AI
OpenSlots to power new dawn of content creation with AI development platform
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OpenSlots, a new AI creative platform for game development, has made its market debut, designed to empower operators, studios, and developers to build bespoke, high-quality titles faster and more efficiently than ever before.
The first iteration of OpenSlots has been launched for internal use by the team of experienced executives behind content aggregator and slot studio ESA Gaming, with it leveraging artificial intelligence to remove barriers to creativity and game delivery.
Expected for commercial release in mid-2026 the platform will enable non-technical professionals to design, test, and publish fully compliant slot games with intuitive, modular tools, without compromising on graphic quality or gameplay innovation.
Its simple interface will allow for aspiring game creators to input key specifications, such as theme, game type, mechanics, reel matrix, RTP and much more, before generating a game design document, concept art and publishing a game in a game editor for on-the-fly changes.
Customers are then able to gain access to ESA Gaming’s distribution network of more than 160 operators across regulated markets, to ensure rapid deployment to the end user.
With a leadership team bringing a wealth of experience in the sector and a product roadmap set to include more than 20 game types, multilingual support, and 100+ currencies, OpenSlots is poised for rapid global growth.
Thomas Smallwood, CCO at OpenSlots said: “We see OpenSlots as a game changer in the game development space. Our mission is straightforward in that we want to unlock creativity for non-technical professionals and empower operators and studios to create their own content quickly and easily.
“Our platform makes slot creation faster, more efficient, and conducted in an environment where success can be replicated at will. With the addition of the distribution network via ESA Gaming’s Game Aggregation System (GAS), we’re confident that OpenSlots can signal the next phase of game production.”
The post OpenSlots to power new dawn of content creation with AI development platform appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
XGENIA, the creator-first AI platform revolutionising game development, and Primero Games, a leader in retail and online gaming solutions, today announced a landmark collaboration that brings to life Primero’s first AI-generated slot game: Blackbeard Bounty. Developed entirely using the XGENIA platform, the game will debut — fully playable — at ICE Barcelona 2026, showcased at Stand 2Y22, where XGENIA is co-exhibiting alongside Storm Games, a UK-based studio acquired by Primero in 2022.
This partnership marks a significant milestone in Primero Games’ strategy to expand aggressively into the digital iGaming market by leveraging cutting-edge tools that reduce development cycles and maximize creative output.
“With XGENIA, we didn’t just speed up development — we completely reimagined the process,” said Barry Rutherford, CEO of Primero Games. “Our new AI-built slot is more than a game — it’s a statement about how we’re blending tradition with technology to lead the next wave of interactive content. ICE Barcelona is the perfect stage to launch it.”
XGENIA’s AI-native platform allows studios like Storm Games and operators like Primero to build production-ready slot games using drag-and-drop workflows, AI-generated logic, and instant deployment tools — all without traditional coding.
“We built XGENIA for creators who move fast,” said Mark Flores Martin, CEO of XGENIA. “Primero Games immediately understood the vision. Their team saw that with AI-first tools, they could go from concept to playable slot in days — not months. That kind of alignment is exactly why this partnership works.”
Building on the 2022 acquisition of Storm Games — a move that brought UK development expertise and creative IP into Primero’s portfolio — this collaboration uses XGENIA’s latest features to bring Blackbeard Bounty to life, complete with AI-driven animation, compliance-ready maths, and backend logic.
Experience it Firsthand at ICE Barcelona
Visit Stand 2Y22 to play Blackbeard Bounty live and explore the XGENIA platform behind it.
Event: ICE Barcelona
Date: January 19-21, 2026
Location: Hall 2, Stand 2Y22
The post Primero Games Uses XGENIA for Their First AI-Generated Slot Game appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
AI
InsightPlay.ai Raises $500K Seed Round Backed by Leading Industry Veterans to Accelerate AI Transformation in iGaming
InsightPlay.ai, the enterprise AI transformation partner for the global iGaming industry, has announced the successful raise of a $500K Seed funding round, backed by an exceptional group of industry veterans and strategic angel investors with deep expertise across gaming, payments, data, marketing and SaaS.
The funding will support InsightPlay.ai’s mission to transform how iGaming operators acquire, retain and reactivate players through enterprise-grade conversational AI Agents, compliance-first architecture and real-time business intelligence. The company is already delivering measurable impact at scale across multiple regulated markets.
InsightPlay.ai currently works with leading operators and affiliates across Latin America, Europe and North America, achieving industry-leading results in player reactivation, engagement and operational efficiency, all while meeting the highest standards for data governance and strict compliance standards.
Javier Troncoso, CEO of InsightPlay.ai said, “The backing we’ve received reflects a shared belief that AI in iGaming must move beyond isolated features and into core infrastructures.
“Our focus is building technology that operators can trust, scale and govern across regulated markets.”
Cristian Barbosa, COO of InsightPlay.ai, added: “From day one, we set out to build a company driven by customer outcomes, not technology for technology’s sake. By combining innovation, product vision and deep gaming expertise, we’re positioned to create lasting, industry-wide impact.”
The Seed round brings together an exceptional group of angel investors, including Jeffrey Haas (ex-Evoke, DraftKings, PokerStars), Marc Pedersen (Former CEO, Better Collective North America) and Benjie Cherniak (ex-Scientific Games, Don Best Sports), alongside additional industry-backed angels.
InsightPlay.ai will showcase live AI activations at ICE Barcelona 2026, demonstrating real-world use cases of conversational AI in sports betting.
“ICE is where innovation becomes reality,” said Javier. “We’re excited to show what enterprise AI truly looks like in iGaming.”
The post InsightPlay.ai Raises $500K Seed Round Backed by Leading Industry Veterans to Accelerate AI Transformation in iGaming appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Adam Smart Director of Product Gaming at AppsFlyer
AppsFlyer State of Gaming Report: AI Is Flooding Mobile Gaming Marketing Channels and Raising the Cost of Standing Out
State of Gaming for Marketers 2026 reveals how AI-driven scale, global UA spend, and China-based publishers are reshaping mobile gaming competition
AppsFlyer, the Modern Marketing Cloud, today released the State of Gaming for Marketers 2026, an in-depth analysis of how AI, creative scale, and rising paid pressure reshaped mobile gaming marketing in 2025. Drawing on AppsFlyer data, the report examines how studios adapted as marketing activity expanded faster than player attention.
In 2025, AI-enabled production coincided with a sharp increase in advertising across iOS and Android. Creative output scaled rapidly across all spending tiers, with top gaming advertisers producing between 2,400 and 2,600 creative variations per quarter, up 25–30% YoY. That expansion increased pressure on paid acquisition channels. Paid install share rose 10% YoY across iOS and Android, while ad impressions increased 20%, indicating a significant rise in the number of ads competing for the same pool of players. To manage rising marketing volume and fragmentation, AI-enabled tools became a common part of daily workflows with 46% of AI assistant queries focused on reporting and performance breakdowns, reflecting the need for faster visibility as data volumes grew.
“AI has dramatically increased the speed and volume at which games and marketing assets reach the market,” says Adam Smart, Director of Product, Gaming at AppsFlyer. “The result is not a shortage of creativity, but a surplus of it. As paid activity and creative supply expand faster than player attention, marketing success depends on how effectively teams can measure, interpret, and act on an increasing volume of fragmented signals.”
Additional key insights from the State of Gaming for Marketers 2026
- Global gaming app UA spend reached $25B in 2025. Midcore UA spend increased 28% YoY on iOS, while Android spend remained largely flat.
● China-headquartered publishers increased their share of global gaming UA spend. Their share grew by 26% YoY in the UK, and 22% globally, with gains strongest on Android.
● iOS paid installs reached record highs. Share in the UK rose across Casino (+13%), Hypercasual (+10%), and Midcore (+30%).
● iOS advertisers expanded media mix to find incremental scale. iOS gaming advertisers increased the number of media sources they used by up to 15% YoY, reflecting growing fragmentation and the need to diversify beyond core channels.
● AI is still used primarily to manage marketing scale, not strategy. With 46% of AI assistant queries focused on reporting and performance breakdowns, teams are using AI to keep pace with rising data volumes rather than replace decision-making, but some genres are already employing more complex tasks and asks.
Methodology
AppsFlyer’s State of Gaming for Marketers 2026 is based on anonymized, aggregated data from 9.6 thousand gaming apps worldwide, analyzing 24.8 billion total installs, including 14.1 billion paid installs, alongside ad spend, creative production, monetization, AI-assisted workflows, and media source usage across iOS and Android during 2025.
The full report is available at: appsflyer.com/resources/reports/gaming-marketers/
The post AppsFlyer State of Gaming Report: AI Is Flooding Mobile Gaming Marketing Channels and Raising the Cost of Standing Out appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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