Pragmatic Play is a software/game developer for the online gambling industry, one which has been established in 2015, and yet it managed to release over 100 HTML5 games in three short years. With gaming licenses in over half a dozen jurisdictions (Malta, UK, Italy, Romania, Curacao, The Philippines, Bahamas and Denmark) and with multiple awards and nominations obtained for the quality of their software and games, they’ve shown that they’re a force to be reckoned with.
History of Pragmatic Play
Pragmatic Play has been established in 2015, and it quickly started to churn out slot machines. With some serious backing and financial power, the company hired more than 100 developers to work on their collection.
Following the launch year, they already started developing impressive content, so much so that in 2016 they got nominated with Hot Safari for Game of the Year at EGR Awards. It happened again in 2017, when the nomination was obtained for Queen of Gold, another slot of theirs. 2017 had some actual awards for them as well, not just nominations. They were named the Software Rising Star at EGR, and then they got Best Digital Company, Best HR Director and Best Gamified Experience at Malta’s iGaming Excellence Awards.
The company started out with some very important partnerships right out of the gate, and among the first sites to include their content were the likes of Slotsmillion, Vera & John or VideoSlots.com.
After less than a year following their launch, Pragmatic Play was acquired by IBID Group. It was a testament to the quality of their content and the stellar start that they had into the industry. They already had a license from Malta Gaming Authority at that point. Additional licenses in The Philippines and Romania followed, as well as other partnerships, with companies like Opus Gaming, LeoVegas, Betsson, NetBet or Mr Green. The UK gaming license was obtained in 2017.
The list of award nominations, new gaming licenses and new partners continues to expand after that, and it’s a fairly long one. That’s not all they’ve been doing though. The company has also released a 1 million EUR scratchcard, announced their new mobile-first Bingo platform and even made their first acquisition, of Extreme Live Gaming, a Novomatic Group company, for an undisclosed amount.
The future looks great for Pragmatic Play, and they look set to become one of the top contenders in this very competitive industry.
Games
Pragmatic Play is not the type of developer to work in a single category, and to have a focus on slot machines alone. Even though they launched only a couple of years ago, they have a decent-sized collection of 100+ titles, which includes not only video and classic slots, but also scratchcards, table games, video poker and keno. Their games are all designed using the newest technology, HTML5, and they are all crafted in a way that makes them appropriate for mobile devices. Present in 78 countries, these games are translated in 26 languages, and they’re easily accessible to most.
The slot machines get most of the attention though, so they currently have 63 titles announced on their site. They launch new titles in this category regularly, at least one or two each month by the looks of it.
Themes in their slot machines will vary considerably, but often enough they will cover common themes, almost like they feel the need to have their own Irish, Adventure or Chinese themed slots, among others. Unique themes are hard to come by in Pragmatic Play’s collection, but I did discover a couple of gems, slots like 7 Piggies, 3 Kingdoms, The Catfather series or Romeo and Juliet.
You will find more variety in the layouts which are used in their games, as they go from regular sized titles with 10 lines, to others which might offer 5×4 reels and 40 lines, and other options as well. The exact same betting system will be in place in each case, with bets of up to $5 allowed per line, so you always know what to expect on that front.
The release of so many slot machines in just 2-3 years seems to have come at a price. The games you will find in their collection tend to have average features, things you can find at other developers with ease. The typical slot of theirs will use wilds and free spins, with either multipliers or some other extra feature (super stacked symbols and others). Add this to the rather common themes found in 90% of their slots, and there isn’t a lot of originality to be found there.
On the other hand, you get solid slot machines, high RTP for many of them, as well as clear indicators as to the volatility of the slots. They use a 1 to 5 star system, which tells you exactly what kind of gameplay you can expect, volatility wise.
Popular Titles
Some of the best slot machines released by Pragmatic Play are also among the most popular in their collection. They were nominated to win Game of the Year for two slot machines, in 2016 and in 2017. The two slots which got people’s attention were Hot Safari, and then Queen of Gold. Both should be excellent choices.
Highest RTP Games
For their RTP, the games coming from Pragmatic Play can be hit and miss at times. There are releases that can have an RTP even as low as 90%, while others give you a range, sometimes depending on the volatility that’s used. Still, certain slot machines seem to rise above, and here is where I would mention games like Caishens Gold (97.08%), Pixie Wings (96.51%), Aladdin’s Treasure (96.58%) or Madame Destiny (96.50%).
