Big Daddy Gaming enters the iGaming arena with a ‘disruptive’ studio model

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By Chris Horton
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  • Former Relax, Kindred and Evolution executives form Big Daddy Gaming with Q4 2025 launch.
  • Studio introduces its proprietary “Game DNA” framework to blend data with creativity.
  • Founders promise measurable value creation for operators and long-term engagement for players.
Big Daddy Gaming
  • A studio built around operator performance
  • Disrupting the studio supply chain
  • Market implications and competitive response
  • The investor perspective
  • A test for innovation and humility
Big Daddy Gaming’s founders promise to disrupt a saturated market with humour, data, and long-term operator value.
Big Daddy Gaming, a new slot studio founded by senior figures from Relax Gaming, Kindred and Evolution, has formally announced its launch ahead of a Q4 2025 rollout. 

The team includes former Relax Gaming CEO Simon Hammon, Relax and Kindred product veteran Daniel Eskola, and former Evolution head of region Erland Hellstrom, who will serve as chief executive of the new business.

In its launch statement, the group struck what it described as a “combative tone”, positioning itself as a challenger to what it sees as a stagnant development ecosystem. 

Its founding vision, “Reel Fun and Real Value”, was presented as a reaction to what it called a “market oversaturated with content that lacks long-term engagement”.

A studio built around operator performance

The company’s statement emphasised its intention to blend creativity with commercial focus. Big Daddy Gaming said it already has several deals with major brands in the pipeline, with a full market entry and commercial rollout set for Q4 2025. 

The studio framed this as part of a broader mission to deliver measurable value to partners rather than chase volume.

Hellstrom described the company’s guiding principle as a fusion of entertainment and operator economics. 

Our collective experience across game development and tier-one operator relations ensures that every title we build is engineered for peak performance and designed with real operator challenges in mind.  With Big Daddy Gaming, we are excited to deliver on the promise that our focus and experience translate directly into unmatched value creation for our partners.

Disrupting the studio supply chain

The founders believe the current slot content market is bloated, with thousands of releases each year generating diminishing returns. 

Hammon said Big Daddy Gaming’s “disruptive model” would rely on its proprietary Game DNA framework, which combines tested mechanics with the studio’s “signature humour and edge”.

The Game DNA concept, the group explained, will be applied across all releases to track player response, identify engagement patterns and adjust future development cycles. The approach reflects the team’s operational pedigree and its confidence in data-led decision-making.

Hammon, said the business was founded with a clear sense of humility and purpose. 

Being at the heart of some of the industry’s greatest success stories has allowed us to launch Big Daddy Gaming with genuine humility and a clear purpose to be a reliable, highly profitable asset for our operator partners.

Eskola, also a co-founder, reinforced the same commercial message. 

Big Daddy Gaming was founded on the belief that a successful partnership starts with a humble approach and ends with measurable returns.  As a studio, we’re committed to addressing the fundamental challenges facing operators today by providing consistent, high-quality, and high-performing content that secures long-term player loyalty.

Market implications and competitive response

The studio’s entry underscores a structural shift in how operators and suppliers interact. For several years, large platform aggregators have dominated content distribution, leaving smaller developers struggling for visibility. 

Big Daddy Gaming’s model of tighter collaboration with operators, combined with performance transparency, seeks to reverse that imbalance.

For operators, the appeal lies in predictability. The new model promises fewer but higher-performing titles, clearer performance metrics and reduced acquisition costs. For rival studios, the challenge will be to match Big Daddy’s operator-first narrative while maintaining creativity.

Analysts note that this evolution mirrors broader trends in entertainment and digital media, where value increasingly depends on long-term engagement rather than content volume. The data-driven approach also reflects a maturity in how studios view product development, moving from artistic experimentation to measurable return.

The investor perspective

For investors, Big Daddy Gaming’s launch provides a case study in market recalibration. Startups led by experienced executives with proven delivery records are increasingly favoured over creative newcomers. 

The combination of operational credibility and a clearly defined commercial focus makes Big Daddy Gaming’s business model attractive to institutional backers seeking stable, analytics-oriented growth.

The company’s early partnership announcements are expected to provide momentum heading into 2026. 

Should the studio succeed in translating its “Reel Fun and Real Value” philosophy into measurable performance, it could accelerate consolidation across the supplier ecosystem, pushing competitors to professionalise their data and performance frameworks.

A test for innovation and humility

Big Daddy Gaming’s entry captures a moment when the iGaming sector is questioning the sustainability of its content model. By combining humour, analysis and disciplined design, the studio’s founders are promising both creative renewal and commercial realism. 

Whether the market rewards that balance will depend on its ability to deliver exactly what it claims: fun with purpose.

Source: Big Daddy Gaming Press Statement 2025

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