Supplying gaming content to hundreds of internet-based gambling operators, Microgaming is one of the best-known publishers of online casino software. It has been a true pioneer in the industry, creating innovative game features for more than two decades. Its portfolio includes virtual and live table games, online slots, video poker, progressive jackpot games, and many others. The company’s most-loved creations, however, are its slots, which attract players with engaging themes, appealing graphics, and sizable jackpots.
Microgaming’s History and Role in the Online Gambling Industry
1Company History
Microgaming was established in the early 1990s as an online casino company and is widely known for launching the first Internet-based casino, the Gaming Club, in 1994. Since then, it has focused exclusively on developing gaming content for other operators, supplying them with downloadable casino software and a wide variety of games.
Today, Microgaming’s headquarters are located on the Isle of Man, but the company also maintains international offices, including one in Gibraltar. It holds licenses from multiple regulators and is active in more than 20 regulated markets across Europe, Latin America, and beyond.
2Major Achievements
Microgaming’s contributions to the online gambling industry are numerous and cannot all be listed here. Thanks to these accomplishments, the company has earned a reputation for being the ultimate pioneer and innovator in this business. Over the years, it has grown from a small development firm into a major player on the global stage. It all began in 1994 with the world’s first online casino, but Microgaming did not stop there. Ten years later, in 2004, it launched the first mobile casino.
Another milestone came in 1998 when it released the first online slot with a progressive jackpot, Cash Splash. Today, the studio operates the world’s largest progressive jackpot network, which has paid out more than €1.1 billion to date. In 2015, a casino player won £13,209,300 while playing Microgaming’s Mega Moolah slot, setting a Guinness World Record for the largest online jackpot payout. The company’s impact goes beyond games, however. As a founding member of eCOGRA (the e-Commerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance), Microgaming was among the first to establish standards for fair and responsible gambling.
Microgaming Company Video
3Gaming Collection
Microgaming has played a pivotal role in the history and development of online gambling, but its most impressive achievement remains its remarkable gaming collection. The portfolio still features some of the studio’s earliest titles, and although these games cannot match the visual quality of modern releases, players continue to enjoy them for their rewarding gameplay.
Currently, Microgaming’s portfolio includes more than 800 casino games spanning various categories and styles, along with roughly 700 additional titles from partner studios. New games are released every month, and most are optimized for both desktop and mobile play.
Types of Slots by Microgaming
Classic Slots
Video Slots
243 Ways Slots
Licensed Slots and Microgaing’s Slot Franchises
Progressive Jackpot SlotsClassic Slots
Microgaming offers one of the largest collections of classic, 3-reel slots on the internet. Unlike some developers that replace older titles with modern releases, the Isle of Man-based studio keeps most games in this category available. Players can choose from dozens of slots that resemble the old-school machines that first appeared in land-based casinos more than 40 years ago.
These retro games cover various themes, and many feature fruit symbols, lucky 7s, diamonds, and bar icons. There are no free spins, bonus rounds, or other special features you would normally find in a newer video slot. Still, many of the games offer multipliers and even wild symbols that help you complete a winning combo.
Video Slots
With more than 300 titles, the developer’s range of video slots is huge, covering themes from action and adventure to jungle settings and Oriental legends. While most slots in this group use a standard 5×3 reel structure, the studio has also created many games with unconventional layouts and unique payout systems. Paylines range from 9 to more than 50, and flexible betting limits ensure there is something for every budget.
Microgaming pioneered some of the most entertaining special features in video slots. The games offer plenty of wilds and scatters, exploding symbols, cascading reels, free spins, and more. Graphical quality varies because some titles were released more than 15 years ago, whereas the latest slots boast stunning visuals and advanced features.
243 Ways Slots
One of the most interesting and innovative slot types from Microgaming is the 243-way slot. Unlike standard games in which symbols must land on specific paylines to pay, these slots require symbols to appear on consecutive reels starting from the leftmost reel. As you can imagine, players have many more chances to win, 243 ways to be exact.
There are also more eccentric variations, such as “all ways win” slots, where identical symbols on consecutive reels pay in both directions. Popular Microgaming titles that use this format include Thunderstruck II, Immortal Romance, and Hot Ink.
Licensed Slots and Microgaing’s Slot Franchises
Some of Microgaming’s most popular games are its “own-brand” slots, which have grown into successful franchises with multiple sequels. Titles that resonate with players often generate spinoffs that share similar themes, reel structures, or storylines. Notable examples include Avalon, Thunderstruck, Agent Jane Blonde, Dragonz, and Hot as Hades.
Another category with even broader appeal is Microgaming’s licensed slots, which follow stories from popular TV series, films, and comic-book heroes. Examples include Game of Thrones, Terminator 2, Jurassic World, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Playboy Gold, and more.
Progressive Jackpot Slots
Microgaming’s diverse portfolio offers plenty of excitement, but what players love most is its progressive jackpot network. It features hit titles such as Mega Moolah and Major Millions, along with many other progressive slots, most of which offer not just one but several different jackpots.
In addition to record-breaking payouts, Microgaming’s progressives stand out because the provider pays jackpots immediately and in full.
Microgaming’s Software
Download and Instant Play Casino
Quickfire
Independent Studios
Initially, Microgaming-powered casinos offered only a software package that had to be downloaded to players’ computers. In 2002, the studio released an improved version of its downloadable software called Viper. For the first time, games running on Viper included an Expert mode and an Autoplay function.
Within a few years, the company began producing Flash games, which could be opened directly in a web browser without any downloads. Today, its flagship product is still available as a Download Casino, compatible with Macs and PCs, and offers more than 700 titles.
The software has improved immensely since the 1990s, and the Instant-Play Casino has become the preferred choice for most players. With the advent of technologies such as HTML5, first introduced in 2004, Microgaming has released even better games. It started by converting 11 titles to HTML5 in 2012, and since then the company has released more than 350 games in this language because of its ability to support multimedia on all platforms, especially mobile.
View more...Microgaming’s Quickfire platform was released in 2010 as an innovative alternative to the download casino. Through Quickfire, casinos that did not run on the Viper system (which required a special license) could access Microgaming’s content. Along with the studio’s own creations, the platform also offered browser-based games from its development partners.
Its smooth integration with Flash and mobile systems gave operators great flexibility and opened access to new markets. Today, Quickfire and all games that run on it are available in more than 20 languages and can be found at hundreds of online casinos. In addition to varied gaming content, it provides invaluable back-office solutions and casino management tools for operators.
View more...Over the years, Microgaming has collaborated with many companies, and today it regularly releases new games through its independent studios and content partners. These titles add greater thematic variety to its original selection of slots and other casino games. The majority of them are launched on the Quickfire platform, which makes them instantly available at hundreds of online casinos.
Currently, Microgaming’s roster of independent studios includes Stormcraft Studios, Alchemy Gaming, Switch Studios, Fortune Factory, Pulse8 Studios, NeonValley Studios, GameBurger Studios, All41 Studios, and Slingshot Studios. The company also works with content partners such as Just for the Win, Playson, Crazy Tooth Studio, 2By2 Gaming, Booming Games, Golden Rock Studios, Lightning Box, and more.
View more...Top Microgaming Slots by RTP
Bikini Party
Couch Potato
Dragon Dance
High 5
Hot Ink
Retro Reels
Lucky Riches Hyperspins
Lucky Twins JackpotBikini Party
With a lively beach theme, 243 ways to win, and an RTP of 97.49%, Bikini Party is a fantastic video slot by Microgaming. It features 5 reels and permanently active ways to win that can pay up to 60,000 coins.
The slot includes wild and scatter symbols plus a Free Spins feature during which all wins are tripled. Players can also activate the Respins Feature, which lets them re-spin a single reel for an extra cost, increasing the theoretical return from 96.52% to 97.49%.
Couch Potato
Couch Potato is a classic 3-reel slot with a single payline, the center line that crosses all three reels horizontally. It is not the most visually impressive Microgaming slot, nor does it offer an elaborate storyline. Instead, it depicts a modern couch potato with a sedentary lifestyle who spends plenty of time watching TV.
The Couch Potato symbol acts as both a wild and a multiplier. If a winning combination contains one wild, the payout is multiplied by 5. When two wilds appear, the prize is boosted by 25x. One of the game’s most appealing features is its RTP of 97.43%.
Dragon Dance
Dragon Dance is another exciting Microgaming video slot with 243 ways to win on a standard 5×3 reel grid. The game celebrates Chinese New Year with beautifully designed symbols featuring musicians, carnival dancers, and dancing dragons. The firecrackers symbol is the scatter, while the game logo serves as a wild that appears only on reels 2 and 4.
This vibrant slot includes a Free Spins feature: landing three or more scatters awards 15 free spins that can be retriggered. Players can also use the Re-Spin Feature, which, as in Bikini Party, raises the game’s return to 97.49%.
High 5
High 5 is a classic Microgaming slot with 3 spinning reels and a single central payline. Players can bet up to 3 coins and win a maximum payout of 15,000 coins. The game’s standout feature is its RTP of 97.43%, which is exceptionally high for any slot.
There is no particular theme and no special bonus rounds. The only notable symbol is the High 5 logo, which acts as a wild, substituting for all other icons in winning combinations. It also works as a multiplier, paying 5x when one wild appears in a win or 25x when two wilds land on the payline.
Hot Ink
Inspired by the vibrant world of tattoos, Hot Ink is a striking video slot with 5 reels and 4 rows. The theme is represented in a unique way through high-quality graphics and tattoo-style symbols. The slot allows wagers of 1 to 10 coins with adjustable coin denominations, though the paylines remain fixed.
The game offers 1,024 ways to win, which work like the 243-ways mechanic, paying for three or more identical symbols on adjacent reels from left to right. Hot Ink features wild, scatter, and bonus symbols, multiple Free Spins rounds, and a Re-Spin option. Players can win up to 100,000 coins during free spins, and the RTP reaches 97.50% when the Re-Spin feature is used.
Retro Reels
Retro Reels is a popular Microgaming video slot series that began with the original Retro Reels released in 2010, followed by Retro Reels Diamond Glitz and Retro Reels Extreme Heat in 2011. The original game can be played with up to 20 paylines and 1 to 10 coins per line, and offers a jackpot of 440,000 coins during the Free Spins feature.
The scatter symbol triggers free spins, but there are no wilds or multipliers. When two or more scatters land anywhere, they award 10 to 25 free spins, depending on how many scatters appear. This slot is quite rewarding with an RTP of 97.50%. The two sequels are largely similar, although Retro Reels Extreme Heat adds a wild symbol.
Lucky Riches Hyperspins
Launched in 2020, Lucky Riches is one of the newest titles available at Microgaming-powered casinos. It offers 243 permanently active ways to win on a 5×3 reel grid. The slot sports a classic Vegas theme with stunning graphics, and stakes range from 0.25 to 112.50 credits per spin.
The game features a Re-Spin option that lets players spin any individual reel for a cost starting at 0.01. It also includes wild and scatter symbols plus Free Spins during which all wins are tripled. The wild symbol appears only on reels 2 and 4. The game’s average return is 97.49%.
Lucky Twins Jackpot
Lucky Twins Jackpot is a remake of Microgaming’s 2015 slot Lucky Twins, this time developed by Pulse8 Studios for the Isle of Man-based company. The game is an unconventional 3-reel video slot with 5 paylines and three jackpots: Minor, Major, and Grand. It features an attractive Chinese theme, wild symbols, and a bonus symbol that triggers the Jackpot Bonus Feature. The RTP varies with the jackpot size but starts at 93.92%.