Carl Wiggman: "A game is only as good as its weakest link"

Carl Wiggman, CEO of Print Studios, has sat down with Casino Guru News to talk about the company's journey in the iGaming industry as well as the studio's unique visual identity and character-driven games. Wiggman speaks about how this fits in today's ecosystem and how the company stays competitive at a time of serious sector challenges and major shifts in consumer preferences.

Q: Print Studios is still a relatively new name in the iGaming industry. How has the journey been so far, and what have been some of the biggest lessons you've learned since launching the studio?

Its been a really fun ride, awesome from start to current (which is far from finish!). As far as lessons go, the joy of providing someone a good place to work cannot be understated. Finding the balance between letting people do what they do best and tackle new challenges is another one that took a while to grasp. Chasing trends has been costly at times as well, feel like we've learned a lot from that lately.

Q: Print Studios has built a distinctive visual identity, pairing it with original game mechanics and, in many cases, character-driven gameplay. How has that approach resonated with players and operators? Has it delivered the level of differentiation you were aiming for?

Definitely has, although still cooking. The market is both positive and negative to differentiation at the moment, so while we have successfully made a name for ourselves, it doesnt mean we don't have to continue proving our philosophy works.

Q:What types of games have you found players respond to most strongly? Do more narrative-driven adventures like Eldritch Dungeon generate the greatest engagement, or do more traditional-themed releases such as Royal Potato appeal to a broader audience?

Great question. That said, a game is only as good as its weakest link. Therefore their performance aren't great data points for scientific truths. What we've seen is that elements we have more or less invented ourselves, such as the theme in Royal Potato, the sprawling explosions in Holy Hand Grenade, or the escalating ball-falls in Pine of Plinko, work better.

Q:Competition in the iGaming sector continues to intensify. How has Print Studios navigated this increasingly crowded market? Has your distinctive visual identity and consistent design philosophy been a key differentiator, or are there other factors that have been equally important to your growth?

Yes, the market is increasingly getting flooded with games that have varying levels of production but great new inventions are still rare. Our strength is our highly experienced and enthusiastic team, whom have the skills to combine unique mechanics with unique themes in a slick package, creating IPs that we can easily expand upon without ripping anybody off or delivering something player's have seen too much of.

Q: Looking ahead, what do you think will define the most successful iGaming studios over the next five years? How is Print Studios positioning itself to adapt to evolving player expectations and changing market dynamics?

I think the market will look more carefully towards studios that move the needle. With AI becoming stronger, copies will become free commodity. In such a scenario, the winners will be the ones constantly looking for who can deliver that out of the left field hit people didn't realize they were looking for.

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