Microgaming Launches EmotiCoins Slot Following Staff-Powered Innovation Initiative

10th August 2017 9:37 AM

Microgaming are celebrating the launch of EmotiCoins, a brand new slot that holds special significance for the Isle of Man-based company. The game is the brainchild of the organisation’s in-house team and has been brought to life following a staff-powered innovation initiative.

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Emoticons are big business at the moment. The pictorial stars have exploded into popular culture and are now used by mobile users throughout the world and even feature in their own film, the Emoji Movie. With their finger firmly on the pulse, Microgaming staff members Anna McChesney and Rob Mercer were quick to suggest the idea of a brand new emoticon-based slot ahead of the Microgaming Idea Factory contest in 2016, in a hope that it would capture the attention of gamblers young and old.

EmotiCoins features five reels and 30 paylines of smiley-faced fun and is available to play for a minimum bet of just £0.30. Anna McChesney, Microgaming’s PR Manager and co-creator of the new game, spoke of how the idea came about: “As a marketer, to me the use of emoticons in social media and communication is fascinating; they have essentially become a universal language! 92% of the world’s online population use emoticons, so developing a themed game would automatically target the demographic of our operators’ players.”

The company’s Idea Factory initiative has already been named as the winner of The Spark Award 2017, an accolade that recognises design and creativity. Rob Mercer, part of Microgaming’s Enterprise Solutions Team, spoke of how he and Anna highlighted the use of emoticons in both text-speak and on social media, pointing out that the the symbols can increase Facebook interaction by around 57 percent and that the Face with Tears has featured in over 16.5 billion tweets to date. 

Rob also praised the development staff for creating the slot: “It was amazing to see what they did with the research and background we developed. We really love the completed game!” Both Rob and Anna now hope that the game, which was one of five winning ideas from a shortlist of 27, will delight players following its August release.

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