Anastasios Ioannidis is Head of Affiliates at Pragmatic Play, where he supports the growth and engagement strategy behind one of the industry’s most active games portfolios. The company recently exhibited at iGB L!VE 2026 in London, where Gates of Olympus Super Scatter was shortlisted for Game of the Year at the iGB Affiliate Awards.
Pragmatic Play heads into the second half of 2026 with a roadmap that leans heavily on recognizable game universes, high-frequency releases, and increasingly layered promotions built to sustain long-term engagement. The recently launched Fury of Anubis sits alongside established franchises like Gates of Olympus and Big Bass, while Drops & Wins continues to scale into a core retention engine across partner networks.
In this CasinoRank interview, Ioannidis discusses Pragmatic Play’s evolving game design philosophy, how franchise potential is identified, and the growing role of promotions in shaping long-term engagement. He also explains why a strong theme alone won’t keep players engaged, and what actually will.
Pragmatic Play entered 2026 with a content strategy focused on high frequency releases, recognisable mechanics, and interconnected game ecosystems. How would you describe the guiding philosophy behind Pragmatic Play’s roadmap today?
Anastasios Ioannidis: The approach has been the same as always: to deliver exceptional gaming experiences, no matter the vertical, device, mechanic, theme, or player profile. While releasing games at scale and pace is important, what really matters is creating a diverse roadmap of high-quality titles that caters to the tastes of various players and markets.
New mega slot release Fury of Anubis highlights how established themes are being revisited for modern player expectations. What still makes mythology such a strong theme in 2026?
Anastasios Ioannidis: Ancient Egyptian mythology is undoubtedly an all-time classic slots theme, with its magic and mystery setting the scene for highly entertaining and immersive gameplay. One reason why this and other mythological themes are still so popular is that they provide both familiarity for players and creative freedom for developers.
Fury of Anubis shows how an established theme can be taken in exciting new directions, with a strong lead character, striking visuals, and player-favourite features combining to deliver a furiously fun experience filled with big win potential.
Pragmatic Play seems to be leaning further into sequel content and recognisable slot universes, including Sweet Bonanza, Gates of Olympus, and Big Bass. How does Pragmatic Play determine when a concept has franchise potential?
Anastasios Ioannidis: Pragmatic Play is known for delivering a mix of unique, standalone titles and additions to its most popular game franchises. Exploring the sequel potential of a new concept mostly comes down to data and experience. We’re all looking for the next Gates of Olympus or Big Bass Bonanza – a game that becomes an instant and lasting global phenomenon. It says everything about Gates of Olympus that it has maintained its popularity in markets worldwide while sequels such as Gates of Olympus 1000, Gates of Olympus Super Scatter, and Fortune of Olympus have achieved similar success.
Looking at Fury of Anubis, there’s definitely creative potential to expand the game into a series, as the theme, character, and visuals hold so much appeal, but for me it’s the features which will keep players engaged long into the future. Scatter pays, progressive tumble win multipliers, special bets and bonus buys (where available), the bonus game gamble feature, and a mighty 10,000x max win make Fury of Anubis one hell of a slot.
Titles like Sweet Rush Bonanza and Fortune of Olympus combine established mechanics with enhanced cluster pays and multiplier systems. How does the development team balance innovation with the familiarity players expect from flagship content?
Anastasios Ioannidis: It depends on the game. Big Bass is a hugely successful series which benefits from a repeatable formula, combining familiar gameplay with wildly original themes and character development. Fisherman Steve has not only travelled the oceans in search of his favourite fish, but he has also served as a secret agent, an Arthurian hero, a futuristic scientist, footballer, boxer, zombie hunter, and even a zombie!
Sweet Rush Bonanza is a visually distinctive slot that combines the pays-anywhere mechanic from Sweet Bonanza with the multiplier spots feature from Sugar Rush.
Fortune of Olympus takes the Gates of Olympus universe in a new direction, introducing cluster pays for the first time in the series, along with a bigger 7×7 grid and amped up potential in free spins.
The aim is to experiment with exciting new features and experiences while building on what players already love.
Pragmatic Play has expanded established slot IP into new vertical formats, including roulette and game shows. What additional opportunities do you see in extending slots IP into cross-vertical formats?
Anastasios Ioannidis: Pragmatic Play proved with Sweet Bonanza CandyLand – its popular live casino game show based on the enduringly successful slot –that cross-vertical content can produce brilliant results.
Big Bass has also expanded its horizons, venturing from slots to other online and retail verticals. And more recently, Pragmatic Play launched Gates of Olympus Roulette, bringing the globally recognised slots IP to live casino. Given the continued success of these games, I think players can expect more of the same as we look ahead to next year.
Drops & Wins has now surpassed €100,000,000 awarded since launch, remaining the industry’s largest supplier-funded prize pool. How has it evolved from a visibility tool into a retention engine?
Anastasios Ioannidis: First and foremost, Drops & Wins is about rewarding players. Simply by opting in, they can be in with the chance of winning random prizes on top of those they can hit during normal gameplay. It’s all about enriching the gaming experience with even more chances to win. And with 60 of the newest and most popular titles rotating every month, dropping extra rewards for players in their favourite slots, it’s a fantastic engagement and retention tool.
The latest boost to the Drops & Wins formula is Free Chips as prizes, which will allow slots players to discover and try out a selection of new live casino games for free, and may even introduce them to the exciting world of live casino for the first time.
Weekly Wheel Drops and Daily Tournaments are now central to the Drops & Wins campaign structure. What drove the shift towards more gamified promotions?
Anastasios Ioannidis: The gamification element has always been a factor – it’s more that the prize mechanics have developed in line with player behaviours and industry trends.
Wheel Drops offers a sense of progression and extra reward as players collect wheel pieces randomly during normal slots gameplay, while tournaments add a more competitive dynamic.
Building on the success of Wheel Drops, Pragmatic Play is enhancing and expanding its wider gamification offering in July, rolling out exciting new ways to collect and win. This follows the launch of Missions in slots, giving players the chance to win even more prizes by completing personalised daily challenges.
With a background in digital media and a keen eye for emerging technologies, Ronaldo bridges the gap between players and platforms through clear, insightful reporting to the iGaming industry.
