NetEnt

Why NetEnt matters on a spec sheet

Look down the feature column of almost any modern slot and you will find ideas NetEnt had in its catalogue early on: cascades, wins in both directions, respins and wilds that grow to fill a reel. That is the main reason to know this studio. Its famous games are not the most complex on the market, yet they explain where much of today’s design vocabulary comes from. For anyone trying to read slot specs with confidence, NetEnt is a useful reference point.

There are no NetEnt games on SlotSpecs at the moment. The demo network we draw from holds 210 of the studio’s titles.

Features that became industry standard

Evolution credits NetEnt with several early contributions, all of which are now everywhere:

• Avalanche. Symbols drop into position rather than spinning past. Any symbols that form a win are cleared, fresh ones fall into the gaps, and a single spin can keep paying as long as new wins land. Gonzo’s Quest is the title most people link with it. Other studios now run their own takes, Pragmatic Play’s tumbles among them.
• Paying both ways. Lines count from the left and from the right, which widens the set of winning combinations. Starburst is the classic case.
• Expanding wilds with respins. A wild grows to cover its reel, holds there, and the remaining reels are spun again.

The contrast with current releases is easy to see. Set Starburst beside a six-reel grid game and the older slot has one headline feature, a tidy screen and hardly any menus to learn.

Six games that define the range

These are the titles Evolution highlights as NetEnt’s key games:

What stands out is how little these games resemble each other. Finn and the Swirly Spin drops reels for a spiral grid. Twin Spin is designed around reels next to each other joining up. The older catalogue tends to try a new layout with each release, rather than repainting one familiar grid.

From listed company to Evolution brand

According to Evolution, NetEnt has been shaping the online video slot "since 1996". It was a stock-market company of its own until Evolution’s takeover, which completed on 30 November 2020 with Evolution owning roughly 96.8% of the shares. From 1 December 2020 the businesses ran as one group under the Evolution name, with Evolution’s management in operational charge of NetEnt.

Red Tiger came along too. NetEnt had acquired it in 2019, so the purchase moved both into Evolution. NetEnt now sits beside Red Tiger, Big Time Gaming, Nolimit City and Ezugi as one of several Evolution brands. Evolution’s brand page also notes that NetEnt offers a set of classic RNG table games in addition to slots.

The RTP picture

We have not located any NetEnt or Evolution document that defines a single RTP policy for the studio, or says how many RTP versions each game ships with. For that reason we make no general statement about reduced-RTP builds. Once NetEnt games join SlotSpecs, each page will carry that title’s own verified RTP and volatility.

NetEnt beside Red Tiger and Nolimit City

Evolution owns three slot brands we cover, and they feel quite different. NetEnt is the traditional designer, with plain rules and layouts most players already know. Red Tiger is organised around its jackpot network and player engagement tools. Nolimit City is at the far end, with packed mechanics and very high volatility. A player who finds Nolimit City too intense can stay with the same parent group and switch to NetEnt’s quieter range.

The player NetEnt is built for

NetEnt is a good match if you like to understand a game within a handful of spins, or if you are curious about how slot features evolved, since many began here. If you are chasing 25,000x-style ceilings and stacked bonus menus, the classic titles will probably feel too plain.

Strengths and drawbacks

Strengths

• Classics that are quick to learn, each with one clear headline feature.
• Early forms of now-standard mechanics such as Avalanche.
• Real variety of layout, from the spiral grid to linked reels.

Drawbacks

• Its most famous games are older and simpler than today’s releases.
• No NetEnt titles are listed on SlotSpecs yet.

NetEnt questions answered