Gaming giant Entain has announced it will double the investment in its in-house game studios, in order to expand its ability to produce new products and experiences for its customers.
Entain said that within a year, headcount will double to around 300 people across its three in-house studios in the UK, Italy and India, in order to create new products across all its markets, including the US.
Entain’s UK-based studio near Oldham, CR Games, will initially create 8 new roles, bringing its headcount to around 50.
The new content will include free-to-play slot tournaments, and following the recent sponsorship between Entain’s PartyCasino and PartyPoker brands and McLaren, the operator will also develop exclusive Formula 1-themed casino content and games later this year.
The operator said it is also developing new experiences for customers using immersive technologies, with its first virtual reality product for customers – a multi-activity sports club – due later in the year.
The game studios are also adapting their content for more international markets, with Win Studios tailoring Entain’s core bingo product to create a sports-themed gaming experience for customers of its Sportingbet brand, for example.
“We love giving our customers great experiences and exciting entertainment as that is the bedrock of what we do,” said Jette Nygaard-Andersen, chief executive of Entain. “Increasing our investment across all three of our in-house games studios will provide more of that for our customers across all our global brands.
“By widening our offer with new and exclusive games, such as free-to-play tournaments, we give existing and new customers more reasons to use our products. This not only helps to grow our business but brings fresh insight, so we can further improve the offer for our customers.”
Colin Cole-Johnson, Entain’s gaming director, added: “Developing more of our own games means we have complete control over what goes into them, not just in giving our customers a great experience, but also keeping them safe.”
A trading update published earlier today (8 July) showed that Entain had upped its earnings forecast for the full year 2021 to between £850m and £900m, after a strong first half of the year saw sports betting and retail revenue grow year-on-year, while online revenue remained stable.
