Sometimes it seems that just about everyone is looking to enter the market to develop slot machines for online and mobile casinos. New studios pop up around the world all the time, but it’s not every day that a company opens with the backing of some major players in the business.
Golden Rock Studios was officially launched in January 2018 by James Curwen and William Mathieson, two former executives at none other than William Hill, one of the biggest betting companies in the world. James Curwen was Chief Product Officer and Director of Gaming, while William Matheson was the driving force behind a record number of slots in his seven years at the company.
This vast experience was combined to form Golden Rock Studios, which has since managed to bring together a small team of highly talented, industry-savvy creatives to launch a select range of top-quality slots.
Don’t expect a massive range of games just yet. Give Golden Rock Studios a chance, as it has only been running for a relatively short time. That said, we’re pretty impressed with the slots revealed so far.
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Golden Rock Studios is run by people who like to play casino games, and who as a result are committed to delivering pioneering slots and table games. The company website strongly reinforces this passion for gaming, and the portfolio of titles to date has been designed to appeal to a broad range of gamblers.
Each title released is the sort of game that the Golden Rock Studios team would want to play themselves. Plus, they proudly state that there’s no compromise when it comes to bringing on board the most talented brains who understand what players are looking for.
The team at Golden Rock Studios have also put together support services for operators they collaborate with. They have a comprehensive package of launch support and asset management services in place, which ensure the smooth integration of new titles into existing sites, including our favorite online casinos with no deposit bonus offers.
Golden Rock Studios have balanced their range between slots and classic table games. They offer a couple of roulette titles, including a game that doubles payouts, as well as blackjack tables to clients.
The slots may consist of a small range, but Golden Rock Studios have managed to make them as varied as possible. One thing they all have in common is relatively high or medium-high volatility. This should appeal to gamblers looking for higher but perhaps less frequent payouts.
One of the first games announced by the studio was the aptly named Gold ‘N’ Rocks. It’s a slot themed around the Wild West and specifically, the California Gold Rush, and it plays out on a 5x5 grid. The game contains the Tumbling Reels feature, and it expands to a maximum 5x10 grid if players manage to claim several wins in a sequence. This would seem to clash a little with the declared medium-to-high volatility, but anything is possible in this game. You’ll also enjoy free spins while playing this cartoon-style slot machine.
For a change of scenery, why not take a stroll through the beautiful oriental garden of the Star Gods slot, where the Gods Fu, Lu and Shou are waiting to greet players? They can reward you with stacked wild symbols, and sticky wilds can appear during a bonus round. Star Gods is a five-reel, ten-line slot that pays both ways.
The action seriously heats up in the Volatile online slot. Set on a volcanic island, this very-high-volatility game is aimed at gamblers who like to risk. You can scoop up to 25,600x your stake on its five reels and ten paylines, but you’ll need luck on your side to form a perfect alignment of wild symbols with multipliers. Volatile also comes with a free spins bonus during which an enhanced set of reels are in play.
Players who like bonus rounds should check out Dream Machine, which is packed with no fewer than seven features. It’s a slightly surreal slot which sees you exploring different worlds as you play. Whichever world you visit, there are bonus games waiting.
Naturally, all Golden Rock Studios slots are mobile optimized for HTC Androids, Samsung phones, iOS, and Windows devices. They are also fully licensed for fair gaming and reliability, which guarantees that decent returns on your wagers. The volatility levels may put you off if you’re looking for frequent payouts, but gamblers after the maximum thrills are sure to be attracted to these games.
The games range may still be small, but the company’s making sure that casino operators can get these slots out to a wide audience as easily as possible. To help with this seamless integration of games into casino sites, the team at Golden Rock Studios have developed a trio of operator packages.
Online casinos can choose the Gold launch service, which gives them access to promotional launch material and a dedicated account management team. The Platinum service provides a more bespoke launch package with additional marketing material. Operators who opt for the Carbon deal will receive everything needed for a successful game launch.
Of course, once the games are up and running, there’s a full back-office service available too. This sees that operators are not just left to get on with things once they’ve integrated Golden Rock Studios slots into their ranges. You can play games from many other developers, including Intouch Games slots and Arrows Edge slots at our approved casinos.
Golden Rock Studios started off inside a converted cookie factory in London, and in October of their first year, the business expanded with a new studio in Gibraltar. Both sites are located within global hubs of the online gambling industry.
From their London and Gibraltar bases, the team at Golden Rock Studios are mainly targeting their games at countries that accept UK and Gibraltar operator licenses. While the terms of these mean that players can come from many countries, at the time of this review it rules out some of the major centers, including the US.
Creating high-quality casino games isn’t something that can be done overnight. It takes experience, skill and the right mix of talent to launch games successfully, particularly when the developer is a fairly new operation.
On the basis of what we’ve seen so far, Golden Rock Studios are off to a good start, thanks to the experience of the management team plus the diverse range of themes and styles across their slots range. Each release also comes with its own special features, some of which are quite unusual and innovative.
Golden Rock Studios might be a recent addition to the online gambling business, but the team certainly hold the ambition to become serious players in the industry.