Studio Spotlight: Standing out with Snowborn Games

Snowborn Games pride themselves on their focus on creating quality games that stand out from the crowd, no matter the featured mechanic or style.

With two massive games dropping in as many months recently, each leveraging very different themes and unique mechanics, they’re certainly living up to that ethos!

We caught up with Chief Product Officer Jyri Pääkkönen to find out more about the studio’s success so far, and look ahead to the future.

Q. Tell us about the studio and your team

A. My pleasure! Snowborn Games is a company founded in 2017 but established itself as purely a game studio in 2020. Before that, we worked not only on games but also on creating our own platform and our game framework, one that is still in use today to power all Snowborn game releases. In a nutshell, Snowborn is a company with a lot of industry know-how in game creation, from maths, art, and business experience all mixed with a strong technological background. We are roughly 25 people based mostly up north in Sweden and Finland, but working remotely has been a part of our DNA from the day we started, so we also have people working from Gibraltar, Italy, India, Estonia, and South Africa.

Q. What makes your studio different from others?

A. Our mission from the very beginning was to do everything with quality and with a focus on creating games that stand out regardless of what mechanic or style we pursue. This is certainly not a market where you can stagnate, especially as a studio with growth plans. Focusing efforts on the right things in a cost-effective way is something that we always strive for. It's also important to try to remain flexible and adaptable with changing regulations and new markets opening up. Knowing your customers and players is key.

I also think it's important for every studio to find its own niche in the competitive market we are in today. At Snowborn, we like to offer players base game features that keep them entertained and combine that with volatile bonus features that truly offer a chance for exciting win payouts. Getting that studio identity, I think, was one of the key factors in the success we've had lately and it's also something that we at Snowborn are fond of in slot games too – well-rounded game experiences with true win potential.

Q. What are your standout titles and what made them successful?

A. We have had three major hits with Pile ‘Em Up™, Masters Of Valhalla, and Cat Clans that all relied on different game mechanics but all proved to be very popular. Pile ‘Em Up™ was our retro take on a cash collect mechanic with an increasing multiplier. I think we hit a nerve with the art style that was a flashback to years gone by with its gaming culture references. The 1UP multiplier mechanic we introduced has been a studio-defining feature that really hit it with players.

Needless to say, it was also a very fun game to work on! Masters of Valhalla on the other hand, with its Viking god-inspired theme was also a huge success for us proving we are capable of producing games that are technically complex whilst providing an enjoyable player experience that keeps players coming back.

Q. What is your personal favourite title from your studio?

A. A very tough question! I think I have to go with our third big hit, Cat Clans. It was our first game to really break through with the players and started a new era for Snowborn, both from an art perspective but also from the way we look at game design. Matching goofy cats with very potent features was a bit of a risky move, but the game just felt so together on release, and we felt confident that the players would embrace the theme, simplicity, and the action the game provides. It was so much fun to see players love the game, and it has provided a lot of juicy wins over the years, something that we, designing the games, love to see!

Q. What is your favourite part of the game development process?

A. Personally it's for sure the game inception and conception process of trying to build the core foundation for a slot game that stands out in a tough market. I am more focused on the maths, mechanics, and data analysis side of things and blending that with what you see trending in the market, what new elements you are bringing to the table and where player preferences are headed is the beauty of slot design - it's just a super fun challenge. But seeing the final game just before release and making the very last tweaks is exciting too; small details can often have a huge impact on just how good the game turns out to be!

Q. What trends do you see for the future of our industry?

A. With the current number of weekly game releases it's certainly not going to get easier from a game studio perspective! Quality of games is also increasing across the entire industry, and driving innovation with a lot of competition needs the game to really smash it from the get-go. That said, there is plenty of room in the market for new ground-breaking products - it's that mega hit that we are all chasing, and I am convinced we have the people and skills at Snowborn to make that happen.

And with the evolving market, of course, it's hard to talk about trends without mentioning AI; it has and will for sure mould game development processes and the entire industry in ways that we don't even fully grasp yet. Staying on top of the latest technology is something that is one of the core values of Snowborn, so we are constantly looking at where we can improve the way we work!

Q. What can we expect from the studio roadmap?

A. It's looking strong! I think our forte is doing whatever we do with a flavour that makes it Snowborn, so players can expect some totally new mechanics and some of our favourite features come alive with new interesting takes.

Our latest release, Eggs Bonanza™, features a totally new bonus mechanic and also links the base game to the bonus in a new exciting way. The initial response from the market just increases our high hopes that this will be a new player-favourite! Next up, we’re excited to be dropping Massive Gold™ in mid-October. It’s big, bright and bold, with collect wins and a powerful gold booster feature. Beginning of next year, we are releasing Tippy's Golden Pot where our Irish leprechaun Tippy makes a return in a game loaded with cool features. Actually, the entire roadmap is stacked with games that I can't wait to see go live. If this year has been big for Snowborn, the future looks even brighter!

Keep up to date with all the latest on Snowborn Games here.