Opinion: Relax Gaming on its biggest slot release of the year

Relax Gaming's newest slot Money Train 3 is one of most highly anticipated game releases of the year. Game product owner Callum Sultana explains what makes it stand out from the crowd

What makes Money Train 3 stand out from other recent slot releases?

The Money Train Bonus Round is what truly made a mark in the industry and sparked the engagement that warranted a sequel. This core element was carried through the entire series, with each one building on the strong points of the last.

The stand-out quality of Money Train 3 is the variety of features and feature combos it offers. There are 12 feature symbols in total, which can interact with one another to build up big wins. These symbols alone bring 66 combinations of just 2 paired features, meaning that no two rounds are ever the same; from what we can see, this hasn’t been done before so it’s sure to go down well amongst our players.

How long has Money Train 3 been in development? What features are you most excited about in this game?

The game has been in development since December 2021 but had been in discussion since the release of Money Train 2 the previous year. In terms of features, I'm most excited about the Persistent Necromancer for its insane win potential and the Persistent Shapeshifter for the variety it brings to the game.

The latter is essentially a persistent mystery symbol that changes form with each respin, drumming up anticipation and adding an element of surprise that is integral to the gameplay experience.

What makes you think Money Train 3 will be even more successful than its predecessors?

There’s always an element of risk when creating a sequel with a fan base like that of Money Train. Expectations climb higher with each instalment of the series so the pressure is on to pick up where we left off with the record-breaking Money Train 2. That said, we keep our finger on the pulse of the market and are in touch with what our players want which mitigates risk to a certain extent.

We took the decision of producing the third game very seriously, we made sure to hit the mark across the board, with improved features, an increased max. win cap, and an evolved narrative, all whilst staying true to the original. I think the increased number of ways to combine features along with the overall improvement of the game flow will make this title successful.

Following the launch of Money Train 3, will players still be interested in playing Money Train 1 and Money Train 2?

This idea was heavily considered during the production of every Money Train edition. With this in mind, we were strategic in adding or removing game elements to ensure that each title has its own unique offering and target audience.

Additionally, these slots have very different levels of variance, especially when playing the Buy Feature option, so in the same way that we offer pay line games with different features, we also have Money Train games with different features and math profiles on the market.

Developing sequels for slot games has proved popular for many suppliers, including Relax. Why is this?

Creating sequels has certainly been popular but not necessarily successful in most cases. Money Train 3 is one of the very few third sequels to ever enter the market and definitely the first to have this level of anticipation surrounding it.

At Relax we never create follow-up games for the sake of capitalising on the brand, we invest a lot of time and energy into developing and improving on previous successes. Money Train 2 is a prime example of this and the number of development hours that have gone into Money Train 3 are also testimony to this mindset.

In Relax's experience, what makes a successful slot game? Are high volatility games now more popular than other types of slots?

Highly volatile games are more popular than they were traditionally and have a good reputation at the moment; however, I suspect that’s less about player trends and more of a reflection of streamer popularity.

If you look at games that are performing very well, their common denominator is often having a very clear mechanic at their core regardless of volatility, so above all else, we believe this is what makes a great game.

Tell us about your collaborations with live streamers. How does this help Relax?

Streamers help to introduce games to players before they test the waters themselves. It’s an effective way of giving them a transparent glimpse into the gameplay experience so that they can make an educated decision about what is worth their time.

In the case of Money Train 3, we’re lucky to have worked with a great selection of streamers who have or will be trying out our game, with so much anticipation for the launch it will be great to see how the public perceive the game long-term.

In what markets will Money Train 3 be rolled out initially?

Having launched with varying RTP levels tailored to particular markets, the game is live across all our licenced and supported jurisdictions in Europe and beyond, which include: the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the Malta Gaming Authority, the Gibraltar Licensing Authority, the UK Gambling Commission, the Romanian National Gaming Office (ONJN), Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia.

What else can you tell us about Money Train 3?

Having been so well received already and scored BigWinBoard’s first-ever perfect 10/10 rating we’re excited to see how the audiences interact with the game further down the line. A tremendous amount of work has gone into this production and the hype has already exceeded our expectations!