In 2025 we are looking to appeal to a TikTok generation who
wants everything faster so we are launching a new game brand called Tap-A-Roo and we are launching our first speed game show as well as a collection of hyper casual gambling games like Race Track and Stock Market. TODD HAUSHALTER
Chief Product Officer Evolution
because oftentimes, you'll make a great game, and you can never be sure why it works. Conversely, you'll make a game that falls flat, and you are left wondering why players didn't like it; it's very difficult, but I do believe it's repeatable.
How many iterations of a new game do you go-through? How much influence does player-testing have upon the final game - and how much do you rely on your gut as opposed to the numbers?
A game might separately go through 50 to 100 iterations, but some games might go from beginning to end with just a dozen - it depends on the complexity of the game. We do not do any player testing; everything is done by our teams at Evolution. Tat isn't to say we aren’t voracious consumers of data and numbers, because we are, and that informs us about what works and what features players use. We also regularly monitor real players who play our games on YouTube, which I find highly instructive to see their real reactions. I like to see when they're bored, when they're excited, when they're confused and that informs a lot of our thinking.
Without falling down a rabbit hole - where is AI useful in product development and where is it not - and why?
We're still very much dependent on HI - human intelligence, but AI can be useful around the edges in doing design concepts. Soon it will be helpful in writing code and will only become more useful in the future. Also, we look forward to the software programmes utilising more AI solutions for design and finally, we are using AI to extract insights from data about user behaviour. I don't want to overstate our use of AI as it's still very much humans who control the process, and I'm not sure we would make better games because of AI, but we might just do it a little faster.
A products specialist - staying in one place presents a problem - in that you ultimately start competing with yourself. We've seen many great games-creators create a revolutionary product, then switch between companies crafting iterations of that design. You can’t do that if you stay in one place. Why have you remained at Evolution for 10 years?
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I am at Evolution because I love all the people I work with. I have a team that can bring dreams to life, and when we make a game, we have the world's best distribution - if you love products, then the most exciting thing is to see your work in front of the maximum amount of players. In regards to competing against yourself, that's definitely true and it's a little like golf, but the numbers don't lie, they hit you across the face when you make a bad game and they pat you on the back when you make a good game.
Evolution has allowed the opportunity to do more than just gentle iterations on games, we have bought hardware companies like DigiWheel, which opened a new channel for us. We have also acquired a collection of slot companies and are working on some massive IP deals to open even more channels.
We invented the game show space, which gives us lots of latitude on the kinds of gambling games we can make. Bear in mind this category did not exist a few years back and we can continue to do bold new things there. Additionally we have combined the worlds of live with slots which is quite different.
In 2025 we are looking to appeal to a TikTok generation who wants everything faster so we are launching a new game brand called Tap- A-Roo and we are launching our first speed game show as well as a collection of hyper casual gambling games like Race Track and Stock Market.
Which of the Evolution games launching at ICE 2025 are you most excited to see go live this year?
Marble Race! I've been watching YouTube videos for ages and there's something mesmerising about watching physical balls raced down a track. Tis was a very hard game to get right and that's why you might see lots of companies doing marble race games but you will not see them doing live versions of it. Tis game is a visual feast - it is fast and that is fun and while it's hard to choose just one, this game is just so different from anything else we've ever done and that’s why it is the game I am most excited to see go live.
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