Helen Walton: “At G.Games, we find the gaps in the market gaps and act”

In this conversation, we speak with Helen Walton, Chief Commercial Officer at G.Games. Walton walks us through the company’s most recent success in Italy where the supplier has teamed up with SKS365, and the significance this has on the overall business model. She touches on how G.Games is committed to a continuous transformation of game themes and mechanics for the betterment of the consumer experience and the industry as a whole and offers an inspiring insight into how a studio finds the inspiration to build a new game. Walton speaks about the broader market, too, the publisher model, and how mid-size studios have some challenges to address of their own in the increasingly competitive iGaming space.

Q: Helen, can we start by talking about G Games most recent success in Italy with SKS365? Why is this partnership important to your company particularly?

Italy has been a real focus for us over the last few years - we’ve been very lucky to have friends in the market who have helped us understand some of the particular nuances of Italy - a big thank you to them, because Italy really is a little different in compliance, relationship, and technical terms. Italy is now the second largest market in Europe and having already built some key relationships, we were keen to do more. I've been on panels with Alexander Martin, the CEO of SKS365 and I know that as a company they're really committed to putting quality content first. That made them a natural choice of partner - even though it also meant a big new integration.

They're a very focused team to work with - incredibly professional and committed to their own customers. I like that underlying seriousness of purpose they have - and although we deliver entertainment, I think we take it seriously as well. It's not just about flashy graphics for us - the work that goes into every detail from screen shake to how win sounds are ordered, is all about really polishing the experience to ensure players are transported into the world of the game. Given that SKS365 have such a big sports base, they know it's not just about 'more content' for them - it's about the right content.

Q: G Games has built a number of games over the past months. Do you think your studio now has a "signature" style that differentiates it?

There's always a little G twist in our games. Even if we are taking a really well-worn trope - like Egyptian slots - for us it will be about how we transform your expectations of art, music, and features. We try to bring our experience and love for video gaming into real money games, whether we are working on a slot or a completely innovative style of game. We also focus on the everyday player making sure that someone with low time and low spending still has a good time in the game rather than facing some kind of 'grind' to get to a bonus. Of course - we are also working on multiplayer - so - fingers crossed in six months’ time that's the big thing we'll be known for!

Q: What guides G Games in creating products - is it specific research, a good idea you have had internally, or something else?

We try to look for gaps in the market or find a way to respond to changing regulations in a positive way. For example, when Germany banned progressive jackpots, we quickly developed a series of slots with really massive, lottery-style top prizes that could be won from very low bets. Unsurprisingly those have turned out to be a hit everywhere - especially with operators who work with us on ad and SEO campaigns. We look at related fields and ask ourselves what we can learn - for example, we're always looking to video games, crypto sites and social casinos to see whether there is inspiration we can take to provide more entertaining games. That might relate to just art and theme or it might be much deeper and involve mechanics or an entire new genre of game. We then test our ideas with customers and players where we can (with all the inevitable caveats about people not always knowing what they want in advance of a finished product!)

Q: What do suppliers need to excel in what is becoming an exceedingly competitive iGaming market?

Suppliers (that is suppliers who aren't already one of the mega beasts of the studio world!) need to either find a niche that they can really own (such as regional specialization or conversion), develop a style or brand they are famous for, radically compete on cost or find a way to innovate. In all honesty, I doubt that any one of those is enough on its own either - suppliers are facing tough challenges as market margin squeeze leads to greater competition. I think we'll see a hard time ahead for medium-sized slot studios to be honest. Meanwhile, the publisher model is gaining ground with smaller studios as a way to reduce compliance overheads - but I think many of those studios will then find it hard to break out on their own. Interesting times, for sure!

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