Yggdrasil releases new intergalactic adventure slot, Avatars: Gateway Guardians; appoints former NetEnt COO Björn Krantz to lead newly formed publishing division

Yggdrasil Gaming has created yet another addition to the LeoVegas Originals Series with the release of Avatars: Gateway Guardians, part of an exclusive collection of games from the Cherry AB (CHERILB) subsidiary that can only be found in the Swedish mobile gaming company’s offering for its customers.

This unique game challenges players to partake in a journey to outer space in order to free the Avatars and if successful earn some otherworldly rewards.

“Avatars: Gateway Guardians promises to take players on an interstellar adventure full of thrilling missions to complete in order to collect great rewards.”

Base game:

Four imposing guardians keep watch over the Avatar kingdom, bringing exciting wins whenever a player happens upon a Hotspot area. At that moment, the ancient Multiplier wheel is triggered, spinning a random amount of times adding each Multiplier to the previous one at every spin.

The highly volatile slot, with an above-average return to player (RTP) rating of 96.3 percent, can provide the luckiest and most patient of players with x20 on x20 multipliers, making for out of this world win potential.

Hotspots abound:

Players are transported to a strange new dimension via a trio of extra spins, and while there, a large stone dial featured prominently in the center of the grid displays even more Hotspots and pay lines.

The number of extra spin symbols that landed in the base game determines the number of Hotspots, with two granted for every extra spin symbol, leading to cosmic wins in this new video slot that boasts phenomenal imagery and a menacing backdrop.

Anticipated success:

Product Owner Slots for the Stockholm-headquartered provider, Natalya Ovchinnikova, used the company’s official press release to comment…

“Avatars: Gateway Guardians promises to take players on an interstellar adventure full of thrilling missions to complete in order to collect great rewards. With astronomical win potential and out of this world features and graphics, we’re confident the title will become a firm favourite with Leo Vegas’ customers.”

Also providing feedback on the newly-released game, Head of Casino for Leo Vegas, James Ford, added…

“Here at LeoVegas we constantly strive to earn ourselves the coveted title of King of Casino. Introducing bespoke games to our existing portfolio gives us the opportunity to offer and promote unique content to our esteemed players and it was with this in mind that Avatars: Gateway Guardians came to be.

“The fourth instalment of Leo Vegas’ collaborative journey with Yggdrasil and the fifth for the Leo Vegas Originals series, this game positions itself as one of the most unique looking slot games on the market. We would like to thank Yggdrasil for allowing us to spread our creative wings on this project while continually providing us with invaluable expertise at each step of the way. Today we are proud to present Avatars: Gateway Guardians and we hope our players will enjoy the game play experience.”

New global licensing business:

In related news, Yggdrasil has appointed former NetEnt Chief Operating Officer, Björn Krantz, who after more than a decade with the online casino supplier resigned in September, to lead its new publishing business. The company expects the move to future proof the business, with publishing anticipated to become its “key growth driver” and quickly expand its reach across iGaming markets around the globe.

Via the new publishing business, the company’s future customers will have licensing capabilities for any, or all elements, of its “gaming ecosystem” spanning the firm’s current and future content library and affiliation and gamification tools to its advanced platform technology and Game Development Kit (GDK). This will allow on the spot creation of their own one-of-a-kind, end-to-end iGaming product supported by and as part of a partnership with Yggdrasil.

Commenting on the move, Chief Executive Officer for Yggdrasil, Fredrik Elmqvist, said…

“Ever since Björn and I discussed the initial plans for the new business model and our future growth expectations I knew he was the right person to lead the Publishing division which will be central to our success. I’m delighted he will officially join us next year and kick off the new decade in style.

“We’ve spent months carefully planning this new strategy, basing it on the solid foundations we’ve built up over several years and crucially adding several highly innovative and never-before-seen layers that will see the business grow exponentially across the globe.

“With Yggdrasil Publishing we keep on pushing the industry boundaries by franchising our entire kingdom, enabling partners around the globe to rocket leap their B2B success. It is going to be a wild ride that we look forward to,” according to the Monday press release from the Swedish company.

Krantz, who will join Yggdrasil in January 2020 as Head of Publishing, said…

“I have enjoyed many exciting years and moments within the iGaming industry, and since a few months back I have been able to reassess what could be the most thrilling and rewarding next step challenge. When Fred outlined his vision for the entire business, I felt straight away there was a perfect match.

“I am delighted to have been given the trust and confidence to lead the newly formed, and strategic publishing division, which is clear proof that Yggdrasil means business, and continues to invest in innovative and future proof value propositions globally. It will be an honor for me to work together with the Yggdrasil team, and to execute on the plan to realize the full potential of the Publishing growth strategy and objectives. It goes without saying that I cannot wait to get started early next year.”

Aldo’s Journey:

The move by the firm that was founded in 2013 and is one of the industry’s most respected and acclaimed suppliers, comes hot on the heels of its FOURTH game release for the month, after launching its adventure-based title, Aldo’s Journey, on November 21st.