Blueprint Gaming Acquires Livewire Gaming
Author:
Scott Lawson
Blueprint Gaming has acquired UK based games developer Livewire Gaming. The acquisition further cements Blueprint Gaming’s position at the forefront of the slots market. Livewire’s many years of industry experience will also help Blueprint to expand on its ability to produce category C land-based games.
Livewire Gaming has over a decade of experience in the machine gaming market. ©Benoit Dare/Unsplash
Blueprint Looks to Land-Based Games
The acquisition has taken place as Blueprint Gaming seeks to improve its ability to develop land-based games. This is an area of expertise for Livewire Gaming, which has over a decade of experience in this market. Livewire Gaming will continue to operate as an independent studio. Alan Claypole is Livewire’s Director and will continue to steer the company in its creation of land-based games.
“We would like to officially welcome Alan and his team to the Gauselmann Group. Livewire and Blueprint have had a close relationship for many years, so this merger makes perfect sense for both parties. We look forward to working with Livewire and building on our already successful partnership.”– Sascha Blodau, UK General Manager, Gauselmann Group
Blueprint Gaming has been slowly but steadily working on increasing its number of game studios recently with further acquisitions. In 2018 Games Warehouse was acquired and in February of this year Project Coin was brought in to build on Blueprint’s game design capabilities.
Blueprint Gaming – Masters of Online Slots
Blueprint Gaming is a game studio based in the UK. Its main focus lies in developing online and mobile slot games. However, Blueprint games can also be played on over 100,000 land-based gaming terminals around Europe. Blueprint is well known in the industry for creating original content as well as games using third party brands. These serve as excellent marketing tools and are popular with players. Creativity is key for Blueprint, which is why the studio has prioritized developing interactive and innovative new features in its games. This ethos has allowed the company to rise to the top over the last decade.
Blueprint’s latest project has just been released, titled ‘Carry on Camping’. The slot game is based on the classic 1969 comedy film of the same name. Players will enjoy the memorable cast of characters, including Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims and Sid James. ‘Carry on Camping’ joins Blueprint’s Pub Fruit Series, which brings land-based games to the online market. Jo Purvis, of Blueprint Gaming, expressed her excitement at the launch of the iconic game.
“The Carry On franchise is a comedy classic and we’re thrilled to welcome iconic characters Sid, Hattie, and Kenneth to our Pub Fruit Series. The Blueprint design and development team have ensured that every aspect of the gameplay will appeal to fans of the series, which is sure to be a wild and fun experience for players.”
Blueprint Gaming is part of the Gauselmann Group. The Gauselmann Group is based in Germany but operates internationally. Since 1957, the family company has offered leisure and entertainment solutions. Gauselmann describes states that its main focuses are delivering ‘content, technology and operating’. In tandem with its 16 game design teams from all corners of the globe, Gauselmann is able to produce innovative and original gaming content. The company also works on producing gaming machines and money management systems. In this way, it is able to offer operators and players the entire gaming package.
The Gauselmann group owns a chain of arcades called ‘Casino Merkur-Spielothek’. The chain consists of more than 500 branches around the world. In 2016, the Casino Merkur Mare was launched in collaboration with Pullmantur Cruises, and in 2018 two more casinos were added to TUI cruise liners. Gauselmann operates a wide variety of services in the gambling industry, including sports betting and online gaming.
Who is Livewire Gaming?
Livewire Gaming is based in Doncaster, England. Since the company launched in 2007, it has been consistent in producing high-quality gaming products. Livewire has worked on a diverse range of products; from system software to specially tailored embedded gaming boards. It is adept in developing a wide range of machine games from different categories.
Livewire’s particular area of expertise lies in the UK AWP (CAT C) and Club (CAT B4) markets. This means that it is proficient in producing ‘mechanical reel-based’ and ‘digital video gaming products’. Livewire’s portfolio consists of both original concepts and successfully adapted pre-existing games.
AWP (Cat C) games are simply ‘Amusements with Prizes’. Livewire Gaming has successfully created ranges of AWP games for the UK market. Theses AWP games have been uniquely tailored to suit both digital and mechanical systems. Featuring colorful lights and eye-catching graphic designs, the games have been enjoyed by players in pubs, clubs, and casinos across Britain. Classic Crazy Fruits is a great example of one of the AWP ticket redemption machines that Livewire Gaming has developed in collaboration with Instance Automatics. The game is built by Bell-Fruit Games and utilizes Scorpion 5 technology. Lively characters and exciting play make it a hit with players at arcades.
Club (CAT B4) games differ from AWP games, in that they can offer players higher maximum prizes. Some of Livewire’s most popular Club games include ‘Casino Crazy Open the Box’, developed for JPM International, and their latest offering, ‘Cash is King’. Livewire has been working long enough in this market to know what works and have come up with some very successful games. Keeping up with industry standards and using the best site proven technology has been particularly important priorities.
Livewire Gaming works regularly with partner Instance Automatics, the self-proclaimed ‘worldwide specialists in coin-operated amusement, vending, redemption and skill-based prize machines’. Together with the Lincolnshire based ‘coin-op-shop’, it has produced a number of ticket redemption and skill machines. The SWP games are colorful, engaging and popular with players. The machines can yield prizes of up to £50.
The company’s years of experience also reach beyond the world gaming hardware and software. Livewire collaborated with Instance Automatics again to produce a conversion kit for the Sketch Studio photo booth. By upgrading existing photo booths with up to date CPUs and modern camera technology, the Sketch Studio photo booths can be used to create entertaining caricatures and artist’s impressions.
Livewire Gaming has also worked closely with clients in the Italian gaming market. Links such as this with European markets will prove to be particularly valuable to Blueprint Gaming. They show the company’s ability to expand and extend into new markets.
