ELK Studios Casinos

ELK Studios could be considered a new developer by many, even though it’s been founded in 2012, so there are already 6+ years since they’ve been doing this. Like a number of other impressive companies which have started in the last decade, ELK Studios was founded in Sweden and has its HQ in Stockholm. They consider themselves a mobile-first studio, and they’ve been that way since they started. The games they’ve released so far reflect that, and they’re all optimized for use on mobile devices. These days, most of the games that are being played on a mobile device are usually by new ELK Studios casinos.

Sweden seems to have become something of a hotbed for companies who base their business upon the provision of online gambling software. The current industry leaders NetEnt originate from Sweden, as do the most prolific software developers of all – Play ’n GO. Some lesser names like Quickspin and Snowborn Games are fuelled by Scandinavian brains too.

Unlike their fellow Swedes though ELK Studios (and it IS ELK Studios, not Elk Studios as this software company was not named after an Elk!) did not start life in Stockholm. Instead, they began somewhere distinctly less urban – Engelbretksgatan which is not only a mouthful to say, it is also a village near Halmstad in Sweden. They have since upped their surroundings though, moving to a place called Vasagaten which is near Stockholm.

There are plenty of online casinos that now host ELK Studio’s repertoire of fine software output, and below you will find a list of some of the best.

All About ELK Studios – Online Casino Software Providers

It all started for ELK Studios in Sweden in 2013. Not a lot of information about the company is shared by them, but it is known that one of the founders was the company’s current CEO, Filip Safbeck. Safbeck already had experience in the sector when he helped created ELK Studios, having been the Chief Operating Officer at NYX Interactive since 2010.

ELK Studios used premises near Halmstad in Sweden to formulate their company strategy. It did not take them long to come up with their first slot releases and The Lab, Electric Sam and Champion’s Goal became hot titles in their native Sweden and elsewhere around the world, The company became so successful that they soon moved to bigger premises just outside Stockholm.

In late summer 2015, ELK Studios released Taco Brothers which became their first genuine online casino hit. They have continued to release a very good selection of online slots and in 2020 released a couple of really imaginative games in Io and Black River Gold. This displayed to a lot of people that this company was really ready to take the next step and begin to compete with some of the bigger names in the online casino arena.

What Does ELK Studios Offer

ELK Studios is a mobile-first developer of online slot machines, and that’s pretty much all that they offer to their players. As of right now, there are 20 slot machines available from them, which for a period of about 5 years gives us a new release every 3 months or so. Lake’s Five, Birthday and Platooners are their latest releases, while the upcoming game is called Joker Gems. All games from ELK Studios are mobile friendly and they’re tested for use on these devices first and foremost.

They have their share of unique games, theme and feature-wise, so on that account, they’re a good pick for anyone that’s bored with the standard slot machines that everyone seems to put out. They put a lot of effort into each game they release, and generally, the high-quality graphics will be accompanied by unique features.

Themes in their games will usually revolve around things that are not very common. You get a tower heist in Lake’s Five, a birthday party for previous ELK slots characters in Birthday, movie-themed titles in Bloopers and Platooners or huge Japanese monsters in Kaiju. These are just a couple of examples of themes that are available from them, and fairly recent ones at that.

Slot Machines: this is where all their current titles are from. They might come out with table games or other types of casino games in the future, but for now, the 20+ titles they’ve released are all slot machines. They’re also modern 5-reel slots usually, the exception being a game like Ivanhoe, which offers 3 reels.

Jackpots & Bonuses

The betting system is the same in all their games, using 100 coins and values of up to $100, so the coin denomination reaches $1. Each game mentions its absolute highest paying potential, so you will see values like 250,000 coins (Platooners), 130,400 coins (Kaiju) or 178,000 coins (Wild Seas). As you can see, wins of $250,000 are possible, and the games do have huge potential. The individual winning combinations are not going to pay much though, so that big payout will come if you fill up a screen with matching symbols, or if you get help from its unique features.

The features always seem among the strengths of the slots released by ELK Studios casinos. They take regular features, like wilds, free spins and bonus games, and they expand on them. For example, in Kaiju you get vertical lasers which allow reels to expand and become wilds, increasing the number of lines. In Wild Seas, you get Sailing Wild Ships during the free spins, which you need to sink in order to reach the second level of the feature. Platooners comes with a Snakes of Fortune bonus game which has three levels, during which you fight on the side of the Platooners and against the Snakes.

Important Features

They describe their games as mobile-first, so naturally, they’re particularly well optimized for this type of gameplay. That’s good news for players that prefer this type of content, but desktop users have an equally easy time playing on them.

Betting Strategies: this is one of the settings that set their games apart, as I haven’t seen this option anywhere else. Once you select your starting bet, you can also pick a betting strategy, allowing the game to automatically modify the value based on the outcome of the spins and the state of your balance. You can use strategies like Optimizer, Leveller, Booster and Jumper.

The Leading ELK Studios Games

ELK Studios have released a steady stream of playable online slots over the past few years, but the standard of their games has really improved since 2017. Here is a quick overview of three very popular ELK Studios titles.

Wild Toro

There are varied opinions about which ELK Studios game can be considered to be the best, but if a player does not answer this question with ‘Taco Brothers’ then they are probably likely to answer it with ‘Wild Toro’.

This game has extra dimensions with four rows and a bullish 178 paylines, but it’s the graphics and animation that really made players sit up and take notice of ELK Studios, probably for the first time. The subject of this slot – bull-fighting – may not be to everyone’s tastes, but at least here it is the fearsome ‘Wild Toro’ bull who comes out on top.

Poltava

The core reason most people play slots (if not to win money) is to have some fun, but the theme of everyone online slot does not have to be crazy cartoons and scatty features. Poltava is a supreme example of a slot that’s a little more serious, but also is one that’s extremely playable.

The theme of this slot is an epic Napoleonic-style battle featuring battalions of fearless soldiers, fear-inducing artillery and brave horses charging into the fray. The main, favourable aspect of this slot is once you enter free spins, each new wild symbol that lands will grant you a fresh freebie.

Taco Brothers

You can’t really talk about online slots and ELK Studios without mentioning Taco Brothers. Well, you can, but it would show that you don’t really know what you are talking about! The Taco Brothers are a trio of Mexican musicians named Pico, Pepe and Paso who bring joy and music to their sleepy village and also to wherever they venture.

Not all is simplicity for the three brothers though as they have to contend with the distinctly unfriendly Captain Diaz (who has banned the eating of Tacos) while they try and capture the heart of the village lovely. This game has all the features of a top-notch slot with excellent cartoon-style graphics plus nail-nibbling gameplay.

Final Thoughts on ELK Studios Gaming

The motto of ELK Studios seems to be ‘slowly but surely’. They have made significant strides since their creation in 2013, but it really was not until 2015 that this Sweden-based company tasted any success when they released the fabulous ‘Taco Brothers’. The company have managed to build on this success and over the past five years or so have released a steady stream of excellent titles.

A new ELK Studios title is always something to look forward to, and the future is something for this company to look forward too as well.

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