Pulse

Funfair Games: the many phases of multiplayer games

By Lewis - 25 February 2021

Lloyd Purser, Chief Operating Officer at Funfair Games, explains how the studio’s first launch title, Rocketeers: To The Moon!, is founded on a swelling demand for multiplayer games in the live casino space and the crypto community.

Lloyd begins by explaining why the studio’s partnership with EveryMatrix’s remote gaming server, RGS Matrix, will support Funfair’s multiplayer distribution model.

We wanted to use the publisher model because it’s a much faster approach than acquiring the multiple B2B licences and technology necessary for a series of direct integrations. We spoke to several aggregators, and most didn’t offer multiplayer titles, which shows how much of a gap there is.

EveryMatrix supported our plans and have a strong distribution capability, so the decision was a no-brainer. We were really impressed by the open architecture, consistent deployment, and fast content integration offered by RGS Matrix’s ‘out of the box’ server.

The deal allows our content to be delivered seamlessly to operators, replicating the distribution pipeline used with most slot titles, but for multiplayer games.

How does Funfair’s methodology differ from other slot developers?

Our titles are social, active and simple. Social, because multiplayer and community-driven games where players collaborate to compete against the house are a completely different style to the solitary slot experience.

Active, because they require decision-making on the part of the player. That could be in real time, as seen in the crash-style titles that have proved consistently popular in the crypto community since releases like bustabit burst onto the scene in 2015.

In Rocketeers: To The Moon! we’ve not only replicated that thrill, but enhanced it, by giving gamers the chance to decide the optimum point at which to cash out before the spaceship crashes.

Active participation could also mean choosing what bet to select based on choices others make – the individual selects what volatility they want to play with and, in so doing, determine the level of risk themselves.

That’s why our content offers a more interactive and engaging user journey than today’s conventional casino games. Slots have their place but are a passive experience – you push the spin button, and it tells you whether you’ve won or not.

Finally, although our games are simple and straightforward to play, the mechanics are compelling. The strongest element of Rocketeers: To The Moon! is in its gameplay, rather than the bells and whistles around it.

Are multiplayer games such as Rocketeers: To The Moon! continuing to find an audience and an operator base?

We’ve had great feedback on our initial real-money multiplayer concept and will be demoing Rocketeers: To The Moon! in the coming months with a view to launching in early Q2.

The success of live casino, pioneered by the likes of Evolution, reveals a strong market demand for community-driven, multiplayer content through titles such as Monopoly Live and Crazy Time.

We’re determined to bring that more social experience into animated games, so it’s not only available through live casino content, which has a higher barrier to entry because of high production values including the need for a host and a studio.

Multiplayer games have already amassed a large following in the live space, with these new gameshow-style titles driving growth. They are also popular in the crypto community, with the new generation of players offering strong opportunities for customer acquisition.

Is crypto betting now ‘mainstream’?

Yes. When you’ve got crypto-based sportsbooks sponsoring Premier League teams, it’s clear that the crypto-betting has arrived in the mainstream.

The fact that high-profile payment providers such as PayPal are now accepting Bitcoin is testament to that. Crypto betting, defined as gambling with cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, has become more popular in recent years, and I expect that trend to continue in 2021.

Does a frictionless eco-system stemming from crypto and blockchain, abandon or embrace AML? Can blockchain help operators meet compliance requirements more easily?

Without a doubt, it embraces it. A frictionless ecosystem doesn’t require KYC: once you’ve done all the necessary Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and due-diligence checks, the information can be stored on the blockchain and could be readily available to anyone else.

Customers’ unique wallet addresses ensure that their identity can be verified, whilst keeping their personal information private and safe.

Blockchain offers the potential for a universal identification system, so the frictionless ecosystem can not only embrace AML but facilitate it. Fundamentally, blockchain is an open and transparent ledger of actions and information.

If regulators can openly see the money coming in and out of a casino, and how much and how frequently players bet, then it becomes much easier to stop problem gambling. Blockchain offers the potential for more proactive regulation – not just replicating current AML measures, but enhancing them.

It can also be deployed to promote responsible gambling more effectively. Given how the Coronavirus outbreak has harshened the media’s spotlight on player protection efforts in some countries, that can only be a good thing, whether you’re an operator, a supplier, or a player.