Why do some slots disappear from online casinos?

When your favourite slot disappears

Many players have faced this: yesterday - fun spins and deposits in online casinos, today - the slot disappeared without a trace. Without warnings and announcements. Moreover, most often branded slots based on movies, superheroes or cartoons disappear. It would seem, why remove popular games? The answer in one word is a licence.

Developers enter into temporary licence agreements with rights holders. When the validity period comes to an end, the slot can be removed if no renewal agreement is reached. Sometimes it is simply not profitable to renew a licence – it is too expensive or does not bring the necessary profit. In other cases, the brand owners themselves prohibit the continuation of cooperation. And most often, players find out about it after the fact.

The Disappearance of Marvel Slots: A Cult Loss

One of the most high-profile "disappearances" in the history of online gambling was the removal of all Marvel slots from Playtech. Slots like Iron Man, Hulk, X-Men, Spider-Man and The Avengers were a real hit, but on March 31, 2017, it was all over.

Why? It's simple: Disney bought out Marvel and refused to associate its brands with gambling. Even fabulous sums would not help: Disney relies on family values and a children's audience, and excitement does not fit into this in any way. As a result, Playtech lost one of its main trump cards.

But the developer did not give up. He made a deal with Warner Brothers and relaunched slots under the DC Comics brand. And in order not to lose the developments, he changed the visuals and names - for example, Fantastic Four turned into Age of the Gods Furious Four.

What happened to NetEnt?

NetEnt also did not escape the fate of parting with licenses. Among the losses are the cult Aliens and both slots based on the South Park series.

Aliens, based on the film Aliens (1986), was particularly good: cool graphics, creepy atmosphere, exciting bonus round. Why was it removed? Apparently, it's the same story with the licence: either it became too expensive, or the licence was not renewed. The exact reasons are still unknown.

Microgaming is also on the list of losses

Microgaming launched The Lord of the Rings in 2010, but the slot quickly disappeared.   And also short-lived. In 2016, they disappeared from the casino, leaving behind only memories and screenshots of the drifts.

Why don't they warn?

Many people find it strange that the developers do not warn players in advance about the imminent disappearance of slots. But everything is logical here: if you announce the date of the "death" of the slot, players will rush into the game for the last. This can cause overloads, bug complaints, payout issues, and most importantly, legal complications.

Superheroes are still alive, just different

Yes, Marvel slots are gone, but superheroes remain. Some developers, like Yggdrasil, create their own heroes. Others, like Playtech and NextGen, bet on the DC Comics universe - Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and others are still available in casinos.

Results: what should the players do?

If you like branded slots, play them now. No one knows how long they have left. Licenses expire suddenly. This is especially true for machines associated with large film companies, cartoons and superheroes.