Welcome, Mike, and thank you for chatting with us today. Before we get into the questions about Thunderkick, could you give us some background on your own journey to date? How long have you been with the company? Where did you work previously, and how and why did you initially get into the iGaming/gambling industry?

Thank you for having me! My journey in the iGaming industry began shortly after I moved to Sweden almost a decade ago, where I found Play’n GO and joined as a game designer. Having only real-life gambling experiences (poker and slots) to my name, it was a case of being in the right place at the right time to make a passion into a career. Fast-forward to today: I have now been at Thunderkick as Game Product Owner for over a year and loving every minute.

It appeared from your releases in 2023 that it must have been a good year for Thunderkick, with some great games coming out, such as Hellapenos, The Wildos, Hot Potato and Bones & Bounty. Was that the general feel around Thunderkick, and did the feedback from operators and players match the expectations that you had as a company?

Absolutely! We are extremely pleased with last year. Even during the development of the games, we could sense a high level of excitement and energy internally. So, to hear that our creations have been given positive feedback from operators and players feels extra special. In 2023, we diversified our portfolio to cater for a wider audience. E.g., with Hot Potato, our first cluster game.

Was there a clear winner regarding the overall performance of your releases in 2023, and was the top spot taken by a game that you anticipated would do well? 

It was very close, with The Wildos eventually taking the honours. I would say that there’s a strong belief that every game we develop will perform well; we are passionate about all our games. This game, though, had all the hallmarks of a popular game from day one. Personality. Theme. Mechanics. Everything is tied up into a high-quality production that fits together seamlessly.

We’ve seen that you’re continuing to add new titles to your Beat the Beast franchise with the recent addition of Beat the Beast Dragon’s Wrath. Last year, there was also the release of Sword of Shoguns, following on from the very popular Sword of Khans. Are there more plans to expand either of those collections?

Yes. We are currently working on another entry in the ‘Sword of’ series, currently pencilled in for release in June this year. The game signals a first for the franchise by moving from the Asian continent to somewhere closer to home. Our general principle is not forcing something to happen. If we find a mechanic/feature that works (for either series), we will strongly consider it.

We’re always interested in knowing each studio's process when creating a new game. Could you tell us briefly how this works at Thunderkick and, on average, how long it takes from the initial brainstorming stage for a new slot before it is completed and ready to play?

That initial spark can literally arise from anywhere within the company. Should an idea start making sense, a proof-of-concept prototype will be created. That will validate either how crazy we are, or if we have a potential game. Once we decide to proceed, a team is assembled to work together throughout the entire development process to transform that idea into a finished product. Start to finish, the process commonly lands between 7 – 9 months.

We’re seeing more iGaming studios ramp up the volatility levels and max wins on their slots. Do you ever see Thunderkick adopting this approach, or do you think it’s a model that is eventually unsustainable?

I cannot imagine that it’s something we’d adopt permanently. Variety is the spice of life, and there are occasions where a certain feature/mechanic lends itself better to higher volatility. For example, our March release Xterminate is by far the most volatile game from Thunderkick, with by far the most likely maximum win. The completely new method of applying multipliers sees to that!

The volatility side of things also goes hand in hand with the bonus buy aspect of online slots. Will Thunderkick always offer a feature buy on all releases in the future? Or can we expect to see any titles in 2024 without this option?

Yes, feature buy will be there, providing it’s available in specific markets etc. Naturally, the experience from the base game to the bonus varies from person to person, so it should go without saying that remains the highest priority. We do not design our games around bonus buys alone.

Speaking of 2024, are there any particular releases you are looking forward to, and is there a flagship game you can tell us about that you expect to perform well? Maybe a little teaser or two if you can.

We are anticipating another great year and have an (almost) complete roadmap of 12 games for 2024, including two big sequels. Those follow-ups are naturally expected to perform very well. Following on the trend from last year, there’s an urge to continue to experiment with unique features and various combinations of mechanics. No game will feel like the last, I promise that. That’s why I personally cannot wait to see the reception of Xterminate – it’s fresh and exciting.

Whilst we’ve been enjoying your newer content, we can’t stop playing Fruit Warp at the moment; what a game that is. Could you tell us your top three favourite Thunderkick slots of all time?

This question is always a difficult one to answer because my preferences can change almost daily. One thing for certain, though, is that Zoom is my absolute favourite. If you’re looking for some hypnotic, low volatile fun then I highly recommend it. Maybe I should push for making a sequel? Second place goes to Hot Potato, maybe recency bias, but also special because it is our first cluster game (a favourite style of mine). Finally, I would say Odin’s Gamble because it’s visually stunning and combines some interesting mechanics rarely seen together.

It’s always great to hear about a studio and its plans, but we like to find out about the people behind the games and company, too. So, when you’re not busy working away at Thunderkick, what would we find Mike Collins doing to relax?

This is probably something I shouldn’t admit so publicly, but I have recently gotten into Fortnite. Getting the squad together for a couple of hours really helps let off steam. Other than that, there’s plenty of forest here in Sweden, so I’ll usually be there either walking the dog or cycling. It’s important to completely disconnect when possible, and if you’re lucky, a game idea comes without thinking about it.

Top

---