Is Microgaming Still the Market Leading Software House?
Posted by Harry Kane on Wednesday, October 25, 2023
The iGaming market is choc-full of software teams, from NetEnt and Playtech to the award-winning live developers at Evolution Gaming. However, it’s Microgaming that remain market leaders in this vertical, having blazed a trail for others to follow since the mid-90s and paid out more in progressive jackpots than any other software house.
There are certainly plenty of reasons to support Microgaming’s claim to being the best and most iconic development team in the world of online gambling, not least the brand’s longevity. Microgaming also remains one of the most prolific developers in the space, while it was also a founding member of the independent testing agency eCOGRA.
In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at the things that set Microgaming apart in the current iGaming marketplace, while also appraising some of its greatest competitors and rivals. So, let’s get into it!
How Microgaming Continues to Lead the Way
Microgaming remains one of the most experienced software houses in the entire online gambling industry, with more than 25 years’ experience. In fact, it blazed a trail for many of its closest competitors to follow, while it continues to innovate and has been the forefront of developing VR-inspired slots. Here are some of the key reasons behind the brand’s enduring success!
Microgaming is the Progressive Jackpot King
We’ve already touched on Microgaming’s historic payouts, with its range of games having distributed prizes of close to a billion over the years. The main contributors are Microgaming’s broad range of progressive jackpot slots, with more than 40 titles currently in this genre including the iconic and highly lucrative Mega Moolah.
What’s more, Microgaming launched the first ever progressive jackpot slot online in 1998, with this changing the game mechanics within the industry forever. This game was called Cash Splash, and it regularly delivered sizable payouts to players across the burgeoning network (although nowhere near as large as those triggered in today’s market).
Ever since then, Microgaming has been at the forefront of the progressive slot market, building the largest range of titles and the biggest paying games available (its flagship and aforementioned Mega Moolah slot is responsible for eight of the biggest jackpot payouts of all time). In total, Microgaming’s network of progressive slots has paid out well over £1 billion to players, while this sum continues to grow incrementally year-on-year.
Microgaming has the Largest Range of Games
Over time, Microgaming has also built a considerably vast and diverse games’ library, including the aforementioned selection of progressive jackpots and a collection of popular low-variance slots. In total, it’s home to more than 500 stellar casino games, including the Game of Thrones slot, Book of Oz and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Megaways.
Not only this, but Microgaming were the first developers to fuse the concepts of low-variance gameplay and themed narratives. Tomb Raider was perhaps the first slot of this type when it was launched in 2005, and Microgaming has built on this to construct a huge range of branded titles that dominate many of the best online casinos that you’ll find in the UK and Ireland.
More of the developer’s biggest hits include Terminator 2, Jurassic World, and Playboy, each of which borrow heavily from television, film and various elements of pop culture. This is a core theme that runs throughout Microgaming’s offering, with the brand focused on producing slots that combine thrilling themes and visuals and relatively simple gameplay.
Microgaming is an Award-Winning Brand
We’ve already touched on Microgaming’s role in creating VR-inspired games, with the brand earning the ‘Digital Gaming Innovation of the Year award at the Global Gaming Awards’ in 2015 for its work in this burgeoning field. This is one of many awards won by the company over time, however, as Microgaming continues to operate as a leader in the marketplace.
Certainly, the diversity of its games is clearly crucial to the success of Microgaming, as this caters to a broad range of tastes from casual players in search of low-variance gameplay to high-rollers who want to chase significant jackpot prizes. This has also inspired a slew of awards and helped to generate a much-deserved reputation for excellence, with Microgaming established as one of the most decorated software houses around.
To this end, the developer has continually scooped a number of important industry awards over the years. These include the A-Awards for Best Online Casino Software between 2007 and 2010, along with the coveted EGR B2B Award for mobile games in 2017. Other awards include the prize for the Largest Portfolio of Online Games (issued by BEGE) in 2016, along with the ‘Mobile Product of 2017’ gong at the International Gaming Awards.
These awards are all indicative of Microgaming’s excellence, while they also hint at the broad range of skills and expertise that exists within the company. The breadth of these awards also highlight how Microgaming has continued to thrive throughout the years and remained at the forefront of the market even as new competitors arrived on the scene.
Who are Microgaming’s Main Competitors?
OK, we hear you ask, but which brands compete most aggressively with Microgaming in the contemporary iGaming markets? There are certainly several development teams that has pushed themselves to the forefront of the market, while some have even become clear leaders in specific niches and verticals. These include:
Evolution Gaming
At first glance, Evolution Gaming may appear a little inferior to Microgaming, with a little over 40 games in its library. However, these are unique in that they’re authentically paced and highly specialised real-time casino games, which feature live and multilingual dealers to create an immersive, three-dimensional gambling experience.
Make no mistake; Evolution Gaming is the market leading developer of live dealer casino games, with its immersive, 3D camera angles and native speaking dealers helping to bring advanced innovations of blackjack, roulette and baccarat to life. The brand also incorporates multiple studios, which has enabled it to build the largest and most diverse selection of live games around.
Some of their most popular titles include Lightning Roulette, Live Blackjack and Live Casino Hold ‘em, while ‘Dream Catcher’ features a towering wheel of fortune that can unlock various outcomes and prizes at random. These games represent classic and modern twists on casino classics, alongside completely new and unique games that have elevated live casino gameplay onto a whole new level.
Interestingly, NetEnt emerged as a rival to the brand in recent years, before being procured by Evolution Gaming for £1.6 billion in 2020. Nowadays, the brand’s official moniker is ‘Evolution’, while it has since acquired the Big Time Gaming studio which designed and popularised the now iconic ‘Megaways’ game engine (which introduces unorthodox winning combinations and thousands of ways to win).
Last year also Evolution launch a raft of new products across various markets, including the often-under-utilised online bingo niche. The site’s innovative ‘MONOPOLY BigBaller’ game certainly adds a new dimension to the burgeoning live bingo niche, while it has helped to add yet another impressive string to Evolution’s offering.
Pragmatic Play
Pragmatic Play is another highly competitive and award-winning software house, and one that boasts more than 250 high quality games in its library. These games are largely dominated by slots, but the library is well-known for its diversity and also features table games, video poker iterations and the market leading online scratchcards.
Founded as recently as 2015 and nearly 20 years after Microgaming launched, Pragmatic Play has done incredibly well to carve itself a share of the iGaming marketplace. This is built largely on the developer’s ability to create customisable and immersive content that’s tailormade for regulated marketplaces, with Pragmatic Play active in more than 20 such jurisdictions all over the world.
Because of this, it also holds licensing from reputable organisations such as the UKGC, Malta Gaming Authority, HM Government of Gibraltar and many more. The development team’s games are also available in a huge range of languages and currencies, making them international in nature and capable of being personalised for different markets within a couple of days.
In terms of accolades, Pragmatic Play has been widely recognised as one of the best and most innovative software houses in the iGaming marketplace. Its best achievements include winning the ‘Innovation in Slot Provision at the EGR Awards’ at the coveted EGR awards and earning an ‘Innovation in Mobile’ gong at the SBC Awards.
2022 was a year of ambitious growth and expansion at Pragmatic Play too, with the brand taking huge and significant strides into the largely untapped Latin America market. More specifically, the brand partnered with selected casino operators in Venezuela, Brazil, and Peru, while simultaneously strengthening its presence in Europe. This saw Pragmatic Play enter into new arrangements with operators in Switzerland, Italy and Germany, as the brand looks to intensify its rivalry with Microgaming and similar brands.
Play ‘n GO
Since NetEnt was acquired and incorporated into Evolution, Play n’ Go and Pragmatic Play have emerged as the most likely Microgaming competitors (especially from the perspective of slot creation). Play ‘n GO is certainly one of the best iGaming providers in Europe and the UK, while it has more than 20 years’ experience and has been doing battle with Microgaming since the turn of the century.
In fact, Play ‘n GO first launched in 1997, just three years after Microgaming opened their virtual doors. Back then, however, Play ‘n GO was just a development company for other providers, and it wasn’t until 2004 that the brand became a fully functional software house in its own right. In the 19 years that has followed, the company have developed and launched hundreds of thrilling slots and table games, along with iterations of poker, video bingo and fixed odds titles.
Like Microgaming, Play ‘n GO has also focused on developing a range of themed slots that blur various pop culture lines. For example, the ‘KISS Reels of Rock’ slot is built on the rock band of the same name, while Hugo’s Adventure was developed using the famous TV show as inspiration. Then there’s the famous and iconic ‘Book of Dead’ slot, which has spawned numerous imitations (and sequels) and has a great deal in common with the thrilling Indiana Jones film franchise.
The site has grown exponentially thanks in part to its renowned games’ library, while it has also won multiple awards through the years. For example, it’s a two-time winner of the ‘Slot Provider of the Year’ gong at the SBC Awards, while it has won similar titles at the prestigious International Gaming Awards. It has won other awards too, while it shows no sign of slowing down (either from the perspective of its development efforts or ability to claim top prizes in the marketplace).
Of course, Play ‘n GO is also recognised as one of the fairest and most transparent software houses in the regulated market, with licensing from the UKGC and the Malta Gaming Authority. It’s also licensed to operate in jurisdictions such as Gibraltar, Italy, Denmark, Belgium and even the Netherlands, making it a direct rival to Microgaming on the continent of Europe.
Last year also saw Play n’ GO target the burgeoning US marketplace, as it sought out newly regulated and licensed iGaming niches in Michigan, West Virginia and Connecticut. This has helped the brand to increase its reach and revenue generating potential considerably, while creating new outlets for its 280-plus games’ library.
The Book of Dead is certainly proving to be a hit stateside, while slots like Wild Falls 2 and Reactoonz are also making a mark in Play ‘n GO’s targeted jurisdictions. Arguably, Play ‘n GO is becoming the market leading developer in states such as Michigan, so this will be an interesting space to watch in the near-term.