For years, the conversation between game studios and their affiliate partners was largely transactional. But what happens when that relationship becomes a two-way street of shared data and collaborative development?
Using the co-development of Uncrossable Rush as a prime example, Evoplay’s Ivan Kravchuk and SlotCatalog’s Mykhailo Kachanov explores a revolutionary new model for iGaming collaboration. Discover how their shared insights led to a more informed game design, setting a new standard for how we build products that succeed in a competitive market.
What inspired this type of collaboration, and what do you think it says about how the role of affiliates is evolving in the iGaming ecosystem?
Ivan Kravchuk, CEO at Evoplay: One of the key factors of a successful release is to hit the right audience with the product. Finding this connection is critical. That is why more and more providers are looking for ways to get closer to the player and get feedback directly.
Yes, our partners are operators, and each of them has their own tools for interacting with players. But at the same time, they work with hundreds of other providers and make decisions on a daily basis about which games to promote and which to put on the back burner.
Large providers, including us, are looking for opportunities to understand the player better – to know whether the game catches on, how it performs, and what can be improved. From our point of view, affiliate platforms like SlotCatalog are a great partner for such interaction. They work closely with their audience, so joint projects are of high value.
On the one hand, they give access to data that we usually do not have. On the other hand, we can create a product specifically for the needs of their audience. They research their audience, and we, as an experienced team of game producers, turn these insights into a game concept.
Then comes the stage of promotion and feedback collection to evaluate the result and improve the game even further. When affiliates want to promote products that are not only tailored to their audience but also harmoniously emphasise the brand, they need a strong development partner. And Evoplay is exactly such a partner.
Mykhailo Kachanov, Head of Affiliate at SlotCatalog: It started with numbers. We constantly observe traffic and monitor player demand, and what we’ve noticed recently is a huge surge of interest in this type of game.
We have always wanted to try our hands in that regard, and this was the perfect moment to get involved – we knew our data could play a key role in developing a successful title. That’s when we reached out to Evoplay.
Uncrossable Rush shows that affiliates can be more than just promoters. We brought years of player data and behavioural insights, while Evoplay brought their development expertise. Together, as a result, we built a title that directly responds to what players are searching for right now.
Collaborations like ours are extremely rare in the iGaming industry, but that sets a precedent that affiliates can play a major role in game development, leading the way and hitting precisely on the mark, directly reflecting players’ demand. We are proud to be trendsetters and drive our industry forward!
From your perspective as a developer, how do partnerships like this help you rethink how success is measured, beyond just game performance metrics?
Ivan: The most important indicator of a game’s success is its audience dynamics: whether it grows over time or decreases. The actual effectiveness of any marketing campaign is manifested after the product’s release. Where the game is heading over time is extremely important.
The feedback from players and their level of activity in the long run shows the real value of the project. All other metrics usually have similar trends and do not provide such a deep understanding.
Historically, affiliates have been focused on traffic and conversion. What made you want to step closer to actual content creation?
Mykhailo: They still are – and that’s the core part of our job in this collaboration with Evoplay. Our main responsibility now, as an affiliate, is promotion. We are the partner handling the PR, exposure, and all kinds of support across various marketing channels, which is where our strength lies.
However, we’ve also seen solid, undeniable evidence of a global shift in player behaviour and interest toward cross-the-road mechanics. The numbers we observed left no doubt that demand for this type of game is growing fast, and, what is also important, worldwide, across multiple markets.
It only felt natural to apply that knowledge and take a step toward creating content to build something players genuinely enjoy. We’ve always taken pride in our data, and, for a fact, there would be no Uncrossable Rush without the numbers we saw – we simply wouldn’t have pitched the idea to Evoplay unless we were fully confident in our insights.
What kind of trust and communication is needed to make this kind of collaboration truly productive, and how did you build that between your teams?
Ivan: You need high trust and close cooperation to achieve a powerful result. The Evoplay and SlotCatalog teams fully engaged in this project and worked as a single, well-coordinated mechanism. The energy and efficiency with which the project was implemented are awe-inspiring.
I would say this cooperation has gone very well. Perhaps it is too early to conclude what the perfect level of collaboration should be for guaranteed success – such an understanding comes only with experience, both positive and challenging, through a series of different projects.
But this experience has been successful, and at Evoplay, we are sincerely happy with both the partnership itself and the results it has already brought.
Mykhailo: For this type of collaboration to work out, you have to have a shared vision and truly believe in the idea from the ground up. Each team has its own responsibilities, and when communication is clear and everyone understands exactly what to do to achieve the joint goal, everything works seamlessly, like a Swiss clock.
When we first approached Evoplay and started discussing potential partnership and exchanging ideas, we clicked instantly. They met the idea with enthusiasm, and we have always acknowledged their capabilities. Everyone brought in their strengths and performed at the highest level in their respective fields. The rest is history.
How do you balance your creative vision with external input, especially when working with a data-driven partner?
Ivan: Numbers always carry more weight than creativity alone. Yes, we constantly generate new ideas and concepts – we have a strong creative team. But each of them must be tested through analytics and data. If an idea looks interesting at first glance, but it is unlikely to catch the audience, it will most likely not go into production.
Of course, creativity remains a vital part of our approach – we are not robots, and one template can’t create a lot of good products. But data helps us maintain focus, move in the right direction, and make informed decisions.
What did you learn about the developer mindset that surprised you and how might it change how you engage with games moving forward?
Mykhailo: As affiliates, we’re used to looking at games, finished products, from the outside – analysing player demand, traffic, and other performance indicators. But working closely with Evoplay and seeing the process from the inside, from the developer’s perspective, was eye-opening.
You cannot comprehend how much effort goes into every single detail until you get involved. We saw that firsthand and gained a better understanding of what it takes, from fine-tuning the math model to perfecting visuals to diving deep into player behavior analytics across different markets. Without carefully considering each factor, it’s impossible to build a game that resonates with players.
That perspective shift is already shaping how we operate going forward. This collaboration turned out to be an invaluable experience that made us stronger as experts – to be able to review and catalogue games at the highest standard, it is paramount to understand how they are built from the inside out.
The post Evoplay & SlotCatalog: Collaborative Game Development appeared first on G3 Newswire.
For years, the conversation between game studios and their affiliate partners was largely transactional. But what happens when that relationship becomes a two-way street of shared data and collaborative development? Using the co-development of Uncrossable Rush as a prime example, Evoplay’s Ivan Kravchuk and SlotCatalog’s Mykhailo Kachanov explores a revolutionary new model for iGaming collaboration….
The post Evoplay & SlotCatalog: Collaborative Game Development appeared first on G3 Newswire.