Inside the world of game aggregation

Jason O’Shea, Commercial Director at Games Inc says the content aggregation battle is fierce but huge opportunities exists for aggregators, developers, and operators

Jason O’Shea, Commercial Director, at Games Inc.

Game aggregation is the absolute best way for small and exciting slot developers to increase the scale and scope of distribution, particularly among tier one operators. 

Going head to head with large and established developers for operator attention is tough and aggregation provides a channel through which studios can engage with top gambling brands. 

Such is the power of game aggregation that studios once focussed on in-house development are now opening up their technologies and resources to other providers. 

Equally, smaller aggregators are also looking to partner with their larger rivals, providing additional reach for their proprietary games and those of their third-party partners. 

Of course, building out an aggregated game offering is no easy task, nor is making sure that titles delivered via game aggregators land in front of the decision-makers at online gambling brands. 

Below, I discuss how game studios expanding their offering into aggregation can make sure their portfolio delivers something different, while still enjoying the widest possible reach. 

Content is key:

It goes without saying that game aggregators must curate a portfolio of entertaining, innovative and unique games that complement their own in-house developed titles. 

The majority of big aggregators stock titles from the big developers – such as Big Time Gaming, Yggdrasil Gaming, Red Tiger, 바카라’ N GO and so on. 

To ensure that your aggregated portfolio stands out, onboard studio partners that offer something new; perhaps they have never seen before design concepts or ground-breaking features. 

Identifying which developers to partner with can be tough, but we have found that working with those with creative and innovative ideas and prior form is a good combination. 

This could be someone that has worked in-house for one of the big developers and has opened their own studio or a new studio with a few games under its belt. 

This is because they know what it takes to create a successful game, including the challenges they face and how to overcome them. 

From the aggregator’s side, this means they don’t waste resources and the games launched via their platform are of the highest quality. 

The ideal partner:

Games Inc has just signed strategic partnerships with Jade Rabbit and Plank Gaming, allowing both developers to use our platform for distribution. 

Both studios have great ideas and the experience to deploy them. Their games also offer something unique and exciting, and are already catching the attention of operators and players. 

Aggregators aggregating:

As a smaller game developer and aggregator, it is also important to look to other larger aggregators to ensure maximum reach for your in-house titles and those of your partners. 

To achieve this, we believe the best approach is to work with the largest aggregators with the greatest roster of operator partners. 

We recently joined forces with Relax Gaming and NetEnt, two of the most reputable and successful aggregators in the industry.

This has put our games, and those of our partners, in front of more operators in more markets than ever before. As a result, our exposure among players has improved too. 

Relax Gaming is perhaps the most established and mature aggregator, allowing us to significantly increase exposure for the games in our aggregated portfolio in regulated markets around world. 

We worked with NetEnt in the early days of developing its Connect platform and believe it has huge potential to be a powerful force in the content aggregation world. 

Leverage partnerships:

The greatest challenge when it comes to aggregation is ensuring that games are seen by operators and that integration is smooth and seamless. 

In terms of engaging operators, not only can smaller aggregators partner with larger brands with greater clout but also leverage the relationships of their studio partners. 

For Games Inc, Jade Rabbit and Plank Gaming also brought valuable contacts to the table, allowing us to quickly connect with operators and showcase the games we offer. 

As such, both studios are now integrated with some of the largest operators in the market. 

The world of game aggregation really is heating up, and so long as providers can source quality content and secure widespread distribution the opportunities are endless. 

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