CasinoBeats has announced its shortlist for its inaugural Game Developer Awards, with SH Digital and Relax Gaming being nominated in the most categories, seven.
Following them, Kalamba Games and Push Gaming were nominated in six categories whereas Yggdrasil Gaming is nominated in five, and Evolution’s NetEnt and Red Tiger brands have netted four nominations apiece.
The shortlist sees more than 60 companies recognised for innovation and creativity, as demonstrated over the last year, according to CasinoBeats’ panel of judges.
The awards are focused on the game development sector and aim to celebrate its ongoing success, importance to the entire iGaming industry, and commitment to producing titles that entertain players around the world, focused on the game development sector and celebrate its ongoing success.
The winners in all 14 categories will be announced during a ceremony at the InterContinental in St Julians, Malta, on 15th July, coinciding with the final day of the CasinoBeats Summit.
Nominated studios feature heavily in the shortlist for the hotly-contested Slot of the Year 2021 crown, with a variety of games being included on the list, including East Coast vs West Coast and San Quentin xWays, while the 14-strong shortlist also includes Hacksaw Gaming’s Chaos Crew, AvatarUX’s CherryPop, True Lab’s Crazy Mix, iSoftBet’s Morgana Megaways, Habanero’s Orbs of Atlantis, Quickspin’s Sticky Bandits 3 Most Wanted, and Pragmatic Play’s The Dog House Megaways.
The awards will encompass the entire iGaming industry, with another five categories in the Game Performance designed to honour the rising stars of the development world.
The Slots Studio Debut 2021 shortlist features Alchemy Gaming for Wheel of Wishes, Black Pudding Games for Aeterna, Peter & Sons for Johnan Legendarian, and Silverback Gaming for Aztec Luck.
The Game Creation section of the Awards celebrates the teams working on all the key elements that come together to make successful titles, such as narrative, soundtrack, visual design and effects, and use of licensed content.
One of the six categories in the section is Game Innovation, which features a shortlist including, Fruits Win: Double Hit by Playson, Aeterna Slot by 1×2 Network and Black Pudding Games, Aviator by Spribe, AstroBoomers: To The Moon! by FunFair Games, CherryPop, TikiPop, HippoPop by AvatarUX, East Coast vs West Coast by Nolimit.
The US market has proven to be more challenging than many operators predicted
The directive applies to any event where gaming devices are showcased, including gaming-related exhibitions and networking events that involve the operation of exempt games
Recent data highlights the growing need for parental vigilance in this area
The iGaming firm recently had to exit the North American market