Multiplayer has certainly caught the attention of many stakeholders across the land-based and online gambling industry in recent years and Black Cow Technology is no different.
The software technology company began its operations 12 years ago, building remote game server software, before shifting gears into multiplayer server technology.
Max Francis, CEO & Founder of Black Cow Technology, has told SBC Media that it was “a natural progression” for the company to enter the multiplayer gaming space, with eyes already on how to bring multiplayer slots to market and separate themselves from the pack.
Multiplayer online casino table games from the company, such as roulette and baccarat, are already live with Loto-Quebec, and so the next logical step is to explore multiplayer slots.
“We’re building the back-end side of multiplayer slots for Light and Wonder with our partners Pixiu Gaming and PlayJeux,” stated Francis at SBC Summit.
“Those are community bonus round slots, literally just about to come out any day now, coming out of regulatory testing. That’s going to spread far and wide with Light and Wonder, so these are real products and they’re coming out.
“Each game is evolving as we build them. The maths is complicated to get right. The multiplayer experience is complicated to get right. How do you do that? How do you make a game work for multiplayer? There are a lot of questions to answer there.
“There are a lot of ideas that people haven’t had yet, which I’m sure are gonna start streaming in as soon as people start playing these things.”
With so much hype surrounding multiplayer slots, it’s worth wondering if they will become the standard across online casinos in the near future.
Francis wasn’t afraid to answer that question, believing with conviction that multiplayer slots will be the norm, expanding into the land-based sector as well.
The CEO said: “Yes, I think it will certainly be across online casinos and why not land too.
“Why not have people sitting in rows of machines that are connected to each other or in parlours or booths together? ‘Come and join us at 6pm’ because there’s going to be a tournament here or whatever, I think there’s a lot more of that sort of thing coming in land-based.”
However, Francis was quick to express that, to deliver for every player, being able to play on your own should still be an option. As a result, he believes an emphasis on community should be the driving force for operators on the multiplayer front.
“There will still be people who want to just play on their own and that’s fine. Overall, if operators want their casinos to be a one-stop shop where people come to just be rather than specifically to play, then perhaps that is more about creating a community and a wider community than just the game and the bonuses of the game, but bonuses just for being there or interacting or talking to other players.
“I think there will be a lot more interaction, but just like in a land-based environment, there’ll be a space for people to go and play on their own as well. I don’t think the world’s gonna turn into multiplayer, but I think multiplayer is going to be a very important part.
“Like video games, there are a lot of people just expecting that now, but there are also a lot of people who just play on their own still as well.”
