Microgaming Slots

Microgaming is the oldest name in online slots, but since 2022, the name is completely misleading. The company that launched the first real-money casino software in 1994 sold its entire game catalog and distribution business to Games Global. Games Global is a separately owned company that publishes games from over 40 independent studios. The original Microgaming renamed itself Apricot Investments and stopped making games entirely. Every slot you see with the Microgaming brand today is actually made by someone else.

When you browse a casino lobby, this creates a problem. Seeing "Microgaming" on a game tells you nothing about who built it. The real developer could be Stormcraft Studios, Gameburger Studios, Triple Edge Studios, or any of dozens of smaller teams you will never see named in the lobby. Quality goes from excellent to really poor, sometimes in the same week of releases. The Microgaming label just points to a massive catalog of over 1,300 games, not a single creative studio.

The giant progressive jackpots

The progressive jackpot network is the one thing no other provider has managed to copy. Mega Moolah has been running since November 2006. It has created over 120 millionaires and paid out more than €700 million. The largest Mega Moolah payout hit €19.4 million in April 2021. Back in October 2015, Jon Heywood won £13.2 million from a 25p spin - a story people in the industry still talk about today.

Mega Moolah is no longer the top earner. WowPot is a newer jackpot network that starts at €2 million, and it paid out a €38.4 million win on Wheel of Wishes in December 2023. That is the largest online slot win ever recorded. A third network called King Millions launched in July 2023. It also starts at €2 million and is expected to pay out amounts above €30 million.

The math behind these huge prizes is harsh. Mega Moolah has a base game RTP of 88.12%. When you add the jackpot contribution, the total RTP reaches about 93.4%, which is still well below the 96% standard for most slots. You are accepting a higher house edge for the chance to win a jackpot that normal slots simply do not offer. Games Global has now linked newer games like Book of Mega Moolah and Immortal Romance Mega Moolah to the same jackpot pool. This means you no longer have to play the old 2006 game to chase the big money.

Across all these networks, lifetime payouts have passed €1.3 billion.

A mixed bag of game studios

Games Global publishes games, but it does not build them. They work with over 40 partner studios. Knowing which studio made your game often tells you if it will be a good time or a waste of time.

The top studios include Stormcraft Studios, Gameburger Studios, Just For The Win, Triple Edge Studios, and SpinPlay Games. These teams make games with good mechanics, nice graphics, and fair math. Stormcraft updated the classics Immortal Romance and Thunderstruck II in 2020 without ruining what made them great. Gameburger made 9 Masks of Fire, which was a massive hit and started a very successful series.

The middle group of studios makes games that work fine but are easy to forget. You play them, they pay out normally, and you forget the name by next week.

The bottom group is where the problems start. Games Global released over 210 new slots in 2024, which is about four a week. Nobody can properly check four new games a week and keep the quality high. Because of this, you get a catalog where really good games sit right next to boring, generic filler. If you see a Microgaming game from a studio you do not recognize, it pays to be skeptical.

Casinos can lower your winning odds

Newer games from these partner studios come with adjustable RTP settings. Casinos can choose which version to run, and the lowest settings are some of the worst you will find anywhere.

For example, Fire and Roses Joker can be set anywhere from 86.70% to 96.01%. Peaky Pigs goes from 86.86% to 96.09%, and Pineapple Pop ranges from 86.70% to 96.00%. An 86% RTP means the casino has a 14% edge, which is worse than most roulette tables. Even the updated classics are often set lower now. Thunderstruck II and Immortal Romance frequently run at around 94.1% at many UK casinos, rather than their original 96% or higher. Some places even allow versions as low as 80%.

You can find this information inside the game, but it is usually hidden in the help pages or behind an info button. The casino lobby will not tell you which version you are playing. Two different casinos could have the exact same game, but one might be giving you much worse odds.

The games actually worth playing

Out of the 1,300 games available, only a small number really live up to the old Microgaming reputation. These are the games that still hold their own today:

Immortal Romance (2011, updated in 2020 by Stormcraft Studios): This has a 96.86% RTP at its highest setting, high volatility, and a 12,150x max win with 243 ways to win. The bonus system lets you unlock four different character features as you play, and it is still one of the best progression systems in any slot. The vampire romance theme sounds ridiculous until the great art and music pull you in.

Thunderstruck II (2010, updated in 2020 by Stormcraft Studios): This gives you a 96.65% RTP, medium volatility, and an 8,000x max win. It features a Great Hall of Spins with four Norse god bonus rounds, a setup many other games still copy today. Loki's 15 free spins feature is arguably the best single bonus round they have ever made.

9 Masks of Fire (Gameburger Studios): A medium volatility game with a 96.24% RTP and a 2,000x max win. It has a clean design and a very satisfying mechanic where landing scatter symbols pays out instant cash. This game proved the partner studio model could create huge hits.

Lara Croft: Temples and Tombs (Triple Edge Studios): This offers a 96.05% RTP, high volatility, and a 7,343x max win. It uses rolling reels where winning symbols disappear and new ones drop in, building up a multiplier that can reach 15x. It is easily the best game in the Tomb Raider series.

Book of Oz (Triple Edge Studios): A high volatility slot with a 96.31% RTP and a 5,000x max win. It uses the familiar expanding symbol format but adds a feature where you can pay to respin individual reels to chase better combinations.

If you like games based on movies or TV shows, keep in mind that they usually have lower RTP to pay for the licensing. Game of Thrones runs at 95%, and The Phantom of the Opera sits at 93.65%. Newer branded games follow this same pattern of strong names but lower returns.

The original Microgaming era from 1994 to 2020 gave us some of the most important technology and games in the industry. Immortal Romance and Thunderstruck II are still some of the best slots ever made. The jackpot network has paid out €1.3 billion and continues to make millionaires faster than anyone else. The reality today under Games Global is very different. The focus is now on pushing out as many games as possible. The catalog grows by over 200 titles a year, and the average quality of these new releases is much lower than what smaller, focused studios deliver. The old classics earned this brand its reputation, but most of the new games are just coasting on it.