Games inflation and low player tolerance is a growing challenge for iGaming operators and content providers. What do content providers need to do to keep up with these changing trends and be true partners? Oren Cohen Shwartz, Skywind Group managing director, shares his insight.

In today’s market, content providers and operators must work together, as true partners. As a content provider we need to fully understand the operator’s strategies, enabling growth and expansion by entering additional regulated markets, producing exclusive games, stand-out, market-specific content, and creating innovative engagement tools.

On the content side, operators receive, on average, three new video slots a day. Players are introduced to 30 to 50 games in the “new” category tab every month. That means we need to produce unique games that operators will be happy to add to their sites and players will be interested to try and play.

The problem is that players today have a low tolerance and are quickly churned from games. We need our partners to help us understand their customers, as they know them best. This in turn improves the potential for a game to succeed.

In terms of quantity, at Skywind we produce about 45 games a year. It’s more than double that of other big content companies in the market. We do that because our partners need us to produce specific games per market. This includes different themes, features and math.

Releasing a game globally to all markets is no longer an effective approach. We and our partners are already aware of this. Not only is each market different, there’s also diversity between operators and customer bases in a single market.

Volume should not compromise quality. With a game inflation economy we must bring something new with each game. No one has a recipe for a successful game, but imitation is certainly bad practice. We have learned that studios in different locations bring unique results. For instance, our studios in Australia produce different games to the one in Brazil.

Branded video slots are another potential way of standing out and are excellent for acquisition and retention. Downton Abbey, for example, generated a lot of player traction when it came out this year and we are feeling the excitement from our partners for the upcoming Casa de Papel game. It is the players’ attraction to the well-known that increase the potential of these games.

True innovation is needed, and not as a buzzword. If it isn’t risky, it is not innovative enough. You have to keep innovating, always thinking about what players want and what operators need.

One example are our arcade games. These are games that look and feel like casual games but aren’t. They’re real money games. Games like Dragon Dozer and Fly Jet took more than double the amount of effort we put into regular video slots.

And yet, content alone is not enough anymore, which is why we see more content providers propelling games with player engagement tools, also known as metagames. Metagame features give the player an extra thrill, an opportunity to win additional rewards. Taking the player experience to new heights, adding traction while increasing loyalty, and game “stickiness”.

Every tool provides its own set of benefits, so understanding our partners’ strategies, their markets, players and their goals is crucial. Each metagame needs to comply with different regulation requirements. Whether we’re creating must-win jackpots or tournaments, we must always look for something to improve. Each metagame must bring value both to the players and the operators. It could be the next split prize functionality that creates more winners while giving operators better control over liquidities. It could be an in-game display or bet-range functionality that increase player loyalty and engagement.

Taking risks and creating entirely new tools can give you a say in how the market will look tomorrow. At Skywind, we took a risk with an entirely new reward system, Bonus Coins. There’s no wagering requirement, it’s applicable with all games, maintains regular gameplay, and fulfills operator and player needs, we discovered these are needed and wanted by working closely with our partners.

Content providers need to perform in a highly competitive market and excel across the board with unique market-specific content, evocative engagement tools and fully immersive gaming experiences. We must do it all and the potential to succeed is higher when working together with our partners.