On the 31st March 2017 software developer Playtech will be discontinuing all of their Marvel branded slot games.
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That means that titles themed around the company’s comic books, films and superhero characters will be removed from all online casino sites.
From the 1st April, punters who currently enjoy playing Iron Man, Spider Man, X-Men or other similarly themed slots will have to look to different games. But why have they been discontinued and what other options do players have?
Why Are Marvel Slots Being Removed?
A company which had been in existence in one form or another since 1939, Marvel Entertainment was taken over by the Walt Disney Company in 2009. After an initial announcement of the planned merger in June of that year, the deal was eventually approved on New Year’s Eve, with Disney purchasing Marvel for a total of $4.24 billion.
It was that takeover by Disney which effectively spelled the end for Marvel slots games.
Why?
Disney purchased Marvel to gain rights over their TV and movie franchises and not to preside over slot game licensing. In fact, being the parent company of an organisation that did license slots was an immediate problem for Disney.
The Walt Disney Company have, after all, long fostered a family friendly reputation and as part of that have repeatedly railed against the gambling industry. Most notably, the company have been vocal and strong opponents to plans to introduce resort casinos in Florida and as such, Disney and slot games were never going to be comfortable bedfellows.
The conflict between Disney’s anti-gambling stance and the fact that Marvel licensed slot games was addressed by the company almost immediately after their takeover. They announced that they would not be renewing any licensing agreements for Marvel slots and that once current deals expired, the games would be removed.
Given that the Walt Disney Company had a net income of $9.391 billion in 2016 alone, they could comfortably afford to jettison the profitable slot game licensing agreements, and the recent announcement represents the eventual culmination of that process.
Which Titles are Being Discontinued?
Since Marvel started allowing developers to produce slot games based around their characters, Marvel themed titles have grown to be amongst the most popular with punters. That means that the slots which are now being discontinued are likely to include at least a few that you’ve either played or at least heard of.
The slots in question are as follows:
- Avengers
- Blade
- Captain America
- Daredevil
- Elektra
- Fantastic 4
- Ghost Rider
- Iron Man
- Iron Man 2
- Iron Man 3
- Spiderman
- The Incredible Hulk
- Thor
- Wolverine
- X-Men
Marvel Slot Alternatives: What are Punters’ Options Now?
Anyone who was a fan of one of the above slot games will of course be disappointed to hear that they can no longer play it. Fortunately, however, the online slots market is such that there are literally thousands of other titles that are still available and which provide plenty of fun and opportunity for profit.
What’s more, if it was the comic book and superhero element of the Marvel slots that appealed to you, there is another collection of very similarly themed slots that are not being discontinued. Those are the slots licensed by Marvel’s long-time rivals DC Comics and themed around their characters and franchises.
Now owned by Time Warner, DC were initially a little slower to begin licensing companies to create slot games based on their characters, but that will now likely change. The removal of the Marvel slots, after all, will create a vacuum that DC would be foolish not to try to fill. More DC themed slots, therefore, are likely to soon be added to a collection that already includes the following:
- Batman
- Batman & The Batgirl Bonanza
- Batman & The Penguin
- Batman & The Riddler
- Superman
- Superman II
- Man of Steel
- Superman Last Son of Krypton
- Superman The Movie
- Green Lantern
- The Flash Velocity
