The future of iGaming: Building your own Game Studio

The iGaming industry is a a highly competitive battleground where operators are fighting to differentiate themselves from the competition. Operators and aggregators are constantly seeking new ways to stand out, stay relevant, and grow their customer base. Now, it’s important to understand that operators very rarely, if ever, have exclusivity over the games they offer, which means that the offering remains broadly the same, therefore one platform is not significantly different from another.

iGaming operators face a pressing challenge: How can they stand out from the noise and create a truly unique gaming experience?

This is where setting up their own game studio can be a strategic move for iGaming operators. A game studio provides operators with the ability to create unique content, gain greater control over the development process, enhance compliance, and ultimately increase profitability. It offers a strategic advantage by enabling operators to differentiate themselves in a competitive market, fostering long-term growth and player loyalty.

Establishing a game studio requires careful planning and strategic steps to achieve successful development and seamless operations. The following outlines the key stages of the game development lifecycle according to Nagarro's game lifecycle framework.

Market research and feasibility study:

• Competitive analysis: Study existing iGaming operators, game offerings and studios to identify gaps and opportunities.
• Trend analysis: Stay updated with the latest trends in game development and player preferences.
• Feasibility study: Assess the financial and operational viability of the game studio.

Game conceptualization

Game conceptualization is a critical phase in the development process where the foundation of the game is laid out. This involves ideation, game math, and mechanics.

• Ideation: To generate and refine game ideas that align with the studio’s vision and target audience.
• Game math: To design the mathematical framework that governs the game’s mechanics, ensuring balance, fairness, and player engagement.
• Game mechanics: To define the rules and systems that dictate how the game is played and how players interact with the game world.

Game development

Game development is the phase where the game concept is transformed into a playable product. This involves multiple specialized tasks, including:

• Art and animation: To create the visual elements that bring the game world and its characters to life.
  Nagarro offers a full-service human-centred design studio with rich experience in designing digital experiences and reimagining seamless customer journeys across experience levels. 
• Sound: To create an immersive audio experience that complements the visual and gameplay elements.
• UI/UX design: To create a user interface that is intuitive, accessible, and enhances the overall player experience.
  At Nagarro, we create visual art, VFX, and animation from start to finish, including concepts, 2D/3D assets, such as, characters, environments, props, symbols, etc. spine and 3D animations, Game UI, leveraging the latest Gen AI tech.
• Back-end development: To develop the underlying systems that support the game’s functionality, especially for online and multiplayer components.

Quality assurance

Quality testing is a crucial phase in the game development process, ensuring that the game meets the desired standards of functionality, performance, and user experience. It involves both functional and non-functional testing, each addressing different aspects of the game’s quality.

• Functional testing: To verify that the game functions correctly and all features work as intended.
• Non-functional testing: To evaluate aspects of the game that do not relate to specific functions but affect the overall user experience and performance.

From AI-enabled test automation to reduce cycle time and effort in self-healing, end-to-end testing of stability, scalability and reliability to deliver high-performing products to a 360̊   quality assessment, Nagarro has an expertise in solutions that empowers organizations to accelerate their QA transformation journey.

Game certification

Ensuring compliance is a critical step in game development, especially for iGaming operators, as it guarantees that the game is legally compliant, secure, fair, trustworthy and meets industry standards and regulatory requirements. This step focuses on game certification, pre-compliance testing, and certification support.

Nagarro provides complete technical assistance and support on regulatory requirements while entering new markets.

Game release

The game launch phase is crucial as it marks the transition from development to live operations. This involves two key components:

• Content deployment: It is the process of making the game available to players across different platforms after development and testing. This process includes the following steps:
  
  - Platform integration: Ensuring that the game is seamlessly integrated with various platforms (desktop, mobile, or web-based). This includes compatibility checks across different operating systems and devices to ensure players have a consistent experience.
  - Localization: Adapting the game for different regions, which involves translating text, adjusting currencies, and complying with local regulations. This step is crucial for global operators who want to cater to players from different parts of the world.
  
  
• Change management: This step overseeing the systematic approach to implementing changes in the game or platform after its release. This process ensures that updates, new features, or fixes are deployed smoothly without disrupting the player experience.

Building a game studio involves balancing creativity with business acumen by focusing on:

• Solid business planning
• A clear monetization strategy and a realistic budget.
• Building a strong core team, fostering a positive work culture, and encouraging continuous skill development.
• Starting marketing efforts and community engagement early, supported by strategies for post-launch support and player retention.
• Protecting intellectual property, managing risks, and ensuring legal compliance.

iGaming operators face a multifaceted challenge: understanding their core competencies and finding reliable partners to navigate this complex industry.  Choosing the right consulting partner to build an in-house game studio is a critical decision. The right partner can provide the expertise, guidance, and support necessary to establish a successful studio that meets the operator's goals.

Nagarro has been working in the iGaming industry for over 12 years. Our team comprises 500+ experienced gaming professionals operating from 20 centres worldwide. Our extensive experience in the iGaming industry enables us to help our valued clients gain deeper insights into their players, games, and overall business operations, empowering them to maximize their business potential.

Ready to elevate your iGaming business? Let’s connect and explore how Nagarro can help you achieve your goals!