What happened to Microgaming slots: the 2022 sale to Games Global explained

Players who search for a Microgaming slot today may find the game under a different company name, and the usual guess is that the studio closed or that the game has been replaced by a copy. Neither is what happened. The sale of one business to another explains it, and the trade press recorded the steps with dates. This article follows those dates, lists what was sold and what was kept, names the studios that have since been reported inside the new group, and explains what that means for the older Microgaming titles on this site.

A timeline from the trade press

The table below uses only dated reports. Where a source gives a figure that conflicts with another, both are shown.

What was sold

According to CasinoBeats, Games Global acquired Microgaming's distribution business, the game IP, an extensive back catalogue of exclusive content, the progressive jackpot network and interests in several game studios. The earlier iGaming Business report on the deal says the group would hold the international distribution rights to the Quickfire portfolio and its jackpot network, and described Quickfire as one of the earliest aggregators of casino content.

Games Global itself was young. Both reports say it was founded in 2021 and backed by private capital; its CEO is Walter Bugno, formerly of IGT and Lottomatica. On completion, CasinoBeats put the combined group at more than 25 studios, a catalogue of over 3,000 games and a customer base of over 260 operators running more than 980 brands. Yogonet's account of Microgaming's own announcement says more than 900 brands. The two figures differ, and the CasinoBeats article uses both, so treat the brand count as approximate.

What Microgaming kept

Microgaming did not sell everything. CasinoBeats and Yogonet both say Microgaming would focus on platform systems and services for online gaming brands, including Games Global and its customers, and that it would continue to license its sports betting software to Betway. In other words, the game-making and the shared jackpot pools moved, while the technology that casinos run their games on stayed behind. A player who sees "Microgaming" in a casino's footer may be looking at the platform company, not the studio that made the slot.

The studios inside the group

Games Global works with a mix of in-house and partner studios. The September 2023 CasinoBeats report on Blue Ring Studios names Just For The Win, Aurum, Stormcraft Studios and Nailed It! Games as part of the roster, and gives the network as 36 studios. Blue Ring, based in Sydney, released its first title with Games Global, 6 Pure Pearls, on 6 September 2023. A Renaissance Capital note from April 2024 says the company had 40 in-house and partnered studios and more than 1,300 games developed over 20 years, was based in Douglas on the Isle of Man, and reported revenue of $381 million for 2023.

Notice that 1,300 games sits oddly beside the 3,000 quoted at the sale in 2022. The sources do not explain the gap, and it may come down to what is counted: games, versions, or titles distributed rather than owned. I cannot reconcile the figures from the reports, so none is treated as exact here.

One example shows how old and new fit together. iGaming Business reported on 4 March 2024 that Stormcraft Studios, described as part of Games Global, was releasing Immortal Romance II, a sequel to a slot released twelve years earlier, with a launch planned for late May and the game exclusive to Games Global. The original is Immortal Romance, which is reviewed on this site under Microgaming.

The jackpots after the sale

The jackpot network moved with the games. Later press releases about Mega Moolah, such as the one on a €13.5m win on 24 December 2023, are issued by Games Global, not Microgaming. The same pattern shows in Games Global's own product line: Book of Mega Moolah, the game behind that 2023 win, was described as a Games Global slot that carries the Mega Moolah progressive jackpot and had been live with operators for about three months at the time. The mechanics of the wheel are covered in our Mega Moolah guide, and the jackpot slots page lists the progressive titles that are reviewed here.

What it means for the older titles on this site

• The game is the same product. The sale moved ownership of the catalogue and the distribution, not the reels. Titles such as Thunderstruck II are reviewed here under the Microgaming name, the studio that released them.
• The lobby label may differ. A casino can list the same slot under Microgaming, Games Global or a studio label. Which one is shown is the casino's choice, and I found no source that sets a rule for it.
• RTP is still per casino. A change of owner does not fix a version. Open the help screen of the version you are playing, since RTP and rules can differ between casinos.
• Sequels and remakes carry the old name. Immortal Romance II is one case; check whether a game is the original or a successor before comparing numbers with an older review.

Where the law stands for a South African reader

This is a business story, not a licensing one. Under the National Gambling Act 7 of 2004, online casino games are not licensed in South Africa, so the studios above supply games to operators licensed in other jurisdictions. Gambling is for adults aged 18 and over. If play stops being fun, the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation has a free counselling line on 0800 006 008, and you can SMS "HELP" to 076 675 0710.