What is the strategy behind Evolution's purchase of Nolimit City?
The largest creator of live casino software wants to become not only the reference of gambling live , which it already is, but also in the undisputed supplier of innovative slot machines. We are talking about Evolution. The company founded in 2006 and whose main studio is located in Riga (Latvia) has not stopped growing in recent years. Having become the leader of live games, it has launched itself into the market of random number machines or RNG (videoslots) that it threatens to monopolize.
Unmistakable for their dark and sordid theme, the Nolimit City video games will very soon become part of the Evolution catalog, once the live gaming giant has entered into an agreement to buy the software studio. ©QuinceCreative/Pixabay
Nolimit City... a strategic acquisition
When Evolution it was made with the prestigious videoslots developer NetEnt in 2020 a giant appeared on the horizon from the game providers for online casinos that arrived to rival brands such as IGT, Playtech, Aristocrat or Microgaming of great travel in the industry.
But NetEnt was just the beginning. With NetEnt came Red Tiger, another slot developer and before, in 2018, Evolution acquired the Ezugi studio , a relatively small live game studio with some integration in markets such as Latin America where Evolution was eager to position itself.
Another notable acquisition was that of Big Time Gaming, a developer best known for the innovative MegawaysTM function that there is no provider today that I have not incorporated. And with this it seemed that Evolution could be satisfied. With the three slot software studios (NetEnt, Red Tiger and Big Time Gaming) I had a sufficiently varied and innovative portfolio that put the company on a par with the giants of the industry that move millions a year. Evolution was no longer just live games.
Why now this interest in Nolimit City and, by the way, what is Nolimit City? Nolimit City is a small videoslots development studio in operation since 2014 and with only 50 or 60 creations on the market. It does not seem very clear what is the advantage that such a provider can provide to Evolution, given that the turnover of Nolimit City on the annual balance sheet of Evolution will be practically insignificant .
But Nolimit City has carved a niche for itself in the industry and there are not a few online casinos that offer some of their titles, also in New Zealand where it is about one of the new game providers to hit the market . Evolution seems to have opted for a strategy of acquiring diversity rather than big names; the latter has already done so with NetEnt, by the way.
Experts have pointed out that the RNG or videolsots gaming division has let down in the last year in terms of income. This has been because Evolution would have been reorganizing the way they have to face the competitive videoslots market and made few new releases. Nolimit City would now come to fill a gap with innovative titles in the visual and very peculiar in the theme.
The most significant thing here is that Evolution does not seem very interested in investing in the production of massive slot machines with simple functions for the compulsive gambler. With Nolimit City they have been made with a studio for demanding players with particular tastes . The most characteristic of Nolimit City are its sordid themes that are difficult to imitate. Titles like Tombstone R.I.P. , Remember Gulag , Punk Toilet or The Step Gunfight Xnudge they clear up for themselves. Is igaming turning into gaming?
The terms of the acquisition
Evolution has agreed to acquire Nolimit City for about 200 million euros to which a compensation of 140 million more can be added. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the third quarter of this current year once it has the approval of the relevant regulatory authorities.
“With the addition of Nolimit City to the Evolution family, we are expanding our portfolio of truly innovative and cutting-edge games from the best game brands and manufacturers in the sector. We have been following Jonas, Emil and their team for a few years and have been impressed with how they have established a completely new style of slot games. I am proud that another of the best minds in our industry has chosen to join the Evolution network.” – Jens von Bahr , President of Evolution, in press release
The evolution brands :
- Evolution
- Ezugi
- NetEnt
- Red Tiger
- Big Time Gaming
- DigiWheel
- Nolimit City
