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Opera buys owner of GameMaker and starts a Gaming division

Published

5 years ago

January 22, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Opera, the browser developer and consumer internet brand, announced its acquisition of YoYo Games, creator of the world’s leading 2D game engine, GameMaker Studio 2, for approximately $10 million. The tuck-in acquisition represents the second building block in the foundation of Opera Gaming, a new division within Opera with global ambitions and follows the creation and rapid growth of Opera’s innovative Opera GX browser, the world’s first browser built specifically for gamers.

Krystian Kolondra, EVP Browsers at Opera, said: “With Opera GX, Opera had adapted its proven, innovative browser tech platform to dramatically expand its footprint in gaming. We’re at the brink of a shift, when more and more people start not only playing, but also creating and publishing games. GameMaker Studio2 is best-in-class game development software, and lowers the barrier to entry for anyone to start making their games and offer them across a wide range of web-supported platforms, from PCs, to, mobile iOS/Android devices, to consoles.

Annette De Freitas, Head of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, Opera Gaming, added: “Gaming is a growth area for Opera and the acquisition of YoYo Games reflects significant, sustained momentum across both of our businesses over the past year. Our new Opera GX browser hit 7 million MAUs in December, 2020, up 350% year over year, while YoYo Games’ GameMaker engine achieved 400K new registered creators in 2020. We’re tremendously excited by the opportunities the combination creates not only for our combined users, but also for the expansion of Opera’s gaming community.”

Stuart Poole, GM at YoYo Games who will remain with the business alongside technical lead Russell Kay stated, “For over twenty years, the vision behind the GameMaker engine was to not just create more games, but expand development within and beyond the game studio. We think the transaction with Opera – whose products are known, trusted and used worldwide by millions of people every month- represents a massive opportunity to accelerate fulfilment of that founding vision, during a period of exceptional growth for both companies.”

“We are very excited to start working with the team at YoYo Games,” said Krystian Kolondra, EVP Browsers at Opera. “We see the Game Maker Studio platform as being an ideal acquisition to complement our global ambitions in gaming, and to help drive awareness and traffic to our Opera GX gaming browser.”

Opera GX, YoYo Games and GameMaker will unite under Opera Gaming, focusing on innovating across the gaming, game development, and browser experience. “We look forward to further growing Opera GX and driving the growth of GameMaker as part of a broader ecosystem, making it more accessible to novice users and developing it into the world’s leading 2D game engine used by commercial studios,” continued Krystian Kolondra. “Opera Gaming will be focusing on accelerating the growth of this emerging ecosystem, combining the 7+ million highly engaged gamers using Opera GX with millions of GameMaker creators. We are also thrilled to continue realizing synergies between YoYo Games’ products and Opera GX.”

GameMakerStudio is an integrated game development software, performance-tuned 2/2.5D engine that fuels many games, including multi-million hits like Risk of Rain, Undertale, or Hyper Light Drifter on an extensive range of mainstream platforms. Starting to build games with Game Maker Studio requires little to zero coding skills. Due to its extensive functionalities and ease of use Game Maker Studio lowers the barriers to entry and empowers a variety of creative people to make their games come alive and share them with the world.

Kolondra explained further: “Performance is essential to even 2D gaming, and sustaining that performance across mobile devices and laptops as well as variable bandwidth and connectivity requires thinking outside of traditional application silos. The line between building good games and good browsers has been eroding for years – with gaming interactivity across internet connections ramping up and browsers growing more multi-function and sophisticated. Traditionally the two types of technology compete for hardware and bandwidth resources. But as Opera GX proved, there was a better way to address that competition and improve the experience across both functionalities. YoYo Games’ team, development expertise and studio relationships lay the groundwork for turning the Opera GX vertical into a new kind of horizontal. This horizontal opportunity is why we’re building Opera Gaming and its infrastructure – so that we can further integrate gaming and browsing in ways beneficial to both in terms of not only monetization, but also experience.”

EGT

EGT opens Netherlands office in Den Bosch

Published

1 hour ago

May 20, 2026

Wladimir P.

egt-opens-netherlands-office-in-den-bosch

EGT has officially opened a new office in the Netherlands in ’s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch). The launch was marked with an event on May 13 attended by representatives of local operators, partner companies and industry professionals, the company said.

Guests toured the office showroom and were introduced to EGT’s latest land-based and iGaming solutions offered on the Dutch market.

Yuliana Ilieva, Director of EGT Netherlands, said: “I would like to thank everyone who is here with us tonight to celebrate this milestone for EGT Netherlands. The opening of the office in Den Bosch – the capital of North Brabant province and a strategic location in the country – is an important step for EGT and clearly states the company’s long-term commitment to this market, where we already have a strong footprint in both the land-based and online segments. Our new local presence will allow us to be closer to our current and future clients and to develop our partnerships here even more effectively. Despite the challenges of the highly regulated Dutch gaming environment, we are confident that our personal approach to each customer, combined with our products, developed specifically for the Netherlands, will contribute to the growth and success of both our and operators’ business.”

Nadia Popova, Chief Revenue Officer and VP Sales & Marketing at EGT, added: “We see enormous potential in the Dutch market and are ready to invest in our sustainable development here. I believe that our new office, with its strategic location and talented and dedicated team, will play a key role in achieving our main goals of expanding and solidifying EGT’s positions as a preferred gaming provider in the country.”

The post EGT opens Netherlands office in Den Bosch appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

content partnership

QTech Games adds PLAYSTAR content in new aggregation deal

Published

1 hour ago

May 20, 2026

Wladimir P.

qtech-games-adds-playstar-content-in-new-aggregation-deal

QTech Games has signed a provider partnership with PLAYSTAR (PS) to add the supplier’s slots and card games to QTech’s aggregation platform.

Under the deal, QTech’s operator clients can access PLAYSTAR titles including Deng Deng, Super Gems, Lucky Ace 2, and Mahjong Origin, alongside card games such as Tui Dummy and Hi-Low.

The companies positioned the agreement as part of PLAYSTAR’s expansion beyond Asia, with QTech highlighting distribution into emerging markets including Africa and Latin America.

Angel, BD at PLAYSTAR, said: “QTech is a natural habitat for our superior content which awaits players every time they enter through an online casino’s digital doors. After initial success in our home territories over our first decade of operations, PLAYSTAR is now broadening our reach across emerging markets via QTech’s flexible gateway to high-potential regions.”

Philip Doftvik, CEO at QTech Games, said: “It’s a feather in our cap to have integrated more premium content from PLAYSTAR. They’re a proven performer who prioritise the immersive experience that users enjoy at the heart of every game. Recent industry recognition as a rising-star supplier underscores their ascendant curve, and we’re delighted to have added PS to QTech’s stable of stars.

“We now look forward to showcasing these games across new markets which, in most cases, break new ground for PS.”

The post QTech Games adds PLAYSTAR content in new aggregation deal appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Altenar

Altenar rolls out World Cup Lobby event hub for sportsbook operators

Published

2 hours ago

May 20, 2026

Wladimir P.

altenar-rolls-out-world-cup-lobby-event-hub-for-sportsbook-operators

Altenar has launched a dedicated World Cup Lobby designed to help sportsbook operators package World Cup content in a single event hub during this summer’s tournament.

The company said the lobby is built for high-traffic periods, with a curated destination where operators can surface relevant markets, statistics, promotions and betting opportunities in one place. Altenar pointed to a “record 104 matches” across 16 cities as the context for simplifying tournament discovery and navigation.

The World Cup Lobby combines Altenar’s sportsbook with widgets and navigation built for major tournaments. Altenar said interactive team and player carousels surface BetCards, markets and promotions via swipeable feeds, with team and player pages providing access to statistics and related betting opportunities.

Other features include integrated standings, knockout trees and outright markets, aiming to keep users moving between matches, teams, players and selections without switching across multiple pages. Altenar said operators can localise the lobby by prioritising teams, competitions and markets for regional audiences, and use player behaviour to surface personalised recommendations.

Nikos Zygouris, Head of Sportsbook Product at Altenar, said: “Major tournaments such as this year’s World Cup create huge engagement and our goal with the new lobby is to build an environment where players can explore everything around the competition in one place.

“The World Cup Lobby brings together markets, statistics, teams and personalised recommendations into a single experience, helping operators to deliver a more intuitive and engaging sportsbook during the biggest moments in the sporting calendar.”

The post Altenar rolls out World Cup Lobby event hub for sportsbook operators appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.