Yggdrasil Casinos
Yggdrasil is a software provider that the majority of players probably won't have heard of and while the company is still fairly small in terms of their popularity and their game range, they are beginning to rise in popularity, largely thanks to the release of a few games earlier in the year. Yggdrasil have also created and developed a couple of casino table games, although we feel a distinct lack of Video Poker games lets the developer down. In this article, we’re going to look at some of the developer’s most popular games, focusing mainly on Video Slots.
We will also look at the company itself, including any notable names involved in the creation of the business, as well as where we feel the business is headed in terms of game development and creative intuitiveness.
Best UK Yggdrasil Casinos & Bonuses
Slots
It's a fair statement that Yggdrasil are still relatively unknown in the online gambling world, and most players who recognise the name, likely know them for their slots and are naive to the fact the developer offer a number of casino games. In this post, we’re going to explore all of the developers game categories, so that players can get a thorough understanding of all of the titles they offer. We'll start by looking at some of the Video Slots.
Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast is one of the most popular Fairytale stories ever written, and we've all seen one of the many Disney adoptions of the famous book at some point during our life. Yggdrasil developed Beauty and the Beast as one of their first slot releases, and to this day, it remains one of the their most successful titles.
The game features a rich array of graphics and animations, and encompasses all of the best elements of game development, placing them into the one game. Aside from the impeccable graphical and audio work that's gone into to the game, these elements include smooth gameplay, a varied mixture of bonuses, and a perfect medium-variance level. This ensures big wins aren't too uncommon, whilst small, balance-building wins are regular enough to ensure you rarely have 'disaster sessions’ where your balance is wiped out within minutes.
Powerplant
Powerplant is another of the developers most popular slots, and this game can be summarised in just one word: awesome. The game is a clever play on words and incorporates both an industrial power plant with actual living plants, resulting in quite a strange, yet unique and entertaining game environment. In the game, players are faced with stunning high-definition graphics, and exciting gameplay, making for an exceptional gambling experience.
While this is one of the only games developed by Yggdrasil to only feature one bonus, which is a free spins round, you don't have to look far to see how profitable the bonus round can be. There are a multitude of videos on YouTube and Twitch showing players achieving upwards of 1000X wins, making it an attractive game choice for players on all budgets.
Empire Fortune
Play Empire Fortune and in Yggdrasil’s own words: “get ready to enter the realm of riches, jewels, and gold”. From what we've seen, their analogy is pretty much spot on. This game is kind of a cross between a rich Chinese Emperor and ancient, long-lost treasure. One of the most striking things about the slot, is the incredibly high level of detail that's gone into all areas of the graphics and we're not just talking about the backdrop or the moving 3D scenery.
Even the symbols on the reels are designed to a far higher standard than normal, and something about this game really sets an impressive precedent for the developer. This is something we’re not alone in noticing, as players regularly cite Empire Fortune as one of the best designed games they ever played.
Other Notable Slots
That's just three of Yggdrasil's popular slots games – other well-known titles include: White Sake Lady, Legend of the Golden Monkey, Bicicleta, Double Dragons, 4 Seasons, Winter Berries, Casino Zeppelin, and Golden Fish Tank.
Table Games
When it comes to casino table games, like Roulette and Blackjack, most players wouldn't automatically think of Yggdrasil, and this is unlikely to change, any time soon. That’s because Yggdrasil don’t actually offer any Roulette or Blackjack games (or any non-slot titles, for that matter), and from their website, and subsequent blog, it doesn’t look like there’s any plans to change this, either.
Yggdrasil showcase an astute, rarely-seen creative side in all of their video slots games, and it’s a shame that that level of passion and creativity couldn’t be ‘ported over’ to – even a small number of table games – but in the developer’s defence, they look to be focusing solely on their video slot creation, so it may just be a case that they want to specialise in one area, only.
Live Dealer Games
Yggdrasil do not offer any form of Live Dealer gaming and from what we’ve managed to gather, they have no plans of doing so in the near future either. Their young age and lack of experience within the industry more than excuse them for declining to enter into the live gaming sector of the market, although they may well find that as their company grows, and as they gain popularity, they may need to look at opening a live dealer casino at a later date in order to ensure their continual share of the online gambling market.
Video Poker
Unfortunately, Yggdrasil offer no Video Poker titles whatsoever – not even one – and while the lack of live casino games could be excused due to the company’s age, Video Poker really is a staple part of most developer’s game portfolios, and it’s unclear why Yggdrasil have opted not to include any Video Poker titles.
Microgaming for Video Poker
Should this change, we'll update this section accordingly, but in the meantime, Microgaming’s Video Poker selection is one of the most comprehensive out of any software provider around today, as they feature over 60 different games. It’s worth pointing out, however, it’s rare to find more than about 10 of the games available at any one online casino.
That being said, the game selection Microgaming offers is tremendous, and you’ll find all different types of the game from simple one-line editions to 50-play games, and even variations that let you play up to 100 hands at once. While there’s far too many games to list individually, some of the notable titles Microgaming offer include: Bonus Poker 100 Play Power Poker, Aces and Faces Power Poker, All American Video Poker, Deuces & Joker 4 Play Video Poker, and Deuces Wild 50-Play Video Poker.
About Yggdrasil
- Year Founded: 2012
- Owner: Fredrik Elmqvist
- Publicly Traded: No
History
Yggdrasil is one of the newest software providers to enter the online gambling market. Founded in just 2012 (although not actually receiving their first gambling licence until 2013), the company has risen fast to become one of the market leaders in the Video Slot development industry. Despite their short lifespan, Yggdrasil have managed to capture a significant market share of the Video Slot industry with many players citing it just feels games as specific reasons for joining casinos.
It’s worth noting that Yggdrasil entered the online gaming market with a fairly significant advantage: its founder and CEO, Fredrik Elmqvist, was once the CEO of NetEnt. So, some might say they had a slightly easier path than others – although it’s important not to negate the success they've had, as they clearly have the knowledge and the experience behind them.
After just one year of business, Yggdrasil made the decision to shift their entire game catalogue from Flash, to HTML5, taking around one year to complete. Whilst it was a setback at the time, as the company were spending too much time focusing on the creation of new games, it did ensure that they were one of the first game developers to transfer their entire game catalogue over to HTML5. Because of this, Yggdrasil have been, and continue to be, one of the market leaders in mobile gaming.
2015 saw Yggdrasil use an in-game promotional tool that allows casinos to market in new ways to players. So, later on that year, Yggdrasil integrated a social media-sharing tool into some of their most popular slots, which allowed players to share their big wins to their friends on Facebook and Twitter. Naturally, this decision came under much controversy with some critics arguing that it potentially exposed youngsters to gambling (as the minimum age to be an active member of Facebook is just 13 and not 18 as it is for gambling). They also thought the move glorified wins, which showed an unrealistic side of gambling, as players would, of course, never share any of their big losses with their friends. In the end, it appears critics were correct, because Yggdrasil have, for the most part, dropped this social sharing feature – although it can still be found in some of their games that perhaps haven't been updated.
As they continue to grow, Yggdrasil started to take on more staff. As the demand for their games became greater, so did the demand for them to provide casinos with a fully white label software platform. 2016 saw the release of their fully-hosted online casino solution that allowed various online casinos to host Yggdrasil’s games, along with any titles from other software providers they choose to offer. The company continued to develop ground breaking, intuitive games, and while their casino table game range is lacking, in comparison to most software providers, it’s worth noting that – for a company of less than five years – they’ve done tremendously well both in terms of their game-exposure and their popularity levels amongst players.
As Yggdrasil have already made the move from flash to HTML5, there is no real need for them to work on mobile-optimised gaming, although one thing they may work on in the future is the development of a white label mobile casino solution if it hasn’t already been covered.