ScatterKings Interview: Bringing a Fresh Perspective to an Established Industry

We love when new software providers make their mark on the iGaming industry by honouring what has come before, while simultaneously providing a fresh perspective on tried-and-trusted themes, settings, and gameplay mechanics.

ScatterKings is one such company that we have had our eye on since their market debut in late 2025. Join us as we chat with Steve Cross, the co-founder of ScatterKings, to learn more about his impressive team.

Q: ScatterKings’ founding team brought decades of industry experience into the business when forming, but which lessons from those earlier careers have most influenced the type of studio you wanted to build?

A: The biggest lesson we took into ScatterKings is that a studio only works when three things are genuinely balanced: product creativity, technical reliability and commercial relevance. A casino game can be inventive and beautifully made, but if the technology behind it cannot reliably handle thousands of rounds per second across multiple continents, or it does not give an operator a reason to promote it, it will not last. We set the studio up so that none of those three is allowed to dominate the others.

That balance starts with the founding team itself. Our founding team is deliberately complementary – product, commercial and technology – and between us we bring more than 40 years of combined industry experience. Because the people who set the direction have lived each of those disciplines, the decisions we make day-to-day tend to weigh all three, rather than one area winning by default.

On the product side, the lesson we value most is to respect what players already love. We build innovative twists on proven, player-loved mechanics rather than chasing novelty for its own sake. Players recognise the rhythm of a game they enjoy, and if we give that rhythm a fresh identity - new maths, a new feature treatment, a new world - we get the best of both: the comfort of the familiar and the excitement of something new.

Q: The studio combines hand-drawn artwork with cloud-native, AI-enhanced technology; where does that technology add the most value during development, and which elements must remain unmistakably human?

A: Technology is the engine of the studio, but people remain firmly in charge of the direction. We run a highly data-driven operation, with real-time insight into how players respond to what we release. That evidence feeds directly back into product decisions - including something as significant as whether we continue developing a particular game world. It is the combination of live data and experienced human judgement that matters.

AI is a multiplier of human potential rather than a replacement for it. It helps our engineers and specialists move faster across development, testing, QA, analysis and repetitive operational processes, allowing us to stay deliberately lean without compromising quality. But the decisions that define a ScatterKings game - the concept, characters, artwork, maths, bonus features and the worlds we choose to build - remain human-led.

Underneath that sits our own globally distributed remote gaming server, running across on-premises data centres and cloud infrastructure. That gives us the resilience and reach to serve thousands of rounds per second across multiple continents, while allowing operators to integrate and scale our content reliably.

Q: When ScatterKings begins developing a new title, what usually leads the creative process – the mathematics and mechanics, the theme or a character – and how do those elements eventually come together?

A: For us, the math leads the way. A new title starts with the mathematics, the mechanics and the player experience we want to create: the rhythm of the game, its volatility settings, how anticipation builds, the shape of the reward pattern and the journey from spin to spin. That foundation is what ultimately makes or breaks a game’s longevity.

Only once that experience is defined do we look for the game world that best expresses it. The art, theme and sound are then built around the experience rather than leading it. Because the creative treatment is designed to complement the maths – not the other way around - the finished game feels coherent, with every visual and audio cue reinforcing what is happening within the game.

Q: As one of your most prominent releases, Coins Forged in Fire 2 Extreme revisits one of the studio’s signature concepts; what did you most want to push further from the original, and which element best earns the sequel its “Extreme” billing?

A: Coins Forged in Fire 2 Extreme was about taking the core elements players already loved and pushing them much harder. The persistent Collector and four static jackpots are what define the game, and the biggest evolution is the ×2 Collector. When active, it collects values twice and doubles any jackpots it gathers, dramatically increasing the potential of every Hold & Spin.

We also expanded the bonus grid to 3×4, creating more room for coins and Collector symbols to land, while retaining the four fixed jackpots that sit at the heart of the series, with wins of up to 20,650× available.

For me, the “Extreme” billing comes from the gameplay itself - the persistent Collector, the ×2 enhancement, the bigger grid and the increased win potential - rather than simply making the presentation feel more extreme.

Q: From Big Bob’s Gold to 3 Yin-Yang Fortunes, ScatterKings works across very different themes; how do you ensure each setting influences the way a game plays rather than simply acting as a visual wrapper?

A: Every theme we choose needs to influence how the game feels to play, not just how it looks. Big Bob’s Gold is a good example. The fishing world is built around two distinct bonus experiences - expanding-symbol free games and a Hold & Spin - giving the theme its own rhythm and sense of progression.

3 Yin-Yang Fortunes takes a similar approach. Its three coloured pots each unlock a different Hold & Spin enhancement - extra respins, multipliers or additional coins - so the theme directly changes the way the feature develops rather than simply decorating it.

Across the portfolio, the principle is consistent: the underlying mechanics should remain intuitive and familiar, while the way those mechanics are treated creates the identity of the game world. That gives players something they understand immediately, but still makes each title feel distinct.

Q: With ScatterKings content reaching players across Europe, Asia and Africa, what have different markets taught you about balancing universally accessible gameplay for different audiences worldwide?

The biggest lesson is that there is no single global player, and accessibility is about much more than language. In markets such as Africa and South America, bandwidth and data costs can have a real impact on the player experience, so small payloads, fast loading, efficient asset delivery and reliable performance matter. That practical reality influences the animation, visual complexity and delivery choices we make for those markets.

At the same time, some themes travel exceptionally well globally, while others are much more market-specific. Our approach is to balance global game worlds with highly localised content, working closely with customers on more bespoke titles where the data supports it.

We also adapt to different certification, return-to-player (RTP) rates, format, promotional and lobby requirements from market to market. We see that as part of building for a specific audience rather than as a constraint.

Q: As the Coins Forged series expands through titles such as Thunder and Ghosts while Book Bonanza Gold explores a different direction, how do you decide when an idea should become a returning game family and when it deserves a new identity?

Generally, the maths and mechanics model is designed from the outset with a potential series or game world in mind - including what stays familiar from title to title and where future variations can develop. Execution and polish then decide whether each entry earns its place in the series.

Coins Forged is a good example. It is built on a collector foundation, and each setting – Fire, Thunder and, coming soon, Ghosts - brings its own feature evolutions on top of that shared base.

A planned series is never automatic, though. Our real-time product insights and actual player response influence whether a world continues, is adjusted or is stopped. And when the player experience, the maths or the in-game mechanics point to a different creative promise, that is the moment for a new identity rather than another entry in an existing world.

Q: Finally, what can you tell us about any upcoming new releases? 

We are really doubling down on what has worked for us this year, building out the game worlds around the maths models and mechanics that players have responded to so strongly.

Players remember great video slots, and when they have had a strong experience with a title, there is naturally excitement around what comes next. That lets us build on a successful foundation, evolve it, and move the world forward rather than starting from scratch every time.

You can see that in the roadmap through the end of the year, with Fire 3, Ghosts, Thunder 2 Extreme and Coins Forged in Xmas continuing to expand the Coins Forged world, alongside Coins of The Gods 3 Pots taking that collector foundation in a new direction.

For us, it is about building familiarity without becoming repetitive - giving players something they already know they enjoy, but with enough evolution to make the next release feel worth coming back for.

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