 750 million downloads across its hypercasual games portfolio.

The deal to buy Tictales is the first acquisition by Kwalee in its 10-year history, signalling its serious intent to build upon global hypercasual success with both casual and hybrid-casual titles.

Tictales, whose narrative-based mobile games have been downloaded more than 6 million times and played for more than 350 million hours, will continue to operate with creative independence while benefiting from Kwalee’s marketing expertise.

Screenshot from Perfume of Love by Tictales

14 games have been developed and published by Tictales since the studio’s founding in 2015, including Perfume of Love, Fictions and Swiit Crush – Interactive Stories. The company specialises in free-to-play romance narrative games, and its titles are acclaimed by fans globally.

Headquartered in Leamington Spa, UK, Kwalee has doubled in size over the past year thanks to rapid global expansion. The developer and publisher also has offices in Bangalore, India and Beijing, China along with remote team members all around the world. With the acquisition of Tictales, the company now has team members spread across 18 countries.

Kwalee boasts the world’s most prolific hypercasual games development studio, having published more than 40 number one mobile games – most of which were developed by a dedicated internal team. Internal development is complemented by a dedicated mobile game publishing team working with talented developers all over the world, led by SEGA and Ubisoft veteran Will Cox.

“We have been committed since day one to creating amazing mobile fiction for our audience and I’m very proud of all the team members of Tictales for this milestone,” said Christophe Chocho, Sales Manager and Co-Founder of Tictales.

“The long-term vision of Tictales is to bring bigger franchises to the world, with our production capacity increasing and new talents joining our team. We and Kwalee share the same philosophy about high-quality games and we cannot wait to show our exciting new projects to the world.”

“Our talented team crafts the best narrative experiences for fans to enjoy for many years,” added Harouna Camara, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Tictales.

“Joining Kwalee allows us to concentrate on these passions and specialisms while benefiting from their expertise, particularly in marketing and publishing.”

“It’s a proud moment for us to make Kwalee’s first acquisition, and Tictales is the perfect partner,” said Kwalee CEO David Darling.

“With their successful track record of casual mobile games and ability to tell a compelling story through their games, their ambitions match our own and we’re looking forward to building collective success.”

A legend of the UK games industry who co-founded Codemasters and led the company for 20+ years before establishing Kwalee, Darling is writing yet another chapter in his decades-long gaming career with this acquisition – and he’s not ruling out more deals for companies with complementary skill-sets.

David Darling, CEO of Kwalee

Developers with hypercasual, hybrid-casual or casual mobile games can submit, market-test and get their games published using the Kwalee Publishing Portal. In a process that takes only minutes, all that’s needed are a few 15-second gameplay videos, or a simple prototype: https://www.kwalee.com/publish-with-us/.

gaming and gambling harms

Ygam achieve milestone of reaching 5 million young people

Published

8 hours ago

October 22, 2025

George Miller

ygam-achieve-milestone-of-reaching-5-million-young-people

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Ygam has now surpassed the milestone of reaching an estimated five million children and young people across the UK through its portfolio of prevention programmes.

Founded in 2014, Ygam has now delivered its award-winning training and resources on gaming and gambling harms to over 32,000 delegates.

Ygam’s reach extends beyond the education sector, with training delivered to more than 5,500 professionals working across health and social care — including hospitals, health boards, GP surgeries, and community nursing settings. This work, aligned with a public health approach to preventing gambling harms, has directly contributed to the digital safeguarding of nearly half a million children and young people accessing health services.

With growing concerns from parents and carers about the role of gaming and gambling in the wider online safety conversation, Ygam has become a trusted and respected source of advice and guidance for families. The charity has delivered workshops to more than 4,500 parents and carers.

Ygam is a national charity with a footprint across every region of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and a presence in 64 of the UK’s 76 cities.

Ygam’s work has also seen a significant increase in the longevity of its reach, with nearly 100,000 resource downloads of its award-winning resources, and at least 50% of educators implementing these materials into their lessons.

Helen Martin, Interim CEO of Ygam, said: “This milestone is more than just a number – it’s a reflection of the positive impact we’re making in every corner of the UK. We’re incredibly proud of the growing community that shares our passion for safeguarding children’s wellbeing in an increasingly complex digital world, where gaming and gambling are more accessible than ever. From schools to sports clubs, parents to practitioners, and colleges to community centres, we’re raising awareness through the powerful tool of education. As we mark this extraordinary achievement, the demand for our resources has never been greater. We remain committed to expanding our reach and deepening our impact, ensuring that every child has the knowledge and confidence to navigate the risks of gaming and gambling harms.”

But there’s so much more to do – help us reach the next 5 million…

The post Ygam achieve milestone of reaching 5 million young people appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Latest News

Boomerang Partners set to shine at SiGMA Europe 2025 with sports-themed booth activities and the Golden Boomerang League winners celebration

Published

9 hours ago

October 22, 2025

Master Editor

From November 4th to 6th, 2025, Boomerang Partners will participate in SiGMA Europe 2025 in Rome, one of the most important events in the world for the affiliate marketing and iGaming industry. The company’s booth 5046 G will be a focal point, thanks to the signature ‘Boomerang Arena’ concept.

The ‘Boomerang Arena’ symbolizes the strong connection between sports and technological innovations, and reflects Boomerang Partners’ focus on the sports aspect of their business. The booth will be divided into several themed zones dedicated to football, golf, tennis, and boxing, as well as a location for sports-related interactive experiences.

Booth 5046 G will be the must-visit hub for SiGMA Europe 2025’s guests for many reasons. Boomerang Partners is preparing a variety of activities that are sure to generate heightened interest from booth visitors. They can look forward to various sports-related interactive experiences, mini-games, table tennis activity, and a unique gift auction. Details about the participation conditions will be announced later. Stay tuned for updates.

On November 5th, Boomerang Partners will ceremoniously announce and award the winners of its first sports traffic tournament, the Golden Boomerang League. It runs from September 1st to October 31st and is designed for both current and new affiliate partners of the company. The prizes include direct entry into the annual global tournament, the Golden Boomerang Awards 2026, and two all-expenses-paid AC Milan Experience packages, which include flights, accommodations, and tickets to a match at the San Siro Stadium. Boomerang Partners will provide this opportunity as the Official Regional Partner of AC Milan.

Book a meeting with Boomerang Partners’ managers now to learn about collaboration opportunities. There are only a few slots left.

About Boomerang

Boomerang Partners is a rapidly growing global marketing agency offering a wide range of services. Boomerang Partners is the Official Regional Partner of AC Milan. In 2024, it launched the inaugural Golden Boomerang Awards — a global tournament for affiliate teams. More than 400 affiliate teams participated in the second season of the tournament in 2025. The agency launched six new products in 2024-2025, contributing to a nearly 1.5-fold increase in product users.

The agency’s client portfolio contains 13+ brands offering affiliate and entertainment services across 40+ markets in compliance with local regulations. These products provide personalized bonuses and 24/7 multilingual support.

Chris Loftus CEO at Northern Lights Gaming

Introducing Prize Ladder from Northern Lights Gaming

Published

10 hours ago

October 22, 2025

George Miller

introducing-prize-ladder-from-northern-lights-gaming

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Studio’s latest classic slot delivers exhilarating bonus action against a glamorous TV gameshow backdrop, with cascading reels adding to the excitement

Have you got what it takes to take on the Prize Ladder and come out on top? That’s the question players must answer before taking on the latest classic slot title from in-demand content house, Northern Lights Gaming.

Bright lights and big wins are the order of the day in Prize Ladder, a game-show style blockbuster that promises twists and turns from the very first game round to the last.

Set on a vibrant stage with dazzling neon lights and a booming announcer voice, this ANYWAYS Rolling Reels game pays both left-to-right and right-to-left.

ANYWAYS Rolling Reels is triggered on any win and kick-starts a cascade where winning symbols are removed and new ones roll in, opening up chances for more consecutive wins.

The excitement builds with the Prize Ladder™ itself, which increases the value of winning symbols with every consecutive cascade in a single spin. And if a Padlock symbol lands on the final cascade, those juicy symbol values get locked in for the next spin.

This wouldn’t be a Northern Lights Gaming slot without a glitzy Free Spins bonus, which gets triggered when three or more Scatter symbols land. This gets the player eight Free Games with the Awards Cards held for the duration.

Then there’s the Super Spins, which are triggered when the player lands a full reel of the same symbol with Star overprints on reels one or five.

One whole reel of the same symbol also has a chance to trigger the Super Spins. The reels then spin in more of that symbol across the reels. Each position that is not held, spins, with either the triggering symbol, blank or Scatters.

Additional symbols and Scatters that land are held on the reels, and for each Super Spin, the Prize Ladder award rolls up one level.

Now for the Buy the Bonus options – players can Booster Buy, which increases the chance of triggering the Free Spins, Super Spins and the Padlock Bonus, or they can opt for the Bonus Buy to head straight to the Free Spins, Super Spins or Super Free Spins.

Chris Loftus CEO at Northern Lights Gaming, said: “Prize Ladder is a classic slot that plays more like a bonus-heavy video slot. It’s a game that’s all about the glitz and glamour, and climbing that ladder to unlock the game’s biggest bonuses and wins.

“The entire team has really pulled together for Prize Ladder, and the result is a visually striking slot with gameplay that gets pulses racing thanks to a smart combination of mechanics and bonuses, including some of our unique in-house features like Rolling Reels.

“Think your players are ready to take on the Prize Ladder? There’s only one way to find out.”

The post Introducing Prize Ladder from Northern Lights Gaming appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.