There is an endless stream of new game releases all claiming to be bold and “outside of the box”. Industry pioneer Play’n GO, however, has always thought differently. Chief executive and co-founder Johan Törnqvist charts the rise of Play’n GO from its inception in 2005 to now and explains how the “box” is so far from its game development that it’s a mere dot on the horizon.

The start of Play’n GO’s journey

Although Play’n GO now boasts a vast portfolio of more than 280 online games, it’s taken a lot of hard work over the past 15 years to build this from the ground up. From sourcing a strong team that believes in the ethos of bringing entertainment to the spotlight to understanding the needs and wants of the player, Play’n GO has been on a rollercoaster ride.

Luckily for fans of popular games such as Wild Falls 2, Reactoonz and the Book of Dead series, that rollercoaster ride has been a successful one.

“Our games deliver results for our partners year after year, and players keep coming back because they love the experience,” chief executive Johan Törnqvist explains.

“It’s no coincidence that the Book of Dead is enjoyed by more people than ever, several years after its launch. If you get the fundamentals right and always exceed expectations, players appreciate it,” says Törnqvist.

The history of Play’n GO

Back in the mid-2000s, Play’n GO was one of the first suppliers to try its hand at bringing games to mobile, putting itself “leaps and bounds” ahead of its competitors. With this intuitive idea, however, came a steep learning curve for the business, as adoption rates for mobile slots were far lower than the traditional desktop games at the time.

“In our very early days, we decided to focus on the mobile channel, building many of the gaming industry’s earliest mobile-first titles,” Törnqvist recalls. “It was clearly a sensible decision thinking about it now, but we made it before the launch of the iPhone at a time when the vast majority of casino gaming took place on desktop.

“It was a bold move that paid off, but at the time it wasn’t as easy a choice as it looks today. It has, however, helped us develop many of our future games and was a key learning curve for us as a business.”

The mobile versus desktop battle wasn’t the only one the business had to face. Casino games, he continues, were “generally low quality”, and “built to be transactional rather than genuinely fun for the player”. This went against Play’n GO’s core philosophy, but gave the business a golden chance to differentiate itself from the competition.

“No one was thinking that these games actually needed to be entertaining,” Törnqvist says. “It gave us the opportunity to focus on the craft and establish ourselves as the studio behind some of the most popular casino entertainment titles in the world.”

Big, bold branding

If you visit Play’n GO’s website, you’re likely to be met by a flurry of colours and animations, which sums up the company’s branding perfectly: it’s a full-on visual feast for the eyes.

Having such big, bold branding means Play’n GO is instantly recognisable, something that sets it aside from many of its competitors. As Törnqvist highlights, branding is everything, especially in such a competitive market. Play’n GO wants to be a brand that stands head and shoulders above the market, however, placing its core values and ethics at the forefront as opposed to its revenue streams.

“The brand is a reflection of who we are,” he says. “Everything has grown out of these core values, whether that be trust, energy or quality. Staying true to our principles has helped us grow to the team of more than 700 people we are today.

“We’ve always believed that actions speak louder than words. When something doesn’t align with our beliefs or where we think our industry should be heading, we’re going to act. It’s served us well for almost 20 years and we’re not going to change now.”