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Colt Canyon crowned ‘Best Game’ and LUNARK ‘Most Anticipated’ at GameMaker Awards 2021
The judges have deliberated. Over 33,000 votes have been cast. And we can now reveal that Colt Canyon has been crowned ‘Best Game’ and LUNARK ‘Most Anticipated’ game of the year, at the GameMaker Awards 2021.
Created by German-based developer Retrific, Colt Canyon is a stylish western-themed pixel art shooter combining roguelike elements with real-time combat. The judges were impressed with Colt Canyon’s highly engaging gameplay and heavily pixelated artist style. While in the popular vote, members of the GameMaker and Opera GX communities voted Colt Canyon the clear winner.
The other finalists for ‘Best Game’ included: Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Jet Lancer, Post Void and Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!.
The winner of ‘Most Anticipated’ game is LUNARK, from Canari Games. LUNARK is a 2D cinematic platformer, designed in the vein of ’80s and ’90s classics. The game challenges players to run, jump, hang, climb, roll, and shoot their way through a kaleidoscope of different environments. These include mysterious alien ruins, a flying penitentiary, a high-tech megalopolis, and a majestic forest.
The judges were blown away with how the Canari Games team have pushed the creative limits of cutscenes and pixel art in GameMaker, to create a game that is both visually stunning and great to play. Set for release later this year, LUNARK also made a big impression with the voters – who overwhelmingly crowned it the ‘Most Anticipated’ game of 2021.
The other finalists for ‘Most Anticipated’ game included: NYKRA, Jitsu Squad, APICO and Toodee and Topdee.
The GameMaker Awards, in partnership with SpecialEffect, a charity that uses video games to enhance the lives of those people with physical disabilities, celebrate creativity and innovation in Indie game development, honouring the best games created using GameMaker Studio 2 as well as the Indies and Studios that designed them.
From over 200 entries, only 5 games for each category were selected by an expert panel of industry peers, including GameMaker Studio CTO Russell Kay, Opera GX Product Director Maciej Kocemba, and Into Indie Games Editor Harry Cole.
Russell Kay, CTO, GameMaker Studio, said: “This year’s GameMaker Awards has redefined what we’ve come to expect from the indies and studios that choose GameMaker as their creative engine of choice. Each of the finalists have demonstrated both amazing creativity, plus the technical ability to harness GameMaker’s powerful functionality to design a game that really pushes the boundaries. Given the incredible standard of this year’s entries, I am only glad that the final decision was left in the hands of our loyal GameMaker and Opera GX communities.”
Jonathan Mannshoven of Retrific, said: “Colt Canyon wasn’t a bestseller when it launched last year. It wasn’t free from criticism either. But by working closely with the community, I’ve been able to make many improvements to the game which have helped turn a lot of criticism into positive feedback. Having all that hard work now paying off with Colt Canyon winning ‘Best Game’ at the GameMaker Awards 2021 is an overwhelming and surreal feeling – just incredible!
“GameMaker has always been my engine of choice as it is just so easy to use yet also powerful, enabling me to reach maximum productivity. Which as a solo developer is extremely valuable. Put simply – I wouldn’t be a game developer now if it wasn’t for GameMaker.”
Johan Vinet of Canari Games, added: “LUNARK started as a passion project to create a game in the genre I loved in my youth. Making it a reality became so clear that I decided to quit my job, start my own studio and launch a Kickstarter campaign. Winning the “Most Anticipated Game” award is an incredible recognition from the players and the GameMaker Community, which brings some welcome legitimacy and a massive confidence boost to actually finish the game! Thank you!”
Fortune Factory Studios
Games Global and Fortune Factory Studios launch Gold Blitz Fortune Tower Fusion
Games Global has launched Gold Blitz Fortune Tower Fusion
in collaboration with its exclusive partner Fortune Factory Studios, the companies said on 25th June 2026. The new title expands the Gold Blitz
franchise and introduces the Wild Fusion multiplier tower.
In the base game, the slot features bi-directional Pays. The companies said landing a collect icon on reel three alongside Prize Activators triggers the Fortune Tower
, awarding prizes up to 15x for purple activators and 1,000x for blue activators.
Games Global said Gold Blitz
tokens and wilds are collected in separate pots during base play and can randomly activate one of two bonuses. Landing three bonus symbols triggers a bonus game where players choose between the Gold Blitz Fortune Tower
and Wild Fusion Fortune Tower
features.
The Gold Blitz Fortune Tower
uses the franchise’s Cash Collect mechanic, with Above Reel Interaction awarding prizes from the Fortune Tower
. In the Wild Fusion Fortune Tower
, cash values convert to multipliers of up to 20x, applying to wins containing wilds.
Alexander Monsma, Team Manager, Game Sales at Games Global, said: “Each new iteration of the Gold Blitz
franchise aims for subtle differentiation while staying true to its roots. This release pairs two Fortune Tower
bonuses and Prize Activators, adding a distinct twist on the Cash Collect mechanic.” Dave Reynolds, Director of Games Strategy and Partner Management at Games Global, added: “Gold Blitz
is one of the most versatile and recognisable game brands across the industry, and Fortune Factory continues to find exciting ways to extend its lifecycle. Gold Blitz Fortune Tower Fusion
marks another milestone in one of Games Global’s best-performing series.”
The post Games Global and Fortune Factory Studios launch Gold Blitz Fortune Tower Fusion appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
affiliate marketing
Toucan report: Casino.org leads AI search visibility among US iGaming affiliates
Casino.org ranks as the most visible US-facing iGaming affiliate across major AI platforms, according to a new AI Search Visibility report from Toucan International. The study tested 100 iGaming-related consumer prompts across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity.
Toucan said it ranked 146 affiliates using four measures: the number of times a brand was cited, the number of prompts it was cited in, the total number of times the brand was mentioned, and the number of prompts mentioned in. Casino.org scored 96.8 out of 100, driven by 198 citations across 61 of the 100 prompts—giving it a 19-point lead over BettingUSA.com.
BettingUSA.com placed second with an overall score of 77.6. Toucan noted the affiliate had the most “times mentioned” (27) and “prompts mentioned in” (23), but appeared in fewer “prompts cited in” (50), which the report weighted most heavily. SportsLine ranked third with a score of 74.4, leading the study on “prompts cited in” with 64 and recording 178 total citations.
Covers.com (72.2) and RotoWire (69.8) rounded out the top five. Toucan said the top three affiliates accounted for 37% of citations from a total of 1,755 across the dataset, with the remaining 143 affiliates comprising the rest.
George Webb, Organic Search Director at Toucan International, said: “What the findings reveal is that there is a clear dominance among some of the top affiliates, there is a reasonably broad ecosystem, and dominance isn’t a foregone conclusion.
“We gave the number of prompts a brand is cited in the highest weighting, at 40 per cent, because it’s the best measure of authority in AI Search. Total citations tell you how often a brand shows up, but those can stack up inside a handful of answers. The number of prompts you’re cited in tells you how many different questions the AI trusts you to answer, and that breadth is much harder to earn and much harder for a rival to take off you. It’s also where the commercial value sits: the wider the range of prompts you appear in, the more of the real search demand you’re exposed to.
“Casino.org’s leadership in the report stems almost entirely from citation volume (198) rather than prose mentions (26), meaning it appears as a referenced source rather than a naturally embedded recommendation, whereas BettingUSA.com punches above its citation weight (94) by securing 27 prose mentions, suggesting more organic integration into AI reasoning.
“What I would express to the brands looking to make gains in AI search is that the results are not random and that best practice in terms of how you present onsite content, technical setup and targeting backlinks and coverage from the sources that LLMs are trained on, through Digital PR, can see you improve.”
The post Toucan report: Casino.org leads AI search visibility among US iGaming affiliates appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
game-launch
Kendoo adds 4 Fire Rockets to 4 Pots slot portfolio
Kendoo has launched 4 Fire Rockets, a new slot added to its 4 Pots portfolio, the supplier said on 25th June 2026. The title is now available for demo and real-money play across Kendoo partner platforms.
According to the company, 4 Fire Rockets builds on Hold & Win gameplay with an “upgraded 4 Pots system” and adds a Collect feature, random multipliers, a Life feature and a Double Reels mechanic. The Hold & Win bonus triggers by landing one or more Bonus symbols, locking values while players get a series of respins.
Kendoo said Multiplier symbols can apply 2x, 3x or 5x boosts to Bonus values, while Double Reels duplicates the entire bonus board so play continues across two sets of reels. The Collect symbol can appear during the bonus to gather the values of a specific type of Bonus symbol and remains locked until the round ends.
The Life feature may trigger when respins are running out, adding an extra Bonus symbol and refreshing the counter. Kendoo also highlighted four jackpot tiers from Mini to Grand, with the Grand paying up to 1,000x total bet; with Double Reels active, the company said players can potentially land two Grand Jackpots in a single bonus.
Olga Mugliett, Commercial Director at Kendoo, said: “When we introduced 4 Pots, the response from players showed there was real appetite for a format that offers multiple things to chase at once. With 4 Fire Rockets, we wanted to build on that while making every bonus round feel less predictable.
“The combination of Double Reels, Collect feature, Multiplier feature and the possibility of extending the action through Life creates plenty of moments where a feature can suddenly take a different direction. Those twists are often what players remember most, and that’s something we focused on heavily throughout development.”
The post Kendoo adds 4 Fire Rockets to 4 Pots slot portfolio appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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