What slots are popular around the world? Interview with Endorphina

Which slots are currently the most popular in different parts of the world? What are audiences in Asia, Latin America, and Africa looking for? Why aren't classics losing ground, and why is visual style becoming more important than math? These questions and more are answered in Slotegrator's exclusive interview with Andrey Oleshko, Product Manager at Endorphina, one of the best-known slot developers in the iGaming industry.

Slotegrator: Which Endorphina slot titles have shown the strongest global performance over the past 12 months? Why do you think they’re doing so well?

Andrey Oleshko: The top-performing slots over the past 12 months are Crown Coins, 2025 Hit Slot, and Lucky Streak 1000. We create time-tested classic slots, but enhance them with new elements that players love in order to keep things fresh. The key is to build strong classic slots and gradually introduce features that increase engagement and enjoyment. This not only applies to our products, but also reflects an overall industry trend.

For example, one of our big hits of 2025 — Crown Coins — is a traditional 3-reel slot. But despite its classic format, we’ve added modern mechanics like the Pile Feature, which made the game more appealing and helped it perform well on the market.

S: Can you highlight some specific slots that have performed exceptionally well in European markets?

AO: In Europe, our classic games consistently perform well — such as Crown Coins, 2025 Hit Slot, and Lucky Streak 1000. We also recently released Burning Coins 20, which quickly gained popularity across European markets. As Europe is our main market, these classic-style games are in particularly high demand here.

S: Are there distinct themes or game mechanics that resonate more with players in Asia?

AO: Asian players enjoy both classic and modern slots, but visual appeal plays a much bigger role for them. They gravitate toward colorful, vibrant, animated slots — often tied to their history and culture. Themes like Chinese New Year are extremely popular. For example, Fortune Snake was designed specifically around the Year of the Snake and has been well received by Asian audiences.

Slots featuring cute animal-like characters, like Power Balls, also perform well. A recent release, Starshine Crystals, features an anime-style girl, which was a big hit — anime visuals were the key element in its success. So in Asia, it’s not just about new mechanics, but also about relevant, colorful, and culturally resonant themes.

S: What insights have you gathered about player preferences in emerging African markets, based on your most popular titles there?

AO: We’ve only recently started working more seriously in African markets, so analytics is still limited. However, we do see that average bets are much lower than in Europe or even Asia, but the number of bets is very high. The key is optimizing currency and stake settings for local users.

In terms of themes, one of our older games, The Emirate, is particularly popular in Africa, especially due to its Arabic theme. It’s one of our best performers in the region. The success of The Emirate, to us, is a good indication that classic games should work well in Africa.

S: In Latin America, what cultural or gameplay elements tend to drive slot popularity? Which slots do players in LatAm love the most?

AO: One of our most popular titles in Latin America is Hell Hot 100, which has been on the market there for nearly three years and remains extremely popular — it’s one of our most successful releases. Asian-themed slots also perform well in the region; two examples are Jade Coins and Oriental Dragon, both aimed at Chinese and broader Asian audiences. This may be linked to the large Asian population in parts of Latin America, especially Brazil, including people of Japanese, Chinese, and other Asian descent.

Another hypothesis is more historical: when the LatAm market first began to develop, many European and American providers hesitated, unsure of its profitability. Asian providers were quicker to act, so the first games players saw were Asian-themed. This shaped local preferences in what we call the “Baby Duck Syndrome”, where first experiences heavily influence future choices. This might explain why Asian themes have become — and remain — so popular in Latin America.

S: How does player behavior vary in terms of session duration, bonus feature engagement, and average bet size across these markets?

AO: Even though we’re not officially live in the US, it’s clear that stakes there are much higher than in LatAm, Africa, or Asia — and even compared to much of Europe and the CIS (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan).

As for session duration and bonus round popularity, there are no clear-cut regional patterns — behavior depends heavily on the individual player and their bankroll.

In CIS countries, for example, due to the popularity of streaming and betting platforms, many players chase bonus rounds — they believe that’s where the big wins are, unlike base games, which just “eat the balance.”

Bonus mechanics are also popular in Latin America and Asia — players expect them and value them highly. But it’s hard to generalize behavior by entire regions, as each country is very different. For instance, in Venezuela, bets are extremely low, but sessions can be very long. In Brazil, average bets are higher, and sessions may be shorter. So while bet size clearly differs, there aren’t many strong global patterns in gameplay behavior — it depends more on the specific player and game. It would be nice to rely on average session stats like “X minutes per session in country Y,” but in reality, there are too many variables to draw simple conclusions.

S: Do classic-style slots still hold strong appeal in any of these markets, or is there a universal move toward feature-rich video slots?

AO: In my opinion, a classic slot can look cool — there’s no contradiction there. People often confuse visual style with being technically outdated. A “classic” slot isn’t necessarily something old-fashioned or basic. It might just mean traditional symbols, 3 or 5 reels, linear mechanics — but still with modern visuals and features. It all depends on execution.

The term “classic slot” is vague. For some, it means fruits, sevens, and bars. For others, it’s early HTML games like Starburst. So first, you need to define what “classic” really means.

If you just copy a 15-year-old slot style — even with great math and mechanics — it likely won’t perform today. A successful slot today needs great visuals, a high level of technical quality, fast load times, no bugs, and modern features.

There’s no conflict between classic mechanics and feature-rich gameplay — you can absolutely combine the two. So the key is to look at the complete package: visuals, mechanics, features, and overall feel. In some regions like Asia and Latin America, players typically prefer visually rich, dynamic slots with many features. But ultimately, development should be balanced, aiming for overall quality instead of sticking to strict categories.

S: Have regional internet speeds or device types (e.g., mobile vs desktop) influenced which slots perform best in certain areas?

AO: This is a very important topic, especially when talking about Africa. We’ve specifically tested our games in African markets because most users there have older mobile phones and slow or expensive internet. Even though we have some of the fastest-loading games on the market, speed is still a critical issue in Africa.

Ideally, a slot should use minimal data, cache efficiently, and have a very small file size. If a game takes 2 minutes to load, no one’s going to wait. The average user is willing to wait 7–10 seconds, max, so when it comes to loading times, the faster, the better. Africa is the number one region where these things need close attention. Latin America is improving but still not perfect. Asia, Europe, the CIS, and the US don’t have such problems. Asia, in fact, has some of the fastest internet in the world. CIS countries are also quite solid in this regard.

Interestingly, there are already Asian providers who design games exclusively for mobile, because desktops are essentially obsolete for casual players. And that’s becoming a global trend. If I were starting a slot studio today, I wouldn’t even make a separate desktop version — I’d build for mobile first and adapt for desktop only if necessary. However, there are exceptions, like streamers, who still play and stream from PCs. Technically, you can stream from a phone too, but it’s still rare. So for now, streaming is still mostly desktop-based.

S: Which markets are seeing the fastest growth for Endorphina right now, and how are you tailoring content accordingly?

AO: Brazil and South Africa are among our fastest-growing markets, and that’s not a secret to anyone. Brazil recently regulated its market, opening up massive opportunities. It’s a great region with huge potential. South Africa is a bit behind but growing very quickly, and if it keeps this pace, it could become one of the most important gambling markets globally.

When it comes to content, we sometimes create branded slots for specific markets. For example, we’ve already launched market-specific projects for Brazil and are planning similar ones for South Africa. These localized games are powerful tools for connecting with regional audiences. A good example is Hell Hot 100, which we built in collaboration with Betano, aimed directly at the Brazilian market. Such local collaborations help us integrate better and strengthen our market position.

S: What types of slots or mechanics does Endorphina plan to introduce in the coming year that could redefine popularity by region?

AO: Right now, our main focus is on retention-oriented mechanics. We believe this is one of the key directions for the future, and it’s something we’ll continue to prioritize this year and next.

We’re actively implementing various features aimed at boosting retention — bonus mechanics, gamification elements, and other features that make gameplay more engaging and long-lasting. We’re currently developing a slot that will be packed with these types of features. Stay tuned — we hope to showcase it before the end of the year.