Elk
ELK Studios is a Swiss provider specializing in creating gaming software for online casinos. ELK Studios slot machines combine high quality, original themes, and high payout rates, making them extremely popular among players.
Brand History
ELK Studios was founded in 2013 by Filip Säfbeck. The company’s headquarters is located in Stockholm. Initially, the team consisted of only 10 people. It wasn’t until 2016 that the company began to expand. Today, it employs over 50 top specialists, including programmers, mathematicians, designers, sound engineers, and more.
ELK is an officially licensed provider. It holds licenses from three major gambling commissions: Malta, the United Kingdom, and Gibraltar. In addition, agreements have been made for software testing by independent laboratories iTech Labs and eCOGRA. Their certificates attest to the high quality of the models.
The provider regularly participates in industry exhibitions and receives prestigious awards each year, including EGR Operators Awards and ICE Totally Gaming.
ELK Games Range
The ELK studio specializes in releasing slot machines, with a collection of over 50 models. These slots are created using HTML5 technology, allowing them to be played on various devices, including computers, phones, and tablets.
The foundation of ELK’s slot machines is the unique Betting Strategies betting system, allowing players to choose from the following strategies:
- Jumper: The bet size automatically increases fourfold with each unsuccessful spin.
- Leveler: After five consecutive losing spins, the bet size increases two-fold.
- Booster: When receiving a winning payout, the bet per spin is automatically doubled.
Another original feature in ELK’s slot machines is the Game On feature, which serves as a loyalty program. When a player completes 25 spins, they automatically receive a certain number of free spins.
Advantages of ELK Studios Slot Machines:
- High-quality and vivid HD graphics with animations and special effects.
- Immersive soundtracks for a more engaging gaming experience.
- A variety of themes including pharaohs, wizards, pirates, superheroes, and more.
- Multilingual interface supporting 20 languages, including Russian.
- Simple gameplay with control elements presented as icons in a vertical panel.
- Medium to high volatility levels in most slots, allowing players to receive significant payouts.
- High RTP levels, up to 97%.
- Support for bonus features such as respins, free spins, multipliers, and multi-level bonus rounds.
- Unconventional technical solutions, with many slots having no traditional paylines but offering from 243 to 262,144 ways to form combinations.
Varieties of ELK Slot Machines
The offered range of online slots is divided into several main categories:
- Classic slots: Machines with simplified mechanics and three reels. Some of them support sets of special symbols or bonus features.
- Modern 3D slots: These slots impress with three-dimensional visual effects and engaging storylines. They support additional rounds and bonus functions.
- Jackpot slots: Emulators provide fixed prize pools at three different levels.
Recent Releases by ELK Studios
Previously, the developer released games quarterly, but since the beginning of 2020, new releases have been coming out every month. Some of the recently released games include:
- Tropicool
- Fate of Fortune
- Ice Wolf
- Ecuador Gold
- Hit It Hard
- Blood Lust
ELK Studios Slot Machines: Player Reviews
Gamblers actively choose ELK provider’s slots in casinos and leave positive reviews. They are satisfied not only with the quality of ELK Studios’ slot machines but also with their payout rates.
News and Updates from ELK in 2023
Changes in Volatility in ELK Slots
If you enjoy playing at online casinos, you’re probably familiar with ELK Studios, the company that has been delighting us with its high-quality and creative games since 2012. But did you know that recently ELK Studios has made a revolution in its strategy and started releasing games with high volatility? Yes, those are the games where you can win big but also risk losing just as much. What prompted ELK Studios to take such a risky step, and how did it affect their popularity?
It all started in 2019 when ELK Studios introduced its new masterpiece to the world – Ecuador Gold. This game was unlike all the previous ELK Studios games, which had low or medium volatility and offered frequent but small wins. Ecuador Gold, on the other hand, gave players the chance to win up to 2500 times their bet but came with very high risk. Moreover, the game had unique features, such as changing the number of winning combinations from 4096 to 262144, betting strategies that allowed players to choose their approach to the game, and free spins activated after a certain number of spins.
Ecuador Gold became a real hit and attracted the attention of many players who wanted to experience the adrenaline rush and the chance for a big win. ELK Studios realized that releasing high volatility games is much more profitable, and soon, you could play the second game in the Gold series – Tahiti Gold. In this game, the number of winning combinations reached 262144, and new symbols and features were added. Later on, the slot Voodoo Gold was released, continuing the theme of mystical adventures.
However, not all players were pleased with this turn of events. Many of those who loved playing ELK Studios’ old slot machines, such as Electric Sam or Taco Brothers, were disappointed that the new games became too risky and unpredictable. They wanted to enjoy the game, not nervously anticipate every spin. Additionally, the new ELK Studios games required a larger budget and more time to play, which wasn’t affordable for everyone.
ELK Studios didn’t ignore the feedback from its fans and decided to find a compromise. In 2023, the company released several games with varying levels of volatility, catering to different types of players. For example, the game “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart” was a medium volatility game with colorful graphics, fun characters, and numerous bonus features. “Oceanhorn 2” was a low volatility game that transported players to a fairy-tale world where they could explore different locations, battle enemies, and solve puzzles. “Brewpub Simulator” was a high volatility game that allowed players to manage their own pub, brewery, and restaurant.
New ELK Studios Slots in 2023
In 2023, ELK Studios also released several new games that continued to showcase their creative approach and innovative solutions. Among them were:
- “Valhall Gold – The Final Chapter” – the last chapter in the ELK Gold series, which was launched in 2019. In this game, players join the hero Kane Steel in his final adventure – the search for Valhalla gold. The game was released on September 25th.
- “Cygnus 3” – a cosmic slot with 6 reels and 4 rows. It features cascading symbols, wild multipliers, expanding rows, 3 fixed jackpots, a bonus game, and a super bonus game.
- “Toro Shōgun” – an honorable slot with 5 reels and 4 rows. It includes walking wilds, stacked wilds, expanding rows, both-ways, respins, a bonus game, and a super bonus game.
- “Dead Man’s Gold” – a golden slot with 6 reels and 4 rows. It features big symbols, stacked wilds, an expanding game grid, a progressive multiplier, a bonus game, and a super bonus game.
- “Ashoka” – a slot with 6 reels and scatter pays. It includes big wilds, stacked wilds, an expanding game grid, a progressive multiplier, a bonus game, and a super bonus game.
- “Rabbit Royale” – a nibbling slot with 5 reels and 5 rows. It features respins, coin wins, wilds, a bonus game, and a super bonus game.
- “Katmandu X” – a successful slot with 6 columns and 6 rows featuring falling symbols and cluster pays. It includes a progressive multiplier, big symbols, wild multipliers, exploding wilds, a bonus game, and a super bonus game.
All these games were released using the X-iter™ technology, allowing players to choose different game modes and customize their gaming experience.
In this way, ELK Studios has shown that it can change the volatility in its games without losing its audience. The company continues to release high-quality and creative ELK Studios slot machines that cater to different tastes and preferences. We look forward to new releases from ELK Studios in 2023 and hope that they will be as interesting and exciting as the previous ones.