Aristocrat targets casual gaming market with addition of three new Europe-based studios

Australian slot machine giant Aristocrat Leisure Limited has expanded its global games development reach with the acquisition of two Europe-based studios and the establishment of another.

According to details of deals announced Friday, the two studios added to Aristocrat’s portfolio include Helsinki’s Futureplay, which specialises in the growing merge/match segment of the casual market, and Playsoft in Gdańsk, Poland – a mobile gaming studio specialising in the social casino genre.

Founded in 2015, Futureplay has released six games that have been played by over 140 million users worldwide, with titles such as “Merge Gardens”, “Idle Farming Empire” and “Battlelands Royale”. The studio will operate under Aristocrat’s Plarium business which it says will bring together Plarium’s best-in-class game development infrastructure and marketing expertise with Futureplay’s outstanding casual mobile capabilities, enabling Plarium to expand and diversify its portfolio.

Playsoft, with more than 50 successful game titles developed for third party partners over the past 13 years, will operate within the Product Madness business, helping accelerate Product Madness’s pipeline and deliver innovation while establishing a strong footprint for the company in another strategic European location.

Aristocrat has also established a brand-new studio, Northern Stars, in Helsinki which it says will focus on the emerging hybrid casual genre and further expand the company’s game development capabilities.

“These deals are consistent with Aristocrat’s successful strategy of bringing more world-class game development talent and capability into the organisation to expand our game pipeline and sustain our strong growth momentum in Digital,” said Aristocrat Digital CEO, Michael Lang.

“We are thrilled to welcome Futureplay, Northern Stars and Playsoft to the Aristocrat Digital family given their impressive track records in game development, creativity and innovation.

“Coupled with Aristocrat Digital’s ambitious strategy, global scale, marketing and investment capabilities, we look forward to helping our new colleagues reach new heights as part of Aristocrat.

“We will continue to be active in pursuing global talent and studio deals that accelerate our growth strategy, alongside our sustained proven focus in driving organic growth and above market results.”