Jamie: Blazing Bison UNLEASHED™ is the latest entry in the franchise. What made this the right moment for a new release, and how does it distinguish itself from its predecessors?
Levon: With Blazing Bison UNLEASHED™, we saw an opportunity to take our successful brand and its classic, high-energy theme and build a much more layered gameplay experience around it. The biggest evolution is how the different mechanics can interact and build momentum together, in particular around the stacked Bison symbol functionality.
Full stacks of Bison can become full-reel symbols with multipliers and adjacent reels can merge and compound those values up to 16,128x! The Bonus feature in this release introduces a highly variable entry wheel experience awarding free spins, additional Bison, and Expanding Multiplier Wilds. In Bonus Spins, two collection mechanics add plenty of layered collection moments in the gameplay experience linked to the four available jackpots and reactivation of the engaging feature.
Jamie: The game introduces compounding full-reel multipliers with stacked Bison and Expanding Wild symbols. What was the design thinking behind this mechanic and what does it add to the overall experience?
Levon: The idea was to create a mechanic that is immediately understandable visually and has the ability to escalate as more reels become involved.
When a full stack of four Bison symbols land on a reel, it expands into a full-reel Bison where a random multiplier tiered by position on the reels is ignited for some mighty win potential. If another full stack lands adjacent to it, that reel can also expand and the two don’t just add together but the existing multiplier is multiplied by the new one, and both reels then share that single compounded value.
During Bonus Spins, these Expanding Multiplier Wilds can become part of that same interaction, merging with landed Bison stacks for huge symbols on the reels and equally impressive multipliers.
What we like about the mechanic is that the potential building across the reels is immediately visible. Each additional connection makes the moment feel bigger, so the visual progression, the underlying mechanic and the associated win potential all work together.
Jamie: With a top Bison multiplier of 16,128x, how did you ensure the game’s features feel rewarding at every stage of the experience?
Levon: The ability to have a 16,128x top multiplier as an available and prominent feature on the reels if five compounded full-reel symbols are awarded feels electrifying to play for. The compounding full-reel mechanic gives a very visual element to follow, but it was important that the experience wasn’t focused purely on reaching that one ultimate outcome.
There are several layers of progression throughout the game, from building the Bonus Collect Meter in the base game to multiple additional mechanics during Bonus Spins. That means there are different engaging moments with their own levels of excitement throughout the experience.
For us, the goal was to make that sense of building momentum an important part of the experience rather than focusing only on the headline potential.
Jamie: Can you walk us through how the Bonus Wheel and jackpot system interact with the core game?
Levon: The Bonus Wheel acts as the bridge into the Bonus Spins. Once the Bonus is triggered, three independent vertical strips determine the number of spins as well as how many additional Bison and Expanding Multiplier Wild symbols are added to the Bonus reels. More Bison on the reels will mean more expansion, and Expanding Multiplier Wilds, with their ability to combine with Bison stacks contributing to pushing the high pay symbol multipliers higher.
Additional layers on the reels add further excitement to the feature. Jackpot symbols that land randomly fill slots on one of the four Jackpot meters, awarding them when filled. Retrigger symbols land during Bonus Spins as well, adding another layer to this action-packed feature.
The Bonus Wheel and Jackpot Collection mechanic have different roles, but they are designed to give the Bonus reels multiple ways to build excitement and reward as the feature progresses.
Jamie: The Bonus Collect Meter offers two distinct routes to triggering the bonus. How did you design those two paths to feel complementary rather than competing with each other?
Levon: We wanted one route to create visible progression and the other to preserve an element of immediacy.
Revolver Cylinder symbols contribute a variable number of increments to the Bonus Collect Meter, so there is always a clear sense of build-up towards filling the meter with each symbol landing. At the same time, whenever a bullet is fired into the meter, there is also the possibility of the meter filling instantly and awarding the Bonus.
Those two paths work together because they create two different types of engagement. You can see the meter building, but there is always the possibility that the Bonus arrives sooner – giving every Bonus symbol that lands the potential to make an impact.
Jamie: The franchise has stuck with a North American prairie and bison theme across multiple releases. What keeps that theme feeling fresh creatively, and did anything specific inspire the visual direction for this entry?
Levon: The bison theme gives us a very strong sense of scale, movement and momentum to work with, which fits particularly well with the mechanics in Blazing Bison UNLEASHED™. We’ve invested a lot of time and attention into the Bison herd on this release, and we wanted this product and all its elements to feel more polished and realistic than previous ones.
For this game, the presentation really comes to life as more Bison begin filling and expanding across the reels. The audio and visual intensity builds alongside the herd, so rather than treating the theme as a static backdrop, we’ve used it to reinforce what is happening mechanically.
That relationship between theme, movement and escalating gameplay is a big part of what gives this entry its own identity.
Jamie: Fortune Factory Studios operates within the wider Games Global ecosystem. How does being part of that network influence or inspire the game development process?
Levon: Being part of a wider ecosystem gives us a valuable broader context for the games we’re creating, but at studio level our focus remains on building titles with a clear identity and mechanics that work cohesively.
With Blazing Bison UNLEASHED™, that meant concentrating on how each part of the experience connects – from the core full-reel Bison mechanic through to the Bonus Wheel, Expanding Multiplier Wilds, Retriggers and Jackpot Collect elements.
Ultimately, we want each of Fortune Factory Studios releases to feel distinctive in their own right while delivering an experience that is clear, polished and engaging for players. The Blazing Bison™ brand is a very valuable and successful one in the Fortune Factory Studios stable, so we definitely put a lot of attention into making each release the best it can be!
Jamie: Blazing Bison UNLEASHED™ also includes a Win Booster™ and Bonus Buy options, where available. How do these features complement the core gameplay experience for those looking to engage with the bonus more directly?
Levon: They provide additional ways to immerse into the game while leaving the core experience and its feature structure at the core.
For players in markets where these options are available, they can offer a more direct route towards particular aspects of the experience.
What’s important from a design perspective is that the Bonus itself remains the same cohesive feature we’ve built around the Bonus Wheel, additional Bison, Expanding Multiplier Wilds, Retriggers and Jackpot Collect mechanics. These optional features simply amplify and accelerate access to the most intriguing moments of this wild ride.
Jamie: How do you see the Blazing Bison™ franchise evolving from here, and what can fans of the series look forward to next?
Levon: What Blazing Bison UNLEASHED™ demonstrates for us is that there is still plenty of room to explore an established identity in new ways.
With this release, we’ve taken familiar elements and built considerably more interaction and progression around them. That’s the kind of approach we find thrilling – understanding what gives a game or franchise its identity and then looking for meaningful ways to develop that experience further that make sense to the brand.
We don’t have anything specific to announce here, but we’re looking forward to seeing where we can take that thinking next. One thing is for sure: The Bison will be back!
Jamie: For anyone discovering Blazing Bison UNLEASHED™ for the first time, what’s the one feature or moment in the game you’d most want them to experience?
Levon: I’d say the moment when multiple full-reel Bison begin connecting and the multipliers start compounding across the reels.
It captures what we wanted Blazing Bison UNLEASHED™ to be about. The herd grows visually, the mechanic escalates, and the audio and visuals respond as that happens. Then, during the Bonus, bringing Expanding Multiplier Wilds into that same system adds another layer to it.
It’s one of those moments where theme, mechanic, win potential, and presentation all come together in a high-energy package – and that’s really the experience we wanted the game to deliver.
About Fortune Factory Studios
Founded in 2018 on the Isle of Man, Fortune Factory Studios was one of the first independent studios to partner exclusively with Microgaming, a relationship that carried over when the network became Games Global. The studio has built its identity around Gold Blitz™, its signature cash collection mechanic, which has anchored hit series across the portfolio.
Fortune Factory sticks to video slots only, with a focus on layered, feature-rich gameplay and themes that range from Egyptian mythology to the wild frontier, as seen in their long-running Blazing Bison™ franchise. The studio favours depth over volume, building mechanics that interact and escalate rather than chasing quick releases.
Find out more about Fortune Factory Studios on their dedicated provider page, which includes all of our published slot reviews.
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