Will other games be added to the Wowpot Jackpot Network?

For quite a while now, Microgaming have been on a large expansion program, increasing the number of partner studios they work with to bring fresh new releases to customers every month. While the majority of those releases have been standard slot games, a number have also revamped the company's progressive jackpot range of slots.

First we saw the games Mega Vault Millionaire, Atlantean Treasures and Absolootly Mad added to the list of games that you can compete for the Mega Moolah progressive jackpot prize while playing. Then in February 2020, we have also seen the release of a brand-new progressive game, Wheel of Wishes, which has at its heart the revamped Wowpot, which comes with the largest seeded progressive jackpot prize in the Microgaming network of 2 million.

In the past couple of days, we have looked at two new games that are set to be released during 2020 that will expand the Wowpot Progressive Jackpot network still further. Sisters of Oz looks likely to be the first of these games released with Fortunium Gold also set to grace casinos at some point in the near future.

But the question we also must ask ourselves here is whether that will be it for the Wowpot Progressive Jackpot Network for the time being at least, or whether Microgaming and their partners have plans to add one or potentially more slots to the network.

Of course, Microgaming like to keep their strategic plans for their slot releases and game networks hidden until such a time as they are ready to be released, but we can use what they have done in the past, especially the recent past and also what other companies have done with their progressive jackpot networks to perhaps come up with some different scenarios.

With that, the first thing we are going to look at is what appears to be an unwritten rule when it comes to Microgaming and expanding their big money slot games, and that does appear to be the Rule of Three.

Microgaming's rule of three

Of course, whether there is an actual Rule of Three or not at Microgaming is doubtful, but there is no doubt that in the past, when the company has sought to expand the network of a progressive, it has tended to follow a certain pattern.

Mega Moolah is the best example of this we have. The original game was released back in the mid 2000s and then a short time later, Microgaming released three more games that all offered a shot at the Mega Moolah progressive jackpots. These were reworked games that had already been released, Mega Moolah Isis, Mega Moolah Summertime and Mega Moolah 5 Reel Drive.

As you can see, we have the original game followed by three releases, many of which you can still play today. There then followed a long gap (with just two now unavailable film tie in games released, Lord of the Rings and The Dark Knight in the interim period that were linked to the Mega Moolah prize) and that was the case until just last year.

Then Microgaming have released in quick succession Mega Vault Millionaire, Atlantean Treasures and Absolootly Mad. Now this trio of games is very different to the first as each game is very different to the last, but once again, we have the original Mega Moolah and three games released.

Three is also a popular number for some standard slots too, there were three games in the "So Much/Many" series of games, Sushi, Monsters and Sweets and they were all released at the same time.

So it does appear that Microgaming do have a history of making three key releases to sit alongside the main game. Now if we assume that the Wheel of Wishes slot is the 'main' game for the Wowpot Progressive Network, then we can add Sisters of Oz and Fortunium Gold to that, is there room for another slot? It certainly appears that way.

But could we also take a cue from some other slots developers and suggest that there could be not just one, but several more Wowpot Jackpot Progressives on the way from Microgaming and its partners?

The start of a much larger network of Wowpot slots?

Although Microgaming have by and large been trendsetters in the online gaming industry, ever since they released the first online casino back in the 1990s, they are also a company that can diversify their range and change strategies quickly. A most notable example of this of late has been the decision to team up with a number of exclusive software development companies to produce slots exclusively for Microgaming, rather than producing games in house.

We have also seen Microgaming expanding their Aggregate Content platform, which is slots that the company carries as part of its network from other third-party providers, but not on an exclusive basis. The upshot of both of these moves has meant a huge increase in the number of games released at Microgaming casinos each month.

With expansion clearly key at Microgaming at the moment, could it be the case that the Wowpot Progressive Jackpot Network could be following suit and that the Wheel of Wishes slot, plus the forthcoming Sisters of Oz and Fortunium Gold slots could just be the start of an expansive progressive jackpot network of games?

It is certainly possible, other slots companies have developed networks of many different games that all pay into the same progressive jackpot fund. Many of these stretch to 10 games or so, some have even more than that, so we do know that this kind of network is possible.

Then there is Mega Moolah which, if you include the three older games, the original and the three newer games, now has a network of seven slots, albeit the older three releases, Isis, Summertime and Five Reel Drive don't get anywhere near as much exposure as the other games.

Therefore, it could be the case that Microgaming's plans for the Wheel of Wishes slot are going to be much more extensive than just three slots. Could we see a whole raft of new games developed for this progressive network? It would make sense, given that Microgaming have committed the largest ever cash seed amount for a slot, 2 million, on the new game.

It does therefore seem to be the case that it is a case of when and not if there will be more games added to the Wowpot Progressive Jackpot network, but the question remains what types of games will be the ones to be released?

What games could be released in future for the Wowpot Progressive Network?

The shape of future games for the Wowpot Progressive Network will likely depend on what the two forthcoming releases are like. We already know that the Wheel of Wishes slot has its own Power Mode option, which is the defining feature of that slot and I envisage that Sisters of Oz and Fortunium Gold will each have their own different set up and bonus feature to give the game added appeal.

I can see Microgaming following the example they set with their Mega Moolah linked releases and offering a range of different types of game within the Wowpot Progressive Jackpot network. Such as a 10-pay line win both ways slot, or a 243 Ways to Win, Rolling Reels slot. These types of slot are generally popular and prove to be a success with players.

However, as they showed with Wheel of Wishes, the company is also not afraid to roll out new games with new features too and I would also expect innovation to be at the heart for any future Wowpot Progressive Jackpot-linked released.

One thing is sure, if you love progressive jackpot games, then it is a very exciting time to be a customer at a Microgaming casino with a raft of new Mega Moolah slots to play, plus Wheel of Wishes and at least two more slots linked to that progressive prize set to be released in 2020.