Aviator
A brief history of crash games
Katya Machuganova, Gaming Product and Partnerships Manager at Silverback Gaming, on where the crash format originates and how studios have continued to up the ante with the games that are hitting the market today
The rise of crash games has been so meteoric that we haven’t taken the time to look back at where the format originally came from.
It’s easy to see how the industry has become distracted by crash games and their ability to tap into lucrative but hard-to-reach audiences like Millennials and Gen Z.
But to determine the direction we now take with the format it’s important to understand where it originated and why it was able to generate such tremendous momentum in a short space of time.
The genesis of crash games:
MoneyPot was the first ever crash game and it was produced back in 2014 by Eric Springer, a Canadian developer and Bitcoin enthusiast.
Springer introduced the game on the Bitcoin Talk forum and drew inspiration for the format from the crazy volatility of the cryptocurrency markets where assets can skyrocket and then crash in value.
In 2015, Springer sold MoneyPot to Ryan Havar who rebranded the game to Bustabit and moved it to a new site where it can still be played today.
Havar kept much of the core gameplay the same, including a last-longer bonus. This saw 1% collected for every player’s wager that went into a bonus prize which went to the last player to cash out successfully.
In 2018, Havar decided to sell Bustabit to another crypto developer, Daniel Evans, who made a few tweaks to the game including removing the bonus system.
Evans still operates Bustabit to this day and even allows third-party investors to bankroll the game in return for a share of its profits.
The next generation of crash games arrive:
With crash a popular but niche game format for crypto enthusiasts, it took developer SPRIBE to catapult it into the mainstream with the launch of Aviator in 2019.
Aviator was the first crash game developed for online casino players and was the catalyst for the surge in popularity the format has attracted since.
Given the success of Aviator and the rising demand for non-traditional content, studios have continued to move the needle and come up with their own crash games.
Some use the same aeroplane theme as Aviator, while others are based around sports, Wild West shootouts, hot air balloons and many other themes.
These games mostly take the increasing curve format with a multiplier that continues to rise – players must then decide when to cash out.
If they go too early, the win will be small, but wait too long the curve crashes, taking their accrued winnings and original stake with it.
What makes crash games so popular:
Players are drawn to the intuitive and simple format of crash games – even those new to the format can pick it up in a couple of game rounds.
Players like that these games are usually multiplayer and with social features such as a chat and leaderboards where they can compete with others for the highest multiplier score.
Crash games work incredibly well on mobile – which has seen them really hit the mark with players in emerging markets – and this has driven their appeal among younger audiences, too.
In fact, the high risk/high reward nature of the gameplay – which has its roots in those volatile crypto markets – really appeals to those players.
The rise and fall of crash IP
Given the huge success of crash games, and in particular SPRIBE’s Aviator, it should come as no surprise that the format has had its fair share of controversy.
Most notable is the legal case SPRIBE has found itself embroiled in – another company has argued that SPRIBE has breached the IP it holds for the Aviator logo and brand assets.
The case is ongoing and shows the growing attention that is being paid to intellectual property rights within the crash game genre, a genre whose value is only set to rise.
Crash is a huge opportunity for studios:
Crash presents a huge opportunity for studios and is one that Silverback Gaming is looking to explore with our first crash title set to hit the market shortly.
It will be offered in the simulated gaming format initially before being rolled out as a real money game later in the year.
Just as with slots, studios are not looking to differentiate within the crash vertical and the way we have approached this is to give players more control over the gameplay.
With our crash game, they can toggle the level of risk/reward they wish to play to – this degree of personalisation is simply not being offered by the current games in the market.
We are really excited about our first crash game and the scope within the format for us, and other studios, to continue to innovate and push boundaries, just as Eric Springer did back in 2014.
The post A brief history of crash games appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Aviator
SPRIBE and Charles Oliveira Forge an Octagon Partnership
UFC lightweight icon joins the Aviator brand as its newest ambassador, with various campaigns scheduled over the next year.
SPRIBE revealed that UFC lightweight athlete Charles Oliveira is now an Aviator brand ambassador and will endorse the leading crash game to his followers through various campaigns over the upcoming year.
This encompasses a series of dynamic marketing events and initiatives designed to enhance awareness of Aviator, which currently boasts over 77 million unique active players each month, in Oliveira’s native Brazil and other locations.
Oliveira ranks among the most accomplished UFC athletes in history. “Do Bronx” presently maintains the record for the highest number of finishes in UFC history (21) and the most submission victories (17). With a career tally of 36 victories and an astonishing 21 post-fight bonuses, he is a recognized fan favorite and a legend of the Octagon.
Renowned for his relentless spirit, aerial flair, and rapid conclusions, he’s the ideal choice to represent the Aviator brand, which is also celebrated for challenging players’ risk-taking appetite, its high-speed gameplay, and potential for knock-out victories.
The collaboration is a component of SPRIBE’s extensive, multi-million-dollar marketing agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, allowing the Aviator logo to be showcased within the intimidating Octagon during UFC Fight Night and Pay Per View events.
The agreement also features a brand ambassador fund, enabling SPRIBE to collaborate with UFC athletes like Oliveira and execute targeted marketing campaigns.
Additional ambassadors for the Aviator brand are Michael Bisping, Valter Walker, Alexander Pantoja, Michael Page, Arman Tsarukyan, Diego Lopes, Alex Pereira, Merab Dvalishvili, and others.
Giorgi Tsutskiridze, CCO at SPRIBE, said: “Charles Oliveira is a true icon of the sport – his journey from the favelas to the pinnacle of the UFC mirrors the high-energy, high-stakes excitement that Aviator provides to millions of players.
“We are delighted to welcome ‘Do Bronx’ to our ambassador team. His relentless style and massive global following make him the perfect partner as we continue to scale Aviator’s reach throughout 2026.”
Charles Oliveira, UFC fighter and Aviator brand ambassador, added: “The passion of UFC fans is unmatched, and I see that same energy in the Aviator community.
“It is an honor to be an ambassador for the world’s number one crash game. I look forward to bringing some special ‘Do Bronx’ surprises to the fans over the next year as we take this partnership to new heights.”
The post SPRIBE and Charles Oliveira Forge an Octagon Partnership appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Aviator
Under the hood: The engine powering a global phenomenon
Shalva Bukia, CPO at SPRIBE, the studio behind Aviator, takes us through the technology supporting more than 77 million players month taking flight in the world’s number one crash game
In 2026, a 150 millisecond lag isn’t just a technical glitch, it’s a lost player. Unlike traditional slots, where players spin in isolation, crash games like Aviator have a shared heartbeat. Miss a beat, and the player experience is as good as dead.
But there’s a problem here. Traditional casino backends are built for asynchronous play, not thousands of players simultaneously. Across all our operator partners, we see upwards of 400,000 bets per minute placed via Aviator.
Handling this unprecedented volume required a total rethink of server architecture which has seen us go from a cloud-first model to a unique hybrid-edge set-up that allows us to power the world’s number one crash game without a glitch, ever.
Architectural resilience:
In Aviator, if the plane crashes at 2.50x and the player’s “cash out” signal takes 300ms to reach the server, they might lose their bet while others win. For a game with 77 million MAUs, technical resilience is the difference between a global hit and a customer support nightmare.
To provide this resilience, we famously moved our entire infrastructure to AWS in a high-speed, four hour transition. This wasn’t just about moving servers, it was about shifting to an auto-scaling architecture.
The system is now engineered to process more than 400,000 bets per minute, with capacity to easily take on more.
During massive sporting events (like the World Cup), when players flood sportsbook apps at halftime, AWS automatically spins up hundreds of additional “compute instances” to handle the surge, then “destroys” them when traffic drops to save on operator costs.
This elastic scaling is why Aviator remains the most reliable ‘fill-in’ content during peak sports congestion, such as the 15-minute halftime window of a Premier League match.
You can’t be physics but you can get on the right side of it:
Data can’t travel faster than the speed of light. So this means that if an Aviator player in São Paulo has to send their “cash out” click to a server in London, that data must travel roughly 6,000 miles. That round trip can take 200ms, well above the “human perception” threshold.
This is why we use AWS Local Zones and Edge Locations in key growth markets like Brazil, India and South Africa. By placing the “game logic” servers physically closer to the player, we reduce the “ping” (latency) from 200ms+ down to sub-50ms.
This ensures that when the plane “flies away”, every player in that region sees it happen at the exact same millisecond, maintaining the integrity of the multiplayer experience.
Staying below the human perception threshold:
In iGaming, we define the human perception threshold at approximately 100ms as this is seen to be instantaneous and ensures players feel as though they are in control.
At 150-300ms, players notice a delay between clicking/tapping and the game responding, usually leading to “rage quitting” and, more importantly, a loss of trust in the game and the operator offering it.
Our set-up means zero server-side lag. When a player loses, they know it’s because they waited too long, not because the game was “slow”. This technical stability directly protects the operator’s brand reputation.
Lightweight by design for emerging markets:
In emerging markets, there’s a bandwidth barrier where high-fidelity 3D graphics are a liability. This is certainly the case in high-growth markets like Sub-Saharan Africa or rural India. This is why Aviator is super lightweight.
This means it consumes very little bandwidth, allowing it to perform seamlessly on the low-end Android devices and 3G networks that are prevalent in many of the markets mentioned above. This battery and data optimisation have been key to its success in these regions.
The glass box – why provable fair is a trust engine:
Traditional Random Number Generators are “black boxes” where players have to trust the operator’s word. In the crash game era, trust is a technical requirement, not a brand promise.
Aviator uses a cryptographic “combined seed” mechanic. The round result isn’t generated on the SPRIBE server alone, it’s a combination of the server seed and the seeds of the first three players to place a bet in that round.
Because the result is determined by player input, it is mathematically impossible for the house to manipulate the flight path mid-air.
For operators, this radically reduces “rigged game” complaints and customer support overhead. It turns every player into a potential auditor, building a level of transparency that traditional slots simply can’t match.
A ring of steel – security and compliance:
For operators, we also put a ring of steel around Aviator with anti-fraud and bot detection monitoring activity in real time to protect margins. We are also certified in 20+ jurisdictions and counting, with the technical heavy lifting of compliance already done for the operator.
Our uptime is legendary, sitting at 99.9% even during major sporting events when second screening peaks and we see insane volume on Aviator.
Scaling to 77 million MAUs isn’t just about big servers, it’s about smart architecture, transparency and accessible design.
And for operators looking to add a crash game to their lobbies, coming to SPRIBE means adding a battle-tested technical partner capable of confidently handling the next 100 million players and beyond.
The post Under the hood: The engine powering a global phenomenon appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Aviator
SPRIBE Announces Knockout Partnership with Michael Bisping
The studio responsible for the world’s top crash game, Aviator, establishes a brand ambassador partnership with a UFC Hall of Famer.
SPRIBE, the creators of the top crash game globally, Aviator, have engaged UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping as their newest brand ambassador.
Through the one-year agreement, Bisping, a past champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Middleweight Division, will advertise Aviator to his global audience.
This entails a range of campaigns and promotional tactics designed to increase awareness of Aviator, which currently boasts over 72 million unique active players monthly.
Bisping is a trailblazer in mixed martial arts, making history as the first British athlete to capture a UFC Championship.
After retiring from the Octagon, he has effectively moved into a prominent media figure, acting as a main commentator for the UFC and a well-known actor and podcaster.
His reputation for charm, determination, and an energetic “never-give-up” mindset makes him an ideal match for Aviator, a game rooted in the same principles of quick timing and high-stakes thrills.
The ambassador agreement is part of a broader, multi-year, multi-million-dollar promotional collaboration between SPRIBE and the UFC.
Aviator branding will be featured within the iconic Octagon during Fight Night and PPV events, alongside establishing a brand ambassador fund for collaborations like the one with Bisping.
Additional ambassadors for the Aviator brand are Valter Walker, Alexander Pantoja, Michael Page, Arman Tsarukyan, Diego Lopes, Alex Pereira, and Merab Dvalishvili.
These agreements have propelled Aviator into the stratosphere. The game is currently active at over 6,000 online casinos and sportsbooks globally and receives over 400,000 wagers every minute.
Giorgi Tsutskiridze, CCO at SPRIBE, said: “Michael Bisping is one of the most legendary UFC fighters and a true icon of the sport with a large and loyal international fan base.
“We are hyped to be working with Michael to promote Aviator to his fans, and for them to take flight in an experience that’s almost as thrilling as stepping into the Octagon and going toe to toe with another fighter.
“We’ve got some knock-out campaigns lined up with Michael and our growing roster of Aviator brand ambassadors, so watch this space as we continue to take the game to new heights.”
Michael Bisping, UFC Hall of Fame Fighter and Aviator brand ambassador, added: “I’ve always been about taking on the next big challenge, and Aviator is exactly that.
“It’s fast-paced, high-intensity and requires the kind of nerves of steel I used to rely on every time the Octagon door closed.
“SPRIBE is a brand that thinks big and moves fast, which is why this partnership is such a great fit. I’m looking forward to introducing my fans to the game and showing them why Aviator is currently the number one crash game in the world. It’s going to be a wild ride.”
The post SPRIBE Announces Knockout Partnership with Michael Bisping appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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