Stake has thrown its weight behind Animo Studios, a new live-action studio founded by top livestreamer and Fortnite champion Harley Fresh.
The agreement will see Stake’s casino offering roll out the first series of Animo’s live-action and animated gameplay features as an industry first.
Stake is the principal backer of Animo Studios, which is formed as a next-generation games studio with the ambition to deliver new levels of engagement to traditional casino games and slot formats.
Drawing on Fresh’s background in esports and streaming culture, Animo aims to merge the interactivity of live gaming with the entertainment value of online casino, creating products that appeal to both Gen-Z audiences and established casino players.
Stake described the partnership as a milestone in its product roadmap, signalling its intent to blend entertainment and gambling with more immersive formats. The operator emphasised that Animo’s hybrid of live-action production and animation would set a new standard for how players interact with online casino experiences.
Fresh, who commands a global following under his streaming persona, said that Animo Studios will focus on “turning casino games into interactive events,” where players feel part of a wider gaming community rather than isolated in a single session. “This is about fusing what people love about streaming and esports with the thrill of iGaming,” he added.
Brias Peña, Head of Strategy at Stake, commented: “Backing Animo Studios is about pushing the boundaries of what online casino can be. We see huge potential in Harley’s vision to create experiences that don’t just replicate traditional gameplay but reimagine it for a new generation of players.”
2025 has already been branded by Ed Craven, founder of Stake and Kick, as a “year of transformation” for the group and its presence in global gambling. The company has committed to securing new licences, developing fresh game IPs, and bringing bold new investments to life — with Animo Studios viewed as a key part of this forward-looking strategy.
Online casino is viewed as a key area of growth and disruption, with Stake recently launching its Stake Engine, a developer-focused platform aimed at accelerating innovation across the iGaming ecosystem.
Moving into new ground the Stake Engine provides more than 6,000 developers already on board, to “remove friction from the roadmap, speed up testing, and make creativity easier to execute”, with an accelerated approval process allowing games of all studios to go live in just 24 hours.
Concluding on the launch, Harley Fresh remarked: “With Stake’s support, we’re not just releasing games — we’re building a platform for the next wave of entertainment in iGaming. This is only the beginning of what Animo Studios will bring to players worldwide.”
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