Graeme Savill, the Account Management Team Lead at Gaming Corps, sits down with us to talk everything social gaming, including the rise of gamification, how to engage players through tournaments, the future of social gaming, and more.

Building communities of players has become a popular trend over the last 18 months, with players demanding a much more social-led experience. Why do you think this is?

I believe the increased demand for social-led experiences is driven by the broader social shift towards connectivity, which is a result of the influence of social media and online communities. Players, especially Gen Z players, crave authentic experiences, and as such, casinos are seeking more interactive and community-focused ways to capture their interest.

Players want the opportunity to share big wins, compete with friends, and interact with a broader community, and casinos and providers are looking innovative ways to provide that experience.

Crucially, players want to feel like they are part of something and be kept in the loop. Social media is a key part of this, and the online casino industry is learning a lot from these platforms about how to create communities and drive engagement.

In your view, what’s the secret behind creating a more social experience for players? Is it gamification, features like chat functionality and live streaming, or something else?

Several factors are driving the evolution of players’ social experiences. Gamification, for example, plays a key role in bringing out players’ competitive sides while engaging them with new products.

Chat functionality is also crucial; you can’t build a community if players can not talk to one another. It has also allowed players to interact with streamers, influencers, and the casinos themselves.

Finally, streamers can significantly contribute to exposing players to new content and innovations. They hold significant sway within the online gaming communities and are well-respected by players. This level of influence contributes massively to the success of new product launches.

And how is Gaming Corps creating that social experience for players?

Crash games are extremely effective at driving engagement and building communities. The fast-paced action stirs players, and the chat logs quickly become a stream of instant reactions and shared excitement.

We saw this, particularly during the EURO 2024 and Copa America tournaments over the summer. Likeminded football fans engaged with one another while playing Football Freestyler, and Samba Soccer, helping to build a community of players who played and engaged with each other throughout the tournaments.

Likewise, using live streamers has helped build communities and increase engagement in several of our games, with Piggy Smash and Snoop’s High Rollers being two of the most popular.

Tournaments have become an increasingly popular way to engage with new players.  From your experience, are there certain game types that tournaments lend themselves to?  And how do you retain those players once a tournament has concluded?

Tournaments are an extremely useful method of retaining customers and upselling to both new and existing customers. I believe these will continue to be a strong tool in the upcoming years, particularly with the rise of network tournaments offering substantial prize pools for participants.

They also attract customers and are an excellent way of promoting community-building and social engagement.

At Gaming Corps, we have positioned ourselves uniquely to capitalize on tournaments as effective promotional tools. Our brand new Smash4Cash vertical and our crash games have a strong appeal among a new generation of players due to their mobile-friendly accessibility and adaptability to tournament setups.

Retaining players after a tournament concludes is essential for growth. We do this by offering ongoing loyalty programs and rewards. We also need to constantly refresh and enhance our content to ensure that players continue to come back for more.

Do you think this trend of gamification will continue into 2025? Or is it just a passing fashion?

I believe that gamification will continue to be a significant trend well into 2025 and beyond due to its ability to tap into fundamental human desires for achievement, competition, and social interaction.

It will remain at the forefront of our strategy in the coming years as we aim to foster a sense of community around our games and find new and exciting ways to engage with our customers.

Of course, we have to be able to adapt to market localisation and understand that different markets have different requirements. Our products are worldwide, and we want to ensure they are for everyone.