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Why studios need to promote their games
Elliott Resnick, Head of First Look Games, says that due to the highly competitive nature of the industry studios need to get their games in front of players if they are to succeed in the long term
Slot studios are fighting for operator attention in a highly competitive marketplace. There are literally hundreds of developers pushing thousands of games with endless new titles launching every month. So being heard above the noise made by rivals is a vital key to success.
Developers also face fierce competition when it comes to directing players to their games. Operator lobbies are stocked with thousands of titles, with game positioning often the difference between whether a title sinks or swims.
But what if affiliates could not only fulfil their traditional objective of new traffic to operators but also drive awareness of a studio’s content and have players specifically look for the game regardless of where they are positioned in casino lobbies?
To do this, studios must promote their games to players as well as operators, but that isn’t easy given developers take a small proportion of the revenues made on their slots. Above-the-line marketing is simply not an option for the majority of studios, so they have to look to other ways of gaining the attention of operators and players.
But due to the expensive nature of traditional game development, and the time it can take to bring a slot from concept to market (this can take anywhere from four to twelve months) studios must not leave game discovery to chance and instead proactively promote each of their most anticipated titles.
It is also important for studios to provide operators with easy access to information and assets about their games, not just for the purpose of selling their titles but also for other areas such as inclusion in the operator’s marketing and CRM. Without this, developers are missing the final but crucial step in launching their game – which is proactively letting players know about it.
This has led several studios to partner with slot streamers but while that now hangs in the balance pending Twitch’s upcoming announcement on 18 October, others are leveraging the incredible reach that traditional affiliates can provide. But striking partnerships with publishers can be labour intensive – something that already stretched teams have little time to dedicate to unless they hire someone dedicated to affiliate outreach pretty much full-time.
That is where First Look Games comes in, providing the world’s first platform that directly connects studios with all registered affiliates in the iGaming space who regularly craft detailed new game reviews designed to generate referrals to one or more online casino partner.
A publisher’s access to First Look Games is free, allowing all game studios to deploy finished/approved creative packs direct to an entire affiliate community within minutes. It puts the power in the developer’s hands, giving them control over the information and assets they share, and when they share them.
Affiliate marketing allows studios of all sizes to put their games in front of players and potentially build anticipation around future releases. For established studios that have highly sought-after content coming, affiliate marketing can drive large numbers of reviews along with significant awareness that a new game is set to land. For small studios starting out, it can make a difference between being prioritised for an operator integration or being left out. For those in the growth phase, game promotion can assist with realising greater ROI.
Studios can additionally use the feedback they receive from affiliate game reviews to guide future slot development by understanding what has and has not hit the mark with the player community. This feedback is incredibly valuable.
What’s more, affiliates are very cost-effective when compared to other forms of B2C marketing and can help studios to reverse engineer interest in their games where reviews are strong and the audience has a clear appetite for their content.
But right now, studios are not maximising the potential that affiliates provide. The studio-affiliate relationship is still relatively new which is why this marketing channel can be overlooked in terms of the value it can deliver.
First Look Games has been designed to do much of the heavy lifting on behalf of the studio, providing them with access to more than 800 approved publishers with their combined reach being more than 20 million players around the world.
Studios simply upload game information and assets to their dedicated library, and then our network of approved affiliates can access these files and use them to produce content such as game reviews or video content. The entire platform has been designed to be easy to use by any member of a studio’s team.
Despite this, we often find the studios do not know where to position us within their business – sometimes we are seen as a marketing resource, other times as a tool to support the commercial team. We can be both, but it shows just how new this area of game promotion is.
Over time this will change, especially when studios start to see the incredible success their rivals are having in the affiliate space by unlocking more of the potential in their games.
Getting any title in front of more of the right people is simply good business and in such a competitive market, that can be the difference between a studio succeeding or failing.
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Gambling in the USA
Xanada Investments Reveals Strategic Backing of Sweepium, Targeting the U.S. Sweepstakes Landscape
Xanada Investments, a leading ideological investment fund focused on the iGaming sector, has officially revealed its early-stage investment in Sweepium, a breakthrough B2B platform and game aggregator redefining how sweepstakes casino brands launch, operate, and scale in the U.S. market.
The decision to invest in Sweepium was driven by a clear alignment of vision: a bold team building real sweepstakes infrastructure for an underserved and fast-growing segment, while providing a serious competitive advantage to existing platforms.
Purpose-built for the complexities of the U.S. regulatory landscape, Sweepium delivers a fully integrated, turnkey platform that includes a bank-approved payment architecture, CRM, customer support, content management, game aggregation, and promotional tools. Its standout capability — its bank-approved payment system — the first of its kind in the U.S. sweepstakes sector — enabling operators to process transactions with institutional-grade compliance and reliability.
Over the past year, Xanada’s support extended far beyond capital. Acting as strategic advisors and active mentors, the fund worked closely with the Sweepium team to strengthen their operational and go-to-market strategy to accelerate brand onboarding and commercial traction.
Today, Sweepium is live with multiple operators, supports integrations with over 50 game providers, and enables new clients to launch in just 8–10 weeks from contract to first processed payment — a speed and standard unmatched in the space.
“From day one, Sweepium showed both clarity of vision and precision in execution,” said Vladimir Malakchi, CEO & Managing Partner at Xanada Investments. “Our decision to invest was driven not only by the unique positioning of the platform but by the team’s operational discipline and long-term thinking. Over the past year, we’ve worked closely with Sweepium to evolve their business infrastructure, guide strategic decisions, and help unlock market growth — and the results speak for themselves.”
Daniel Mitton, Founder & CEO of Sweepium, commented: “Partnering with Xanada Investments brought more than capital — it brought strategy, structure, and scale. Their team helped us align operations with long-term growth goals, navigate licensing, and open doors commercially. With Xanada’s support, we’ve accelerated our market readiness and laid the groundwork for sustainable expansion.”
As Sweepium enters its next phase of growth, the company is focused on expanding its partner base, deepening product capabilities, and continuing to lead in compliance-first innovation within the U.S. sweepstakes space.
About Xanada Investments
Xanada Investments is an ideological investment fund targeting PreSeed, Seed, and Series A funding rounds for innovative projects and leaders in the iGaming industry. With a focus on long-term success, Xanada is committed to providing not only capital but also strategic guidance and support to help businesses scale quickly and efficiently.
About Sweepium
Sweepium is a B2B platform and game aggregator enabling the launch of sweepstakes casino brands under a white-label model. The company supports over 80 game providers, offers full operational setup, and is the first provider of bank-approved white-label payments for sweepstakes in the U.S. market.
The post Xanada Investments Reveals Strategic Backing of Sweepium, Targeting the U.S. Sweepstakes Landscape appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Balkans
BEGE Expo Announces “Gaming Start-UP Challenge 7.0” — A Premier Opportunity for Gaming Innovators
For the 16th edition of BEGE, one of the most important events in the gaming industry in the Balkans, the expo proudly brings back the “Gaming Start-UP Challenge 7.0” as a highlight of this year’s event. This exciting entrepreneurial competition returns to the BEGE and EEGS stage, offering start-ups a unique platform to showcase their innovations to industry leaders and investors.
The challenge is open to start-ups developing groundbreaking solutions relevant to the gaming industry. Whether your focus is on advanced payment methods, online gaming platforms, cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies, security solutions, or cutting-edge game development tools, your innovation has a place here. The competition also welcomes pioneering work in augmented and virtual reality, esports and live streaming, and responsible gaming technologies. In essence, any technology that enhances or revolutionizes the gaming or gambling experience fits the spirit of this challenge.
Participants will have the exclusive chance to pitch their start-up live on the EEGS stage, gaining invaluable exposure during the two-day BEGE exhibition. Beyond the stage, this event provides a vibrant networking environment to connect with potential partners, investors, and key stakeholders across the gaming ecosystem.
To apply, startups are required to pay a nominal participation fee of 100 euros to secure their spot. Selected applicants will receive a short questionnaire and be invited to prepare a concise presentation for the competition.
Don’t miss this opportunity to propel your gaming start-up into the spotlight and join the forefront of gaming innovation.
Apply now and take your place in shaping the future of the industry!
The post BEGE Expo Announces “Gaming Start-UP Challenge 7.0” — A Premier Opportunity for Gaming Innovators appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Incentive Games Launches Real-Money Gaming Division, Incentive Studios
Incentive Games, a leading name in free-to-play game development, is proud to announce the launch of Incentive Studios, its new real-money gaming (RMG) division.
Built on years of success delivering high-performing free-to-play titles to global operators, and leveraging extensive user psychology and behaviour research, Incentive Studios marks a strategic expansion into the real-money gaming market.
Incentive Studios will focus on creating immersive real-money gaming content, kicking things off by putting a fresh spin on popular game variants like Crash, Tower, and Arcade. These aren’t simple upgrades; they’re complete rebuilds from the ground up, blending captivating gameplay with smart design principles to ensure lasting engagement.
John Gordon, Chief Executive Officer at Incentive Games said, “We’ve spent years refining the art of engagement in the free-to-play world. Now we’re bringing that same level of craft, creativity, and player psychology to our real-money games. Incentive Studios is where innovation meets performance.”
Clients can expect familiar game formats, reimagined with a sharp focus on maximizing re-engagement and long-term play. Every title is built with user-centric design at its core, crafted to engage the next generation of real-money gaming players. With an player-first approach, the games are designed to drive acquisition, retention, and revenue.
With a growing library of original RMG titles in the pipeline, Incentive Studios is set to make its mark on the global gaming landscape. The first wave of games will be available to partners in Q3 2025.
The post Incentive Games Launches Real-Money Gaming Division, Incentive Studios appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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