Shalva Bukia, Chief Product Officer at SPRIBE, is closely involved in the product strategy behind one of iGaming’s most recognisable brands. SPRIBE, the developer behind Aviator, has built its position around simple, social and mobile-friendly gameplay, with Aviator now reaching more than 77 million monthly players. The company continues to expand its product ecosystem beyond its flagship title.
In this CasinoRank interview, Bukia discusses how SPRIBE’s multicultural product teams influence global game development, why transparency and player trust remain central to Aviator’s design, and the technical challenge of delivering a synchronized real-time experience at scale. He also explores the evolution of Aviator Challenges and Trader, the role of progression and competition in player engagement, and SPRIBE’s broader ambition to connect individual games into more cohesive player experiences.
Huge congratulations on winning Multi-Cultural Company of the Year at the IGA WIG Awards. As CPO, what does that multi-cultural element look like inside your product team and how does it shape what you build?
Shalva Bukia: Thank you. For us, diversity is not a slogan. It is part of the product development process. Our teams work across multiple countries and cultures, which means every feature is challenged from different perspectives before it reaches players.
What one market considers intuitive, another may view completely differently. Having people with different backgrounds in the same room helps us avoid assumptions and design products with truly global appeal. I believe this has been one of the key reasons why products like Aviator have been able to resonate with players across very different regions, from Latin America and Africa to Europe and Asia.
“Ultimately, diversity helps us build products that feel universal without losing relevance at a local level.“
Aviator now pulls in over 77 million players a month. What do you think is the single biggest reason it’s resonated so widely, beyond just being “a crash game”?
Shalva Bukia: The biggest reason is that Aviator transformed a traditionally solitary experience into a shared one.
The mechanics are simple, but what makes the game different is that players participate in the same round together. They can see what is happening in real time, watch decisions unfold, and experience both wins and losses as part of a larger community.
We focused heavily on transparency, simplicity, and social interaction from the beginning. Those elements create engagement that goes far beyond gameplay mechanics. Aviator is not just a game people play, it is an experience they follow, discuss, and return to repeatedly.
You’ve spoken before about deliberately saying no to features that could juice short-term engagement but risk player trust. Can you give us a real example of something you decided not to build, and why?
Shalva Bukia: There have been several occasions where we chose not to pursue mechanics designed purely to increase session length or encourage impulsive behaviour.
One principle we have always followed is that players should understand why something happened and feel in control of their decisions. If a feature adds engagement but reduces transparency, we are unlikely to implement it.
Aviator’s success has been built on trust. Players know the game is provably fair, they understand the rules, and outcomes are transparent. Preserving that trust is far more valuable than achieving a short-term uplift in engagement metrics. Product decisions should be measured over years, not weeks.
With Aviator Challenges now rolling out across your 5,500+ operator partners, what’s been the most surprising piece of feedback you’ve had from operators since launch?
Shalva Bukia: One of the most interesting observations was how differently operators initially expected players to interact with Challenges compared to what actually happened.
Many operators assumed the biggest appeal would be the rewards. In reality, we found that progression, competition, and achievement often became equally important drivers of engagement. Players enjoyed having goals, milestones, and a sense of progression layered onto an experience they already loved.
That reinforced our belief that modern players increasingly look for experiences rather than standalone game sessions. Challenges help create that longer-term journey.
Crash games need everyone watching the same flight in real time. What’s the hardest technical problem you’ve had to solve to keep that experience smooth at scale?
Shalva Bukia: Consistency at scale is the biggest challenge.
When millions of players participate in the same game, they all need to see the same outcome at virtually the same moment regardless of location, device, or network conditions. Even small delays can affect the player experience.
A significant amount of engineering effort goes into maintaining synchronization, minimizing latency, and ensuring reliability under extremely high traffic volumes. It’s not always the most visible innovation, but it is absolutely critical. If players trust what they see, everything else becomes possible.
You’ve mentioned Trader and cross-game Challenges as next steps for the portfolio. How’s the response been since launch, and what’s the one thing still on the roadmap you’re most excited for players and operators to see?
Shalva Bukia: The response has been very encouraging. Operators increasingly want products that create ongoing engagement rather than isolated sessions, and both Trader and Challenges support that objective.
What excites me most is the opportunity to connect experiences across multiple products. Historically, casino games have largely existed as independent destinations. We see enormous potential in creating ecosystems where progression, achievements, competitions, and rewards extend across an entire portfolio.
That approach benefits both players and operators by creating deeper engagement and stronger retention.
SPRIBE’s team spans multiple countries.. How much does that internal diversity actually help you build a product that lands so differently across so many cultures?
Shalva Bukia: It helps tremendously.
The challenge of building global products is balancing consistency with local relevance. Diverse teams naturally bring different player behaviours, expectations, and cultural nuances into discussions.
That doesn’t mean creating separate products for every market. It means understanding which aspects should remain universal and which should be adaptable. Having those perspectives internally makes it much easier to build products that feel natural in multiple regions without fragmenting the experience.
Finally, we’ll leave this one open. Is there anything extra you’d like to share with our readers, whether that’s SPRIBE news or something in the wider industry, that you’d want them to hear from you directly?
Shalva Bukia: I believe the industry is moving toward a future where engagement is driven less by individual game mechanics and more by the broader experience surrounding them.
Players increasingly expect social interaction, progression systems, competition, personalization, and seamless experiences across multiple products. The companies that succeed will be those that combine strong entertainment value with transparency and trust.
At SPRIBE, that is where much of our focus is today. We are continuing to invest not only in new games, but in the ecosystem around them. We believe the next stage of growth will come from creating experiences that players genuinely want to return to every day.
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.
