The Strange Case of the Disappearing Branded Slots

Initially, online slots focused almost exclusively on the themes and designs that were most popular in land-based casinos. This meant an overabundance of games featuring Egyptian, Aztec, Underwater and Wildlife themes.

However, as casino software developers explored the creative opportunities this burgeoning new technology-rich landscape afforded them, players were rewarded with a growing variety of themes, which included the addition of pop culture iconography.

Entertaining the Person Behind the Casino Account

The addition of what became known as branded slots to online casinos was a significant turning point in the relationship between players and gambling operators. Until then, a gambler was simply a gambler, which led most casinos to offer fairly generic games, bonuses, and even customer service.

For the first time, casinos were awakening to the fact that people gamble. Players didn't live and breathe the casino space like those in the industry; instead, it was just a hobby. As such, to stand out from the crowd, casinos needed to appeal to the person's interests, not just the in-casino patterns they could track through a player's history.

A New Age of Pop Culture-Themed Online Slots

One of the early standouts in the history of branded instant slots was when Microgaming acquired the license to develop a Lord of the Rings online slot based on the feature films. Released in 2010, The Lord of the Rings online slot was a masterpiece, with each spin being supported by swelling music from the film, symbols based on globally recognisable celebrities, and, best of all, winning spins and features triggered animations that used clips from the actual films.

Playtech was another casino software developer to land an incredible branded slot deal when it secured an agreement with Marvel Games, allowing it to develop online slots featuring a host of popular superheroes, including Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, and The Hulk. In total, the developer would release fifteen online slots based on the various movies and team-ups, such as the Avengers. These slots would prove to be viral thanks to not just the titular characters but the effort that went into developing bonus rounds, special features, and the inclusion of a progressive jackpot.

With Microgaming and Playtech proving that the cost of pop culture-themed games could be profitable, the market became flooded with every possible kind of licensed slot machine you could imagine.

In addition to film-themed games, we also have:

• Sports: D10S Maradona and Let’s Get Ready to Rumble
• Music: Def Leppard Hysteria, NSYNC Pop, and Guns N’ Roses
• Television: Peaky Blinders, Narcos, and  Rick and Morty Megaways
• Video Games: Street Fighter 2, The World Warrior, and Tetris Extreme
• Game Shows: Deal or No Deal Megaways and Millionaire Mystery Box
• Adult: Playboy Gold Jackpots

Over the last decade, this genre of casino game development has boomed, with fans of just about every type of niche experience able to find several titles that cater to their needs.

The Sad Disappearance of Popular Branded Slots

As elated as fans were to see their favourite actors, superheroes, bands and more represented on the reels, there was also the downside of those games mysteriously disappearing overnight.

For the first time, a maturing online gambling industry came face to face with a new enemy – licensing. One of the first times slots fans faced the gut-wrenching loss of a popular title was in 2012 when rumours began circulating that after only two years, the Lord of the Rings slot would be withdrawn from the market. At the time, the developer wasn’t forthcoming with updates, which led to a flurry of conspiratorial news articles and loads of conjecture as to why this popular game would be shut down, with some refusing to believe that such an unthinkable thing would occur. Spoiler alert: it did.

As it turned out, the closure may not have been a simple failure to renegotiate licensing fees. In 2017, it was revealed that Warner Bros had been embroiled in a five-year court battle with the Tolkien estate over using the fantasy authors' characters in slot games. A case that Warner chose to settle out of court.

Playtech’s well-received library of Marvel superhero slots soon faced a similar fate to that of Microgaming’s ill-fated Lord of the Rings title. With the acquisition of Marvel Entertainment by media behemoth the Walt Disney Company, it is unsurprising that Playtech's license was not renewed when it expired in 2017.

Creating Success by Catering to the Community

Unlike Microgaming, who allowed the Lord of the Rings slot to slip quietly into the night, Playtech took a more proactive approach. They recognised that while players enjoyed the themes, the games were highly rated for their smooth gameplay, exciting reel action, and big win potential.

This led to the company announcing that it would become one of their best game development decisions outside of licensing the Marvel games. The company revealed that it would keep each Marvel game live but rebrand it with an original IP, so the Age of the Gods slot series was born.

Here are some of the rebranding’s that took place:

• The Avengers became the Age of the Gods
• Iron Man 2 became Age of the Gods: King of Olympus
• The Incredible Hulk became the Age of the Gods Prince of Olympus
• Fantastic Four became the Age of the Gods Furious Four
• Elektra became the Age of the Gods Goddess of Wisdom

This decision allowed players to continue to enjoy the in-game experience they had so highly praised while allowing Playtech to launch an internal IP that would not require licensing fees. Given that Greek mythology is a popular casino category, replacing superheroes with superpowered gods was a safe bet.