Greentube walks on the wild side: introducing the Cyber Wildz slot game
$6,000 Welcome Bonus
Though there’s little positives to take out of the Covid-19 pandemic, the silver lining for the struggling gambling industry during this time was that online slots saw a surge in player numbers due to the closure of land-based casinos. According to the Gambling Commission, there was an increase in the share of GGY generated from online gambling – from 42% of GGY in 2015-16 compared to 61% in 2021-22, with online slots growing over the Covid-19 period from nearly £1.6bn in 2015-16 to nearly £3bn in 2021-22.
Since then, the race to retain those players has been down to a few of the front runners in the industry and with a market size valued at $63.53bn, the race to dominate the market has continued to grow more competitive by the minute.
Boasting a portfolio of games that offers just this, from the bottom of the ocean with Cash Connection: Dolphin’s Pearl to Egyptian ruins with Egyptian Underworld, Greentube believes it has the offering to keep players.
Slotting into first place
With players in more than 50 countries, Greentube has a versatile and far-reaching audience. For Richard Ganster, it isn’t just the innovation and creativity that’s paramount to the games’ success, but the team’s ability to take ideas and turn them into games that are aesthetically pleasing slots that stand out in a convoluted market.
“There is simply no substitution for creativity”
Cyber-creative approach: How does it work?
Set in a futuristic neon cityscape, this 6-reel, 5-row, high volatility slot will test players on their spinning skills spanning six reels full of winning potential. When Kray-Z the Reaper, the multiplier wild, appears on a win line, your winnings will be multiplied by x2, x3 or x5.
You can get lucky by landing 2 or more multiplier wilds on a single line and the multiplier symbols will multiply themselves – awarding even bigger wins. And If you’re able to land 2 free spins symbols in a single spin you enter the free spins feature, where the game’s heroes, Kray-Z and Y-Pout, team up to take over the city.
The space-slot game features
Like many of Greentube’s games, the high-volatility setting, coupled with new and exciting features, puts the player’s experience front and centre. Ganster explains, “Firstly, we have Kray-Z the Reaper, the multiplier wild. Should she appear on a win line during base gameplay, winnings can be multiplied by up to 5x. Should two or more multiplier wilds appear on a single line, the multiplier symbols will multiply themselves.”
With 6 ‘cybernetically-enhanced’ reels and 5 rows of potential wins, players can watch their winnings accumulate rapidly during gameplay.
However, among the traditional features typical of many slot games, such as scatter and modifier symbols, where Cyber Wildz really catches attention is through its free spins feature.
“Secondly, we have the free spins feature. When triggered, a random multiplier value between x1 and x7 will appear on a special reel at the top of the game screen. Modifier symbols Kray-Z the Reaper and Y-Pout the Assassin appear on the reels as local or global modifiers and the values on the special reel increase, awarding multiplied wins. When one of these special symbols lands, the free spin counter will reset to three free spins,” Ganster continues.
The player has 3 spins, during which they have to land one of the modifier symbols at any point, to reset the spins to 3. If no modifier symbols land for 3 spins, the feature game ends, and the multipliers collected in the special reel are summed up and awarded to the player.
Great ideas – just a ‘byte’ away
Whether it’s through the use of new technologies, like being one of the first gaming companies to utilise virtual reality with the VR version of Book of Ra, or implementing innovative gameplay mechanics in every release, Greentube is constantly looking for new and exciting ways to enhance the player experience.
With over 400 exciting games in its portfolio, it’s clear the company’s commitment to innovation continues to be at the forefront of its strategy. So how does it continue to create innovative ideas at such a fast rate?
Ganster says that at Greentube, the team tends to stick to a tried-and-tested process. “There are always set processes we follow when developing any new online slot. However, it goes without saying that each game differs from the next and sometimes we will deviate from those in processes where necessary.
“If, for example, we are developing a game that features a new mechanic that we haven’t implemented before, the development cycle will inevitably be longer. We want to be certain that we have done everything we possibly can to ensure the game has the right math model and is ready for players on the day of launch.”
So who’s playing Cyber Wildz?
Cyber Wildz continues to attract new audiences to Greentube’s site, engaging with a global gaming demographic similar to that of recent releases such as Little Mermaid; Ganster says this is no accident, but rather a deliberate choice the creative team made to continue to appeal to the masses.
“While we perhaps do have a particular art style we’ve become known for when it comes to certain games, we have made a conscious effort to diversify our portfolio with titles that stand out from the norm. If you take a deep dive through our previous releases, you will see that some really interesting concepts amongst them deviate from what you might expect.”
That being said, the developers at Greentube believe there is still plenty of room for games that tell a story in the market.
“Reaching new audiences and demographics is incredibly important to Greentube,” Ganster continues. “This is exactly why we are now developing games with specific audiences and demographics in mind above anything else. There is no one-size-fits-all approach here at Greentube.”
The key is in the Kray-Z character
Naturally, we live in a world where escaping reality makes gameplay all the more enticing. From fairy tales to sci-fi, we are infinitely attracted to storytelling, and what gets the imagination going more than anything? Characters we love.
“Adding memorable and iconic characters into our slots gives them an entirely new dimension,” says Ganster. “It would be remiss of us not to follow the same format when it’s clearly working! World-building is an essential part of the development process and characters such as Kray-Z and Y-Pout really do make games stand out in what is a very crowded marketplace.”
The cyber race
Having enhanced its market presence in the Netherlands last year, followed by the acquisition of US-facing Present Creative, it’s clear that Greentube has big ambitions to grow its presence. However, the slots industry is vast, and not without its challenges.
And one challenge the operators face time and time again is player retention. While many games have the potential to perform in the short term after release, in order to ensure the longevity of a title and for it to be successful, Ganster says that the players have to truly trust the company behind the scenes. With a consistently high standard of game design, he believes the “players keep coming back for more because they have a company they know they can trust.”
And with an array of positive reviews on its previous games, it’s clear that Greentube’s fans agree. Take Manic Potions, released in January, as an example. One SlotsJudge review read, “Manic Potions charms you from the very first second. The visual style is at the top level and the music creates this marvelous atmosphere of magic. The interface is easy to navigate and the gameplay in Manic Potions is really exciting.”
So will Cyber Wildz hit the dizzying heights that Greentube games like Manic Potions and Little Mermaid have? Only time will tell as players wait for the late May release. One thing’s for sure, however, the team at Greentube are ready to assess and evaluate the game’s performance, including player data in its first quarter.
With a loyal customer base, a team of experts in the field and a foundation of tried and tested game plans, it seems inevitable that Cyber Wildz will be another one to add to the trophy cabinet.
What slot games are next for Greentube?
With a host of new games set to be released in 2023, Ganster is sure that Greentube is going to blow the market out of the water. “We have seen a huge increase in demand for our Diamond Link and Cash Connection titles in the last 12 months thanks to stellar releases such as Diamond Link: Mighty Buffalo, Cash Connection: Voodoo Magic, Cash Connection: Golden Book of Ra.”
“As a result of these successes, we have tailored our 2023 roadmap in certain jurisdictions so that they feature more of what players are after. In the next two months, we will be releasing two highly anticipated games, Diamond Link Cops ’n’ Robbers and Cash Connection: Candelas de Los Muertos – Señorita Suerte. We urge you to keep your eye out for those!”
So there you have it, Cyber Wildz comes out 30 May – so get ready to escape reality into cyberspace and throw yourself head-first into Cyber Wildz Buy Bonus.
Richard Ganster is the games portfolio manager at Greentube. He has more than 7 years in the gaming industry, having previously worked as a game designer, software tester and project coordinator across some of the biggest companies in the vertical.
