Elliott Resnick: “First Look Games levels the playing field for established and new developers”

For this conversation, we sit down with First Look Games' Elliott Resnick who introduces us to the platform and what it is. First Look Games has it right in the name, but how important is it really to the suppliers vying for exposure in this competitive market to have the chance to offer a preview of their products?

There is no one better qualified to answer this than Resnick. First Look Games offers a level playing field, no matter which supplier joins – with marketers free to examine games and products on their own merit and up-and-coming developers definitely getting a good chance to differentiate and promote their offer.

Q: How important is that "first look" in the iGaming industry and do suppliers need to be engaging with marketers way ahead of release?

The "first look" is important for affiliates as it allows them to create slot previews and reviews ahead of the game launching to players. This helps to build hype for the new game among their audience while helping them to unlock the tremendous SEO benefits that come with publishing content and having the time for it to be ranked by the various search engines. This is also hugely beneficial for the game studio as it drives awareness of its latest title prior to launch and allows players to directly access the game via one of the brands the affiliate promotes as soon as it hits casino lobbies. This is a win-win for all parties – the studio, the affiliate, the operator and of course the player.

Q: Does First Look Games help up-and-coming studios get their name out as well or is the platform more focused on established companies?

First Look Games has been designed for all studios, whether a tier-one provider or a start-up looking to make a name for itself. The platform is incredibly easy to use – each studio has its own dedicated library where it can upload assets for each game. This includes game sheets, logos, images and even demo links – we provide age-gating for demo links via our partner 1account so that affiliates in regulated markets such as the UK can still offer them to players. We also offer studios a White Label Client Area solution, which has proved to be particularly popular with up-and-coming developers. Studios need a client area to showcase their titles to operators, but they are expensive and time-consuming to build. Our solution allows studios to launch a client area in a matter of days.

Q: What are the main challenges that remain for First Look Games when it seeks to connect studios and third parties?

First Look Games is the solution. Studios and affiliates absolutely should be working together, but in the past, this has meant a lot of heavy lifting for both parties. Studios can be unsure of which affiliates to work with, while affiliates often struggle to gain access to the information and assets they need to create content about a developer’s games. First Look Games provides a direct connection between the two. For studios, we give them access to more than 900 approved affiliates with a combined global audience of 20 million + players while for affiliates, we let them quickly and easily access the information they need about a studio and its games.

Q: Has First Look Games been evolving and what are some of the biggest changes that came to the platform over the past several years?

We are constantly rolling out platform upgrades and updates based on the feedback we receive from both studios and affiliates. Since we launched the platform back in 2018, we have introduced a wide range of new features including a powerful Studio Management Center that allows developers to announce exclusivity agreements they have for game launches as well as add and remove jurisdictions. We also have an API feature that provides connected access to game and studio data in a structured format. This allows affiliates to automatically create initial reviews of games. Then there is our accuracy tool that monitors affiliate content for accuracy and notifies them of any errors such as an incorrect developer name or RTP.

Q: How successful can a supplier expect its journey to be with First Look Games?

Most studios now understand the need to promote their games to players, but many struggles with actually doing it. Affiliates are the most effective way of making players aware of new games and the experience they can expect when playing them. First Look Games provides studios with the platform and tools they need to promote their games to more than 20 million players around the world – so long as the studio uses First Look Games to its full potential, they can be incredibly successful when it comes to driving awareness of their brand and the slots and games they offer. Of course, we are here to support studios in getting the most out of our platform and the huge potential offered through our approved network of affiliates.

Q: What's next for First Look Games?

We have a busy roadmap ahead in terms of new features coming to the platform as well as introducing our first operator-focused product in the coming months. We are also hard at working onboarding more studios and approving more affiliates so that our partner network continues to grow. There is huge momentum behind First Look Games, and we are excited to be working with forward-thinking studios, professional affiliates, and big-name operators to drive awareness of games and ultimately help players find the titles that offer the experience they are looking for.

Image credit: First Look Games