Looking at Microgaming’s Incredible Influence in the iGaming Sector

History, as they say, is written by the victors. If we are to judge the online casino, or iGaming, sector’s history as reaching back to the 1990s with the invention of the first internet casinos, then Microgaming should surely be considered as one of the victors. The company is widely credited with creating the first “true” online casino software, although, for balance, we should say that others make that claim. As with many other nascent digital industries, many different companies were scrambling to “invent” the online casino sector in the 1990s.

Nevertheless, Microgaming emerged as a casino software powerhouse in the 2000s, and it, along with Playtech and a handful of others, is largely responsible for shaping the online casino sector as we know it today. It’s not just the games, of course, but the digital casino infrastructure that these software developers also provide. Still, from the customer-facing perspective, it’s always going to be the games that make the most impact, and Microgaming has created 100s, including some of the most popular slots ever created.

Several studios operate under the Microgaming umbrella

Indeed, one of the important aspects about Microgaming is that it operates several satellite studies. For instance, the popular Dragon Shard game, a fast-paced mythology-themed slot, is developed by Stormcraft Studios, a Microgaming subsidiary. There are many other studios, too, including the very influential Quickfire Gaming. As such, there are probably many Microgaming titles “hidden” in your favorite online casino without you even realizing it.

Of course, we can point to many titles that are instantly recognizable as Microgaming casino games, including the suite of live dealer tables it offers. There are also several officially branded games, including Jurassic Park, that players associate with the Microgaming brand. As we said, Microgaming is responsible for shaping how we view the modern online casino sector, and it created the first official branded slot game in 2004. That game was Lara Croft: Tomb Raider slots, a title based on the iconic video game series.

We should also mention Microgaming’s Jackpot Network. A Jackpot Network is a collection of linked games, all sharing a progressive jackpot. The games span different casinos, using economies of scale to build up the prizes by taking a small contribution from each played spin. Microgaming is behind what is perhaps the most famous jackpot game in the world – Mega Moolah – which still holds the record for the biggest online casino jackpot payout.

An interesting thing is occurring with Microgaming at the moment. As we mentioned, the company is a pioneer of the nascent iGaming industry in the 1990s. Consequently, that means it has a lot of popular games that have been around for a long time. There is a fine line between the concepts of being a “classic” and being “outdated”, so Microgaming seems to be on a mission to update many of its most popular games from the past. This includes rebooted versions of Jurassic Park and Thunderstruck II.

Despite all of the praise we have heaped on Microgaming, it’s still going to be subjective to say that it is the best developer of casino games. All players will have their favorites. Moreover, Microgaming faces stiff competition from rivals like Playtech, which was founded in 1999, and newer studios like Pragmatic Play. The latter’s influence is growing at a truly rapid pace. There’s also inevitably competition from the land-based sector. And yet, Microgaming’s influence is undimmed. The online casino sector would be a very different place today had it not existed. And we can be sure its games will remain popular for a long time to come.