Katya Machuganova, Gaming Product & Partnership Manager at Silverback Gaming, talks through the game mechanics that will be hitting the mark with players over the coming 12 months.
Mechanics. This is one of the most talked about areas of game development and for good reason – the game’s mechanics play a significant role in determining the experience players receive.
This is where studios focus a lot of their resources, especially on developing proprietary mechanics that can be trademarked and used as a powerful USP.
But cracking the code with game mechanics is easier said than done – player preferences change all the time and, in a bid to be innovative, studios can push the boundaries too far.
This is why you tend to see studios look to iterate and evolve proven mechanics alongside developing next-generation reel systems, bonuses and features.
But even in the area of proven mechanics, trends come and go and players magnate towards games with certain features over others for a period of time before preferences change once again.
So, as we move into 2025, I thought it would be worth sharing our insights into what we believe will be the most popular slot mechanics over the coming 12 months.
Wilds:
One of the most simple but effective game mechanics, Wilds are hugely popular with players and are found in the vast majority of video slots.
Why are they so popular? They’re super easy to understand and bring tangible value to the spin by creating additional win combinations.
Studios love them, too, because there are loads of ways to use Wilds and put a unique twist on them – you can make them Sticky, Expand, Transform, move and more.
Wilds are a core part of the gameplay in two of our recent games, Wasabi Wilds and Wild
Moonsters, and come with unique twists to keep players engaged.
Multipliers:
Another classic mechanic but again one where studios have plenty of scope for innovation.
Players love Multipliers because of how they can transform a pretty average win into a spectacular one, especially with multiple Multipliers in play on the same spin.
We often like to include them in Free Spins bonuses as they really ramp up the anticipation and excitement for the player.
We also like to explore new ways of using the Multiplier function – in our latest slot, Midas’ Book of Alchemy, the Midas character selects symbols at random and turns them into a cash prize of up to 10x the player’s bet.
So while this is not a traditional Multiplier mechanic, it uses the function to randomly bring a
Multiplier into play as a cash prize.
Hold & Spin/Hold & Win:
Hold & Win slots are among my favourites as they get you on the edge of your seat when the reel locks and the others spin to form additional wins or trigger more bonuses.
Again, this is a mechanic around which we are seeing a lot of new concepts and ideas from studios, indeed, is one that we have been experimenting with.
Players are increasingly looking for more control over the outcome of the game and in Race4Gold we provide exactly that through the Hold & Spin mechanic.
With the Pitstop Lock Bonus, after each base game spin, the player can choose which reel to Lock and which to Respin for an adjusted bet amount.
It’s proved to be incredibly popular, and we will absolutely be developing more games with the Hold & Spin feature over the coming 12 months.
Free Spins:
Free Spins remain a firm player favourite and it’s easy to see why – they get free spins and an increased chance of landing wins and big prizes.
One trend that we are seeing is for players to be given a choice of Free Spins bonuses once the feature has been triggered.
This feeds into the emerging preference among players that they are given some element of control over the gameplay.
In Wild Moonsters, for example, players can pick which Modifier they would like in play once the Free Spins have been triggered – this includes a Multiplier being added to wins, more Wilds landing or removing the low-paying Royal symbols.
Jackpots:
Jackpot slots will be in high demand in 2025 for sure – especially among players in the US.
Players love the thrill of spinning for big wins, and the anticipation that jackpots can trigger and drop at any time – the anticipation can be just as exciting as the win itself.
Big progressives used to be the most popular type of jackpot slot but now we are seeing players enjoy other formats like multi-level and must-hit.
I think most players want to feel the jackpot win is attainable and this isn’t necessarily the case with the major progressive titles whose prize pots run into the millions of dollars.
ClockWays:
I can’t talk about the biggest mechanics in 2025 and not mention our trademarked ClockWays mechanic which sees the reels turn clockwise and anti-clockwise to guarantee wins.
It’s made an appearance in several of our top-performing games this year and will used more extensively over the coming 12 months.
For me, we’ve managed to strike the right balance between innovation and familiarity – players won’t spend time or money learning a complex mechanic – and that’s why it’s been such a hit.
Developing new mechanics is always fun and I expect we’ll see some really ground-breaking
concepts hit the market in 2025 and beyond.
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