Jamie: When the team starts work on a new game, what usually comes first: the theme, the mechanic, or the feeling you want players to have?
Aleksandrina: There’s no fixed order, though a mechanic often gives us the first spark. Apex Dregs began with a multiplier that doubles through cascades; that climb became a police chase.
With VEGASCALINE, the Wrapper Stacks gave us a reveal to build around. Then we work out how the game should look, sound and move. The pieces have to belong together.
Jamie: How do you decide whether an idea is original enough to become an EXCO game?
Aleksandrina: Could we swap the artwork, add a pharaoh and ship it? If yes, back to work. Doubling multipliers exist, but Apex Dregs adds checkpoints and an Escape Bonus that change how the climb unfolds. The Robbin’ Goblins uses its Power Bar and Extra Lives to keep a heist going. We want the mechanic to shape the game, not decorate it.
Jamie: What makes a slot mechanic genuinely fun to play, beyond the chance of a big win?
Aleksandrina: If the only fun part is the win screen, you’ve built a very expensive loading bar. A player should be able to follow what’s changing and care about the next move. In Piranha Bite Club, the Swimmer Reel gives you something to watch for while Piranha Wilds can nudge and swim into a winning line. The result matters; getting there should be fun too.
Jamie: Where did the idea for Apex Dregs come from, and which part of the gameplay are you most proud of?
Aleksandrina: The Doubling Dial came first. Someone looked at that multiplier climbing with every cascade and asked: what if it felt like your wanted level going up? That became the chase.
I’m proud of the checkpoints in Free Spins. You can see the next safe level, and when a spin looks lost, the Escape Bonus can give you one more chance to reach it. The Dregs are terrible at surrendering.
Jamie: What was the starting point for Ministry of Like, and how did you turn that idea into a game?
Aleksandrina: It started with puppets. Then the puppeteer got a government job. The first prototype had symbols expanding into wins and multipliers building along a top row. We turned that sense of someone pulling the strings into a surveillance satire.
In Ministry of Like, the system intervenes, symbols split and Traffic Jam Multipliers pile up. The world and the gameplay share the same bad attitude.
Jamie: Was there a mechanic in either game that took several attempts to get right? What changed along the way?
Aleksandrina: The Escape Bonus in Apex Dregs. It’s designed for an otherwise losing moment when you’re one win from a checkpoint. The team refined when it could appear and how clearly the game showed that progress. A getaway car arriving three streets too early isn’t much of a getaway; this had to feel like a rescue at the right moment.
Jamie: At Fruity Slots, we see immediately when a game gets our streamers and viewers excited. Do you think about how a game will feel to watch as well as to play while you’re designing it?
Aleksandrina: Absolutely. A viewer joining halfway through should be able to see why the next event matters. In Luna X, a Boss Kill turns a boss into a sticky Wild, visibly changing the board. That gives the player something to react to and the streamer something to call out.
AMP takes that shared anticipation further: a player streams a bonus, and the audience can watch, chat and predict how it’ll finish. Everyone suddenly becomes an expert. We’ve met your chat.
Jamie: From a streamer’s point of view, the best games create moments where everyone is waiting to see what happens next. How do you build that sense of anticipation into a mechanic?
Aleksandrina: We put the goal on screen, then let the round move towards it. In Apex Dregs, you can see the next checkpoint. In The Robbin’ Goblins, the Power Bar grows and an Extra Life can buy another respin. Everyone can see what they’re hoping for before the outcome arrives. That’s when chat starts trying to negotiate with the reels.
Jamie: What have you learned from watching players or streamers react to your games that you didn’t expect during development?
Aleksandrina: “Wait, what happened?” is useful feedback, but it isn’t the reaction we’re aiming for. We’ve heard streamers enjoy a feature while still trying to work out its rules, so clearer cues matter.
We also adjusted VEGASCALINE’s three-scatter bonus after seeing too many rounds feel disappointing. Players judge the whole session, not just the biggest win it could have produced.
Jamie: What’s coming next from EXCO, and is there a new idea or mechanic you’re particularly excited for players to try?
Aleksandrina: The newest thing is already out: EXCO AMP, the first product in our EXCOVERSE ecosystem, now live at 500 Casino. Eligible players can stream from inside an AMP-enabled EXCO game. Viewers can watch and chat, or place a separate real-money UNDER/OVER prediction on an eligible bonus’s final multiplier.
The threshold and odds are shown upfront, and predictions lock before the reveal. Hindsight remains excellent. It just misses the window. Those bets settle through the casino, separately from the player’s wager, and can lose. Camera and microphone are optional. The game can carry the stream.
On the game side, Bullfrogzilla is next. We’ll save the full reveal for its own moment, but subtlety probably wasn’t your first guess from the name.
About EXCO
Founded by former CEO of Yggdrasil Gaming, Fredrik Elmqvist, in 2025, EXCO is an independent iGaming studio that aims to break the mold with slot development, with a zero-tolerance policy for cookie-cutter slots and recycled ideas.
With releases including Apex Dregs, Vegascaline, Luna X, The Robbin’ Goblins and Piranha Bite Club, EXCO is already building a reputation as a provider that doesn’t play by the rules, combining unusual themes with creative mechanics to offer something truly different to the industry.
Want to know more? Head over to our dedicated EXCO game studio page for our full reviews, game demos, the latest releases and more on the studio’s background and growing catalogue.
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