Guitar Quest: balancing accessibility and depth with key gameplay elements
Relax Gaming's Guitar Quest has been designed to balance accessibility and depth with elements such as dual bonus structures, player choice and progression reflecting wider shifts in how players engage with content.
Citing Guitar Quest as an example, CEO Martin Stålros discusses the significance of monetisation, streaming potential and operator flexibility, including how titles can be packaged and promoted.
Let’s start with Guitar Quest. You’ve positioned it as your headline release for Q2 – what made this the lead title?
Our roadmap for Q2 consists of four strong releases in their own right. However, Guitar Quest really does have the potential to be much bigger than just a ‘game of the quarter’, but one of our leading games for 2026.
We’re super excited to bring this to the market. It’s unlike any game we’ve done before and a lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to make sure it hits all the right notes. Solo Mode is really something to look out for and what has real pulling power to keep players coming back.
Solo Mode is the real jewel in the crown when it comes to Guitar Quest. It offers a continuous, high-intensity session with no interruptions. We wanted something that feels like one long sequence rather than separate spins, where everything builds to keep pushing forward.
You can feel the momentum as you fly down the fretboard collecting batteries, boosters and coins to power up your total win – it’s super intense, but really exciting.
Guitar Quest is a release with real depth and something to appeal for all kinds of players from the start – and I strongly recommend playing with sound on if you like your rock music!
There’s a noticeable balance between depth and accessibility in the game. How deliberate was that in the design process?
I think that is a key balance to navigate with any release. There is so much going on in Guitar Quest that it was vital that players find the enjoyment without being overwhelmed. That’s where our Game Product Owner, Oscar and the Stockholm games studio came into their element – and they’ve managed to create something really special.
Music also plays a leading role in the design process and joins you throughout the journey as you look to climb towards those big wins – it’s all part of the rock n’ roll experience!
The dual bonus structure introduces a level of player choice that isn’t always present in slots. Is that reflective of a broader shift in how players want to engage?
I think nowadays player choice is becoming more and more prevalent. We want players to have the opportunity to dictate their own experience and find their way of playing Relax slots.
A dual bonus helps elevate the appeal and we have the data to prove what will make players tick and keep coming back. We feel it’s necessary to offer players a range of options and not forcing one way to play.
With Guitar Quest you have Guitar Bonus and Backstage Bonus. One is the more high risk option, and the other is more progressive. It goes back to the notion of giving players choice and customizing their own way of engaging with our slots.
There’s also a clear sense of progression and momentum throughout the experience. How important is that in driving longer-term engagement, rather than just initial interaction?
I think that is vital with Guitar Quest. Solo Mode is a prime example of the role progression and momentum has in the overall player experience. It is a slot that has the power to keep players coming back and is a real immersive experience.
To get that long-term engagement it’s all about releasing at the right time, following the right data and having that creative intuition to spark something different which has not been done before.
Features like Supercharge introduce different entry points and intensity levels. How do you approach monetisation in a way that enhances (rather than complicates) the player experience?
Supercharge is all about streamlining the player experience to make it easier to navigate and personalise their gameplay. It was built to prioritise retention and put players in control of how they want to play by jump in straight into the modes they enjoy most.
Supercharge allows operators to cater to a diverse range of player types. By offering a full suite of Upgrade Spins, players can immediately access the heart of the action.
It hands the player control to create their own experience, increasing session longevity and repeat visits.
As we progressively launched innovative features such as Bonus Reels and Feature Buys, we noticed access points became dispersed. Supercharge consolidates all these into one cohesive, user-friendly hub.
Early signs suggest that players who enable Supercharge are playing more rounds on average in the selected modes compared to comparable games that don’t have Supercharge available – so it’s fair to say the early signs have been very positive.
The game lends itself well to streaming and highlight moments. To what extent are you now designing with creators and organic exposure in mind?
Funnily enough, Oscar Persson the GPO behind the creation of Guitar Quest is an ex-streamer himself! So he knows exactly what makes a slot ‘streamer-friendly’. It’s always magical when those big win moments get captured and seeing players faces when they play the game for the first time.
Making a game a popular with streamers also offers you a huge insight into what they enjoy most, but also any feedback they provide can be captured and applied to future releases – so it offers as a very handy tool.
We want all of our games to be accessible and friendly to all player bases, but if it’s a hit with streamers then that is an added bonus.
From an operator perspective, there’s clear flexibility in how the game can be packaged and promoted. How important is that adaptability when developing a flagship release?
I think that has been a key shift that we have made this year at Relax. Our roadmap has been curated to be more selective and deliberate. By bringing fewer releases we can make a bigger impact and dedicate more time to focus on operator impact.
Guitar Quest is a huge creative concept, but it is also built with commercial potential, and that balance is very much one of our objectives moving forward.
In terms of flexibility, Supercharge is a clear example of enhancing the overall experience. Even with Guitar Quest, the two bonus modes offer full control with the player in mind. Creating games with such powerful features in our latest releases will prolong engagement and deliver a more refined experience.
As mentioned, Guitar Quest offers something different to what we have ever done before and that would not have been possible without the required time and energy needed from our in-house studio to develop such a staple release.
If Guitar Quest is the headline act for Q2, what does success look like for Relax across 2026 and beyond?
Trust me when I say, there is more to come! We’ve got lots of big releases coming later in the year which will shake up the industry. But ultimately success for Relax will be based on continued growth across our regulated markets, expanding our footprint and building even more successful partnerships with operators and game studios.
Taking a broader view, you often refer to the “power of distribution” at Relax Gaming. What does that mean in practical terms for operators today?
We pride ourselves on our ‘speed to market’. Through our Silver Bullet and Powered By Relax programmes, the “power of distribution” means an operator integrates with Relax once. This single technical connection that provides instant access to hundreds of titles from dozens of studios.
Relax manages the heavy lifting of compliance across multiple jurisdictions so that when a game is distributed, it’s already market-ready.
