Game of the Year is an annual award hosted by EGR (E-Gaming Review, an online gaming magazine) to pay homage to the game developers that are really standing out from the rest each year, and crowning one the #1 for innovation, entertainment and impact. This award is open to any games, whether developed by a major supplier, like NetEnt, a smaller independent developer or even in-house teams that create games for the casino they’re working for.
This award is not all about money, although revenue generated is a factor in choosing the winner of this prestigious award. But aside from the revenues, there are other criteria based on things like innovation, quality, stand out features and marketing value (do the players flock to play this game?). The winner will be voted by industry experts from the casino operators that are offering these games. These are people who see how each slot performs on their site, knows and understands hundreds of games to compare it to and who really understand what makes an online casino game stand out.
As well as being crowned Game of the Year 2015 and being able to boast that accolade for years to come, the winner will also receive £25,000 towards more game development and a marketing package with Odobo, who are sponsoring the awards this year.
Game of the Year 2015 Short List
The shortlist for this annual award held by EGR includes games from huge names like NetEnt, smaller outfits such as Realistic Games and even a casino collab for William Hill. In no particular order:
- MegaJackpots Cleopatra (IGT): The MegaJackpots range from IGT was released in Feb 2015, with 16 operators initially, a number that has already grown with just over 20 casinos now offering these games. The MegaJackpots from IGT have already paid out over £5.7 million to seven different winners since their launch.
- Spinata Grande (NetEnt): NetEnt is one of our personal favourite game developers, constantly at the top of the game and leading the industry with their monthly new releases. Spinata Grand really stood out this year with amazing new features like a mini-slot within the slot game, Colossal symbols and a  really feel good, party theme. This game is big, bright and in your face.
- Centurion (Inspired/William Hill): this game was created by Inspired with William Hill and was created to work on all devices with a multi bonus feature.
- Jurassic Park (Microgaming): timed perfectly with the launch of the latest and greatest Jurassic Park remake/sequel, this one was bound to be a hit. Animations are awesome, sound effects really set the mood and the T-Rex mode is edge of your seat excitement in a slot.
- Gemix (Play’nGo):Â this slot is much more like a mobile game app than a traditional online video slot. There are no spinning reels, just a cascade of gemstones, which fall, cluster and explode in order to create wins, with multiple wins possible with each turn as the gems arrange themselves and create new lines.
- Crystal Queen (Quickspin):Â one that players will recognise before they even play it as it’s based on HC Andersen’s Snow Queen and the game that has had the biggest immediate impact for Quickspin.
- 6 Appeal (Realistic Games):Â a fun and never seen before tumbling dice feature makes this slot very different from anything we’ve seen before and one that continues to grow in popularity.