Just a couple of months ago, eagle-eyed gaming fans may have got excited about the prospect of a brand new title launching featuring everyone’s favourite athletic archaeologist – Lara Croft.
However, upon closer inspection, they may have been surprised to see that rather than it being a new action-adventure game, it was, in fact, an online slot title.
Called Lara Croft: Temples and Tombs, the title created by Microgaming is not only the latest in a number of slot games to feature the heroine, but also just the latest sign of the close relationship which has formed between video gaming and the online casino industry in recent years.
We are celebrating our 15th anniversary with Square Enix by announcing the development of a new Lara Croft® online slot, signalling the industry's longest-running brand partnership and our third game with the iconic character.https://t.co/UWsgZ55y9u#Microgaming #LaraCroft pic.twitter.com/rOx9HkRnwU
— Microgaming (@Microgaming) January 7, 2019
A thriving industry
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the online casino world is really thriving at the moment. As a trip to www.new-casinos.uk highlights, there are a number of sites out there which are offering a host of different games and using a range of methods to attract new players. Generous welcome bonuses are one such tactic, but another way is to offer an attractive selection of titles.
This is where online slots based on well-known brands come in. When you head to an online casino you will see gaming icons like Lara Croft and Hitman rubbing shoulders with slots based TV hits like Narcos and Game of Thrones, as well as movie favourites like Jurassic World or Bridesmaids. There are a number of reasons as to why this has happened, but one obvious one is that the casino industry is keen to leverage their popularity and also attract fans to experience their much-loved franchises in a whole new light.
Whether such games have enticed people to join casino sites may be open to debate, but the fact that figures from www.statista.com suggest the industry could be worth $94 billion by 2024 means something is clearly doing the trick.
The influence of casino gaming
However, it is important to state that the relationship between casinos and video gaming is far from simply a one-way deal. There is a strong argument that in a number of ways casinos have pointed the way for the future of gaming, not least in the way that the industry was quick to move from being a strictly offline concept to embrace the possibilities offered by the online world.
Furthermore, casino sites also cottoned on to the potential of streaming when they launched live casino games – experiences where games like roulette or blackjack are hosted by a dealer via a video link. With innovations like Google Stadia – https://www.blog.google/products/stadia/stadia-a-new-way-to-play/ – hinting at gaming’s streaming future, could it be argued that casino sites actually got there first?
Finally, another area where casino sites have perhaps led the way is in moving from traditional payment methods to embrace alternative ways for players to make deposits.
Close links
All in all, it is fair to say that the online casino industry and video gaming have had a long relationship. While the new Lara Croft game may be the latest sign of the close links between the two areas, it is unlikely to be the last time we see some element of crossover between them.