NextGen Gaming (NYX) Casinos
NextGen Gaming (NYX) are one of those software providers who upon seeing their games you’ll probably experience an 'ah, so it's them!' type of moment. But sadly, despite their huge impact on online gambling, they remain a fairly uncommon name to players, and as many of their games are licensed to other software providers, it does make sense.
That is why, in this post, we are going to look at some of the games NextGen Gaming have produced. And, we'll follow that up by looking at a brief history about the company, as well as what's in store for them in the future.
Best UK NextGen Gaming Casinos & Bonuses
Slots
NextGen Gaming are one of the world's largest and most reputable software providers in history, and their impact on the online gambling industry is undeniable. With a massive game portfolio that features hundreds of different slots, casino games and video poker titles, NextGen Gaming have cemented themselves as one of the top game developers on the planet.
Aside from the slick and flawless running of the company itself, it’s got to be said that the games are the main reason that NextGen Gaming have become such a success. Let's start by having a look at some of their most popular slots.
NextGen Gaming have released over 600 different video slot games in their time as a developer, and below, we look at three of their most famous titles.
Psycho
Psycho is, of course, based around the hugely-popular movie of the same name. While the slot was only released last year, it's important to note that the release date actually coincided with the fourth season of Bates Motel, which was a prequel television series following the life of Norman Bates, as his evil, narcissistic personality begun to develop. Many players mistakenly thought the Psycho video slot was actually a NetEnt game due to the design and the layout of the buttons, but a quick read of the title screen shows the NextGen Gaming logo.
The game benefits from a really cool bonus round, where up to 40X multipliers can be won. One of the reasons why the game has become so popular is because it utilises state-of-the-art animation work, which in one case, sees Norman Bates himself jump out onto the reels with a dagger, before viciously cutting wild symbols into the reels. A free spins bonus is the main focal point of the game and is triggered by landing 3 or more scatter symbols anywhere in view.
During the bonus round, even more wild symbols can be added to the reels by Norman, and it is also possible to re-trigger the feature, simply by landing another three or more scatter symbols.
300 Shields
300 Shields is one of NextGen Gaming's most well-known slots, although some players may find it a little confusing at first. This is because Quickfire – a subsidy of Microgaming – also own a license to publish the game, so, in some cases, the game is offered multiple times at one casino.
The game is known amongst hard-core slot players due to its incredibly high payout-potential, and while it is an incredibly high-variance game, the rewards can be well-worth it if you’re lucky enough to hit the bonus round in its full glory. That's because the feature allows you to progress up to 300X multiplier, and this is done by collecting Shields that land on the reels. If you manage to make it up to the 300X multiplier, you will enjoy five free spins with all wins that are made using a wild symbol becoming multiplied by 300X. That means even a mere £3 win would be worth a whopping £900 and it's easy to see how some players have won thousands of pounds from staking just £0.50 – the minimum stake!
James Dean
While an official James Dean video slot will certainly not appeal to all players, those who do enjoy the singer’s music will find it's a great tribute to the artist. One of the ways in which the game has managed to attract even those who dislike the singer is through the use of actual vocal samples from James Dean.
NextGen Gaming have managed to integrate them flawlessly into the game, creating a magical gaming experience. The slot is relatively low-variance and doesn't offer too much in the way of big wins, but it's quite a chilled out, relaxing game, and is ideal for players who care more about the theme of a slot, rather than its win potential.
Other Popular Slots
That's just 3 of NextGen Gaming’s slots, but other popular releases include: A Dragon's Story, Emerald Isle, Superman, Merlin’s Magic Respins, Batman, Wolfpack Pays, and Gorillas Go Wild.
Table Games
NextGen Gaming offer a pretty decent range of casino table games and these are split into two main categories: Roulette and Blackjack. There are also a number of Bingo games produced by the software provider, that we will look at later on, but for now, we’re going to look at the Roulette and Blackjack games the software provider offer.
Roulette
NextGen Gaming offer four different Roulette games with a further eight built in collaboration with other software providers. For the purpose of this article, we’re only going to include games developed exclusively by NextGen Gaming.
The first game, is the famed 'Double Zero Roulette', which is more commonly known as 'American Roulette'. It’s generally advised to stay away from American Roulette and it appears NextGen Gaming have been a bit sneaky here, trying to hide the fact it is indeed American Roulette by calling it something else. The likely reason behind this, is due to American Roulette’s much higher house edge than other Roulette games.
Chinese Roulette, European Roulette (as pictured in this section) and Roulette Master are the other three Roulette games from the developer, and they all carry impressive graphics and gameplay, ensuring players experience a high-quality spin, every time. The one thing we will say about NextGen Gaming’s Roulette is that while the 4 games we discussed above may appear relatively bland, some of the other 8 titles they’ve worked on, feature far more creative game-mechanisms but we didn’t feel it appropriate to include in a specific NextGen Gaming post.
Blackjack
NextGen Gaming’s Blackjack titles are made from a mixture of sole-built and in-partnership games, like what we saw with their Roulette games, and NextGen Gaming boast a generous 12 of their own titles. The majority of their Blackjack games are fairly basic with versions, such as: Blackjack Pro, Blackjack Pro: Monte Carlo Multi-Hand, Blackjack Pro Monte Carlo Single-Hand, Blackjack Pro Atlantic City Single-Hand, and Blackjack Pro Atlantic City Multi-Hand.
Red Queen Blackjack
Don’t let the fancy names confuse you, however, as these are all essentially European Blackjack with minor graphical and betting-limit changes being the only real differentiating factors. One of their Blackjack games that does stand out, however, is their Red Queen Blackjack – one of the more creative variations we’ve seen – and here, you have the option to place an optional side bet every hand, which is called the 'Red Queen Bonus'.
It works much like this: If your first card dealt is a Red Queen, you win – it’s that simple. The payouts increase if your first two cards are Red Queens or if your first card and the dealer's first card are both a Red Queen. Smaller payouts are also awarded for being dealt Queens of different colours and suits, and it’s definitely one of the more unique side-betting variance we’ve seen. It's important to bear in mind, however, that the house edge is probably quite high on this. We couldn’t find a specific figure, but it’s likely to be upwards of 20%.
Live Dealer Games
NextGen Gaming don’t offer any form of live dealer games at this moment in time, and while rumours have surfaced from time-to-time about the company developing them, it looks relatively unlikely that they plan on releasing any form of live gaming in the near future. One of the main reasons behind this is likely the fact that NextGen Gaming are partnered with other software providers who either own live dealer gaming facilities directly, or have shares in similar businesses. So, as a result, this may well have been a clause of any contracts NextGen Gaming signed with those software providers.
Video Poker
Unfortunately, NextGen Gaming haven’t developed any Video Poker titles to date, and this is fairly surprising, especially for a company of their size and stature. However, they have expanded into one fairly niche betting area, which is bingo games, so below, we will look at a few of the different bingo games NextGen Gaming currently operate.
Bingo Games
NextGen Gaming have developed three different Bingo games, which casinos can offer to players in their instant win game sections. The first of these titles is called Lucky Reef bingo, and is featured around an aquatic theme, which takes place in the deep trenches of the ocean. This 75-pattern game can be played from as little as 10p per card with the maximum stake set at between £50-£100, depending on the limits individual casinos choose to implement.
Both other Bingo games are also 75-pattern titles with the first being the Jackpot Hunter This is a game that takes place in the jungle and comes complete with a rainforest soundtrack and realistic animal noises. The second game is called Bingo Mania and is a simple and relatively plain game that doesn’t operate any special theme or characters into its gameplay.
NextGen also create a number of other Bingo games that actual bingo sites can use, but those are not really all that relevant here, as the focus of this article is solely on the software developer's online casino games.
About NextGen Gaming
- Year Founded: 1999
- Publicly Traded: No
History
NextGen Gaming is one of the world's largest and most reputable independent suppliers of casino games and software solutions in the gambling industry. With a career spanning almost 20 years, the company has proven itself time and time again to both players and online gambling operators. Founded back in 1999, NextGen Gaming was one of the first developers to create platform-independent content, and to this day, they remain a firm advocate of developing games that can easily be integrated at all online casinos, regardless of what software the casino runs the casino on or what other games they offer.
NextGen Gaming is, admittedly, not one of the largest game developers around, but this hasn't stopped them from centralising their business on a handpicked selection of morals, goals, and business ethics. The company states on their own website their success can be attributed to the talented team, which is made up of a selection of creative, mathematicians, technical staff and entrepreneurs/managers. A recent company mission statement tells the story of how their games are created, with one of the lead game-developers citing the need to: “balance creativity with structure and longevity in order to create a successful game, that can be enjoyed by both players and casinos.”
This does appear to be largely what NextGen Gaming have achieved during their two decades of work, and with many of their games on license to other software providers around the world, as well as being featured in hundreds of online casinos, they continue to be a leading figure in the industry. In sum, it’s very clear that NextGen Gaming are a solid company, and it's unlikely they’ll be going anywhere anytime soon.
The Future for NextGen Gaming
NextGen Gaming state that their current focus is on balancing both game development, and creating end-to-end gaming partnerships with new operators. One way in which they strive to do this is by building a collaborative partnership model, which would see the software provider share their expertise and staff skills with casinos. Mobile gaming is another area NextGen Gaming have committed to improving and their website outlines specific plans for improving and growing their mobile presence. The bulk of this is ensuring more of their games are ported over from Flash to HTML5, as this allows the games to be played universally on mobile devices.
It will be interesting to see which direction NextGen Gaming take in the future, and with innovation and creativity always having been at the centre of their business, it’s safe to say we’ll see a number of exciting, ground-breaking releases in the coming months and years.