NextGen Gaming’s Real Money Online Slots

NextGen started as a smaller slot developer in Australia. While they’re still based in Sydney, they now have a global presence with hundreds of games, in equally as many online casinos.

AS NextGen Gaming focuses on the business-to-business side of the industry, you may not know their name.  You may recognize some of their slot games, though, if you already play slots online.

From Foxin’ Wins to Irish Eyes, Judge Dredd, and 300 Shields, online casinos with NextGen slot games have dozens of player favorites.

The story of NextGen isn’t a long tale to tell.

However, there are two significant milestones that took the company from a smaller, privately owned studio to a creative arm of one of the world’s leading digital game companies.

In 1999, Tony McAuslan launched NextGen as a small boutique slot development company.

Unlike similar studios, NextGen has always focused on slots and hasn’t ventured into table games or video poker. But its software is used in multiple platforms, both land-based and online.

McAuslan preferred the business’s creative side to the management end and turned over the CEO reins early in the game to focus on game design.

It’s not challenging to figure out NextGen’s mission as it’s remained constant.

Over the years, NextGen has continuously perfected the art of slot design and development.

Instead of venturing into different gaming lines or creating operator back-end management tools, the studio maintains its slot focus and distributes them on an open platform system network.

The studio uses platform providers like OpenBet to distribute its titles. While it steers clear of management and marketing tools, NextGen has become a leader in getting new products to market.

NextGen designed a proprietary Game Development Module (GDM), later boosted by the ARC interface released in 2017. A combined system speeds up the distribution process that takes a new release from completion to third party hosting.

In 2011, NextGen was acquired by NYX Gaming, another digital gaming content provider.

NYX was more focused on content for the World Lottery Association, so bringing together two powerhouse developers that complemented instead of competed with each other was a wise business move.

The NextGen-NYX merger was just the start of a decade of changes. In 2014, NextGen embraced the multi-channel demand with Foxin’ Wins, one of its most successful slot releases ever.

A few years later, in 2016, NYX acquired OpenBet for £270 million, bringing the distribution platform that NextGen already relied on in-house. 2016 was a big year for NextGen, as NYX also secured a deal with PokerStars in New Jersey.

They launched with 20 of their top titles. Casino gamblers in New Jersey can play King Kong: Island of Skull Mountain, Irish Eyes 2, Judge Dredd, and other quality slot games from NextGen.

Those are a couple of their most notable changes or accomplishments, but here’s a brief look at the most eventful things to happen since opening their doors in 1999.

NextGen’s first significant milestone was the NYX Gaming acquisition in 2011. But neither NYX nor NextGen has their own corporate website presence anymore. That’s because, in 2017, Scientific Games purchased the NYX Gaming Group for $775 million.

NYX, OpenBet, and NextGen are now under the SG Digital umbrella.

While NextGen has traditionally been a behind the scenes type of studio, it’s even more so now. NextGen branding has morphed into SG Digital. That means when a player accesses a NextGen online slot like Foxin’ Wins, there may be no trace of NextGen. The lead-in is all SG Digital.

The current corporate structure still has NextGen maintaining separate studios but producing games under the SG Digital brand.

Aside from the necessary and exclusive Game Development Module and ARC Interface that allows NextGen to distribute its titles remotely, the studio sticks to game production.

You won’t find a back-end management system for operators as NextGen slots are part of the open platform systems.

The arrangement is like setting up a retail shop for online casinos. Operators can pick and choose which titles they want to provide to their clients.

Instead of developing operational systems, NextGen can focus more on the creative aspect of slot gaming.

It’s not a progressive jackpot-driven studio. Instead, over the years, it’s designed a few features that promote brand loyalty.

Top Features of NextGen Slots

Since 2014, NextGen has prioritized mobile slot play.

It started with new games developed for multiple channels. The studio’s first multi-channel release, Foxin’ Wins, became NextGen’s most successful online slot debut.

Three years later, NextGen slot games for iPhones and Androids were taken to the next level as the studio started building all new releases in HTML5.

Because the titles are hosted through various platforms, mobile access depends on the individual online casino with NextGen slot games.

You’ll find that an app, aside from the mobile browser app, isn’t required as the slots are compatible with desktop, laptop, smartphone, and tablet use.

When players have no idea which slot game to pick, they tend to gravitate to what’s familiar, which is part of the reason why licensed brand slots are so well-liked.

NextGen is about in the middle of the pack when it comes to television, film, music, and other branded titles. There are enough options to make it enjoyable without going overboard.

It’s not a stretch to assume that The Mask slot from NextGen is filled with features and fun. After all, it’s got Jim Carrey moving over from the big screen to the slot screen.

The Mask has everything you’d expect and more, as Carrey pops on and off the screen frequently to deliver some “support.”

In the base game, four random features are more about their delivery than their effect on the screen, although they’re all wild-based and can create some big-money payouts. A giant alarm clock bounces around, leaving 2 x 2 wilds. If Carrey’s involved, he’ll whirl around the screen, dropping wilds.

If those appearances aren’t enough, you’ll hear a blowhorn, signaling it’s wild-time, or play the Mask-Unmask game with 3 x 3 wilds.

A mask is more valuable in the bonus with up to five-times multiplied payouts, and the entire experience is even more entertaining and lucrative with win-both-ways mechanics.

You can get in on all of the action for as little as 0.10. Even with that minimum bet, there’s 150.00 per spin payout potential.

Sylvester Stallone isn’t a stranger to slot reels, starring in quite a few from Rocky to The Expendables. But Judge Dredd isn’t based on the movie. Instead, it’s an incredible homage to the comic book.

Mega-City One has never shined so brightly, as the visuals in this 25-payline game are top-notch. The city shines brightly through the transparent reels, and Judge Joseph Dredd, the lawman/judge/executioner, pops up from time to time to shoot up the screen for higher-intensity gameplay.

You’ll appreciate the comic book-styling of Judge Dredd and a bonus round with double payouts. You can also play Judge Dredd at NextGen online casinos with an active Superbet that takes the reels from wild to super wild.

Judge Dredd is one of the first NextGen online slot games to hit the US market, courtesy of the PokerStars New Jersey agreement.

Like Judge Dredd, James Dean features a double-pay bonus round. But that’s the extent of the similarities.

If you’re a fan of the 50s, James Dean is a must-play. It’s got the music to keep you entertained while the reels spin with a 5,000-credit high-value payout for five of Dean’s sportscars.

The visuals are as impressive as the audio, though. This fun NextGen online slot features photo-like symbols and blue tinting over the screen, giving it an eerie kind of retro-vibe. It’s a throwback game with every tiny detail planned to perfection.

Besides the overall experience, James Dean is a real money NextGen slot machine with the cash and features to back it up. Aside from the 5,000-credit reward, there are free re-spins and expanding wilds to carry you to the finish line.

Online slot players don’t need to know the NextGen name. All they need to do is search for their favorite games.

As NextGen has been around for a few decades, they have built up a loyal following through custom themes and features like Superbets and Slide-a-Wild.

Because NextGen titles are so spread out amongst hundreds of gambling sites, you won’t find every slot in the virtual banks. But if you use a top-rated NextGen online slots site, like the ones we’ve recommended, you should at least have access to many player favorites.

And we’ve got a few of the top NextGen slots below to get you started.

An X300 multiplier should be enough to entice anyone to play 300 Shields Extreme in their favorite casino with NextGen slots. But there’s quite a bit more to the sequel that returns players to the Battle of Thermopylae.

While the original 300 Shields have variable paylines, Extreme requires a bet on all 25, which shouldn’t be too problematic with wagering ranging from just 0.25 to 12.50.

There may be a slightly higher investment, but it’s worth the Extreme makeover as the five shields that pay 100 credits in the first slot are worth 2,500 credits in this game.

Regardless of which 300 Shields you pick, it’s all about the bonus game and Warrior Wins. Free spins involve collecting scatter shields to level-up. Level one starts with five games and double-pays.

But if you can grab two pieces of armor, you get a five-game boost, with an X5 multiplier.

The goal is to keep collecting shields and make it to the fourth and final round, where one of the biggest multipliers in online slot gaming awaits. Level four wins with a wild in the mix are multiplied by 300 – it’s right there in the title.

It’s not difficult to figure out why Medusa Megaways is a favorite of players in NextGen slot sites.

Yes, it’s a Megaways game, and they’re common these days. But Medusa is like Megaways on steroids.

Medusa Megaways is a low stakes online slot with six reels and up to 117,649 ways to win. In addition to reactions (aka cascades) throughout the base and bonus game spins, the bonus tacks on an increasing multiplier, which can be a game-changer.

You don’t come across a Medusa Gaze feature every day. But it’s an ideal surprise modifier for this NextGen online slot. If you catch her eye, you won’t turn to stone. Instead, the Gorgon expand then exit the scene, leaving wilds in her wake.

In addition to Medusa’s Gaze, you’ll access the Temptation Feature that gives you an optional do-over after you complete a bonus round.

If you’re anxious to get to those free spins and take advantage of the increasing multiplier and a new Snake Strike feature, you can buy your way in at any time for 100 times your stake.

This particular Megaways slot is filled with unique features and has a 750-credit high-value six-of-a-kind, which is relatively high with 117,649 possibilities.

When you see a slot developer like NextGen roll out sequels, including 300 Shields Extreme and Foxin’ Twins, you know that it’s doing something right.

Foxin’ Twins is the follow-up to Foxin’ Wins and is only one in a list of continuation slots. This version features two foxes, two screens, and three betting options.

The standard bets are 0.25 to 6.25, but this is one of NextGen’s unique Superbet titles. That means that players have the opportunity to risk more but reap the benefits of better features.

In Foxin’ Twins’ case, the two Superbets double or triple the stakes, adding random wilds and multipliers up to X10 or X20.

This NextGen slot machine gives you a glimpse into the clever foxes’ luxury lifestyle, and they can afford two sets of game reels instead of just one.

Combining scatter symbols on both boards can trigger the “Go Team Pup” bonus round with 100 free games and winning combinations counted in both directions.

The name is enough to reel you in, isn’t it?

Wait until you experience Gary the Gorilla and his high-fives and backflips. That’s almost enough to keep you coming back for more. But once you see how feature-rich this 25-line slot is, you’ll be hooked.

The bonus game features in Gorilla Go Wild read like a manual, but they play out on a map. The free spins have you island-hopping in search of special features. It’s a level-up kind of round with hidden wilds, stacked and mystery symbols, and multiplier zones.

Those multiplier zones are in the final destination, and Gary casts a net over the screen, prompting payout boosts as valuable as X25.

Gorilla Go Wild is so feature-driven that it costs an extra five credits to enter Gary’s world when you play this NextGen online slot for money.

It’s like a twofer, though, as you get classic slot gaming combined with an entertaining host.

Even though Merlin’s Millions came out in 2013, it was recognized at the 2019 EKG slot awards as the “Top Performing Online Slot.”

Merlin’s Millions is one of those games that players continuously return to as it’s feature-driven, but the enhancements (or enchantments) don’t slow down the slot progression.

It’s a 50-line Superbet game. As with Foxin’ Twins, players can risk more to win more. In Merlin’s Millions, there are five Superbet levels with multipliers from X2 to X10. Merlin is wild, and the catalyst for those payout boosts.

But it’s Merlin, Merlin, and more Merlin, as the wizard assumes a reel-side position to cast bonus spells like wild reels and random wild conversions. His magic wand gets its workout, electrifying the board with the multipliers and wild sorcery.

Every so often, Merlin hands over the reins to the owl, though. The Owl Bonus puts players in the driver’s seat with a 20-symbol pick and click round. Wisely choosing those wise owls can pay off with up to 19 cash prizes.

Slots, slots, and more slots, that’s what you’re going to get when you visit an online casino with NextGen slot games.

NextGen began with a vision to design and develop the best slot games, and it stayed true to its mission.

You won’t find table games or video poker rolling out of the NextGen studio, but you can experience some of NextGen’s real money online slots for free through social gaming on Facebook.

If you ready to get the ball rolling and play the best NextGen online slots for money, we suggest joining a few of our top-rated online casinos.

Do this and you’ll get to take advantage of more from NextGen’s 300-game collection, including a welcome bonus that can double or triple your first deposit.