Scientific Games Corp. has strengthened its original iGaming content offering and production capabilities with the acquisition of ELK Studios, a leading European games developer.
According to the company, this “highly synergistic” acquisition of a digital content studio marks another important step as the company rapidly executes its vision to become the leading cross-platform global game company.
ELK Studios is a Stockholm-based developer with a long history of producing carefully crafted games with groundbreaking mathematics, superb artwork and a mobile-first focus. The highly profitable digital studio’s hit releases include Wild Toro II, Katmandu and Cygnus, and its games also feature the innovative X-iter tool allowing players to jump into the action through a selection of special predefined modes.
The acquisition is the latest in a string of targeted content-focused deals as SG moves quickly to invest in and grow its presence in digital markets. By adding ELK Studios to its in-house games portfolio, the company has further bolstered its capacity for creating iGaming content and will be looking to take ELK’s top-ranked content into the U.S. and Canadian markets while further enhancing its position as a leading content provider in the U.K. and Europe.
“Acquiring ELK Studios demonstrates once again our commitment to make targeted, value-enhancing investments designed to advance our cross-platform content capabilities,” said Barry Cottle, president and CEO of Scientific Games.
“The ELK Studios team is packed with talent and enhances our existing in-house teams and capabilities. The highly synergistic combination of their top-ranked games and our leading OpenGaming ecosystem offers exciting distribution opportunities in the U.S. and Canada. I am thrilled to welcome them to our team.”
ELK Studios is already live with a wide range of operators through the market leading OpenGaming ecosystem, with its titles proving highly popular with key operators across the U.K. and Europe. The studio will continue to work independently to create new titles, while also benefiting from Scientific Games’ comprehensive range of resources including commercial scale, market expansion, support in U.S. and Canada, game IP and data analytics tools.
Dylan Slaney, CEO of iGaming at Scientific Games, said, “We have had a strategic partnership with ELK Studios for a number of years, and its games have performed brilliantly across the OpenGaming platform. ELK is one of the most innovative and top-ranked studios in iGaming. Their passion and enthusiasm for producing games of standout quality is infectious. They will play a pivotal role in helping us continue to provide players with even more immersive and engaging experiences.”
Filip Säfbeck, CEO of ELK Studios, said, “This deal is the fruit of many years of hard work by a team that is fully committed to crafting high-quality online gaming experiences. We see it as the perfect time to join the Scientific Games team, given that our ambitions to grow through innovation and into the U.S. and Canada are in total alignment. We have experienced firsthand through our OpenGaming partnership that Scientific Games can take our games to the next level. This acquisition offers us a solid base to bring to market a wide range of exciting new slots more smoothly than ever to online casino partners across the globe.”
The latest deal by Scientific Games follows recent high-profile iGaming acquisitions of slot developer Lightning Box and premium live casino solutions provider Authentic Gaming.
