Connor Blinman, Head of Games at Gaming Corps, talks to AskGamblers about the studio’s recent run of successful games including Hoop Champion featuring its innovative X-MY-WAYS mechanic.
Gaming Corps hit the ground running in 2025 with the launch of Gates of Hellfire. For players yet to take it for a spin, tell us what it has to offer.
Gates of Hellfire is a slot like no other. This is because of its unique payment system that requires players to battle against various demon enemies on the reels to secure wins with a maximum prize of 5,000x their bet up for grabs. Each demon has its own prize, but it can only be collected if the player gathers specific weapons that eliminate that specific demon. The objective with each spin, therefore, is to land an enemy on the grid as well as the weapon needed to destroy it. For example, shotguns are the weakest weapon but will kill the lowest value enemy. As the game progresses, players see different weapons with different attributes that cause various types of damage and degrees of destruction, which ultimately impact the grid. It’s truly unique and has proved to captivate and entertain players.
It seems like you’ve leaned heavily into gamification with Gates of Hellfire. Is a deeper, richer experience what players now expect?
There’s a large and growing group of players looking to do more than just hit spin and wait to see if they win or not, and, as a studio, we want to create games that appeal to this audience. Collection mechanics have become hugely popular of late, and with Gates of Hellfire we wanted to put our own spin on it to provide a never-seen-before player experience. For the core gameplay, we turned to the worlds of video and mobile gaming and combined some of the mechanics used there with elements of traditional slot games. This ensures Gates of Hellfire is still recognisable as an online slot game, but with a different payment and rewards system that’s more akin to a mobile game.
Gates of Hellfire was followed by Hoop Champion which hit the market just before March Madness. Are sports themed slots a must-have in a studio’s portfolio?
Hoop Champion is an instant win game that sees players step onto the court for the ultimate basketball themed online gambling experiences. But they must choose their shots wisely and keep a close eye on the action as their rewards soar with every swish, thanks in part to our innovative X-MY-WAY mechanic built into the game. This gives players control over the intensity of the gameplay so they can take safe mid-range shots for steady wins or go for high-risk, high-reward three pointers. And yes, sports themed slots are now hugely popular and are a must have for studios as the demand for these games among players, and operators, continues to rise.
X-MY-WAYS sounds like a really interesting mechanic. How does it work and what makes it so thrilling for players?
This is a brand new mechanic that allows players to take their own path to the maximum multipliers on offer in the game – so not a linear route, which is usually the case. The idea is that the player can define the way they want to play, making for a more personalised experience. They can opt for the low volatility option, or they can crank up the risk/reward factor to the max. Some players might even want to bounce between the two depending on how they are feeling. X-MY-WAYS is all about giving players more control over the experience the game provides, and we believe it will redefine the instant win format and any other game types that we introduce it to, as players can easily see the level of risk/reward they are playing to.
Do you see innovative mechanics as a way to stand out as a studio?
Absolutely. At Gaming Corps, we are always working on new and innovative mechanics and formats to make sure our games hit different, whether a traditional slot, a table game, an instant win title or one of our non-traditional games. X-MY-WAY is the latest in a run of mechanics that have proved to be popular with players. This includes our Smash4Cash™ series and our flagship title, Piggy Smash, as well as A-MAZE-CADES. With each of these mechanics, we are looking to elevate the player experience with something new and exciting, but not something too complex as we know that players won’t spend the time or money figuring out how it works. Given the success of our mechanics to date, I think it’s a balance we have managed to strike.
What does the next few months have in store for Gaming Corps?
We’ve got a packed product roadmap with some truly innovative slot games set to hit the market over the coming months. A selection of these will be AAA games, which means of the highest production quality, and will include new mechanics and cool features that will keep players on the edge of their seats and coming back for more. This includes 3 Pigs of Olympus Bonus Pot which is packed full of bonus features including Wilds, a Coin Collection bonus, Instant Prizes, Free Spins and more. We are also building out our portfolio of Smash4Cash games, with Piggy Smash 2 set to hit online casino game lobbies in May plus an exciting fishing product set for launch in July. It’s going to be quite the ride, and we hope to see plenty of online casinos and players join us.
