If there’s one thing slot makers have shown they want in recent years, a major brand to associate their name with is certainly at the top of the list.

Looking around, among the best online slot machine games available we will find those based on already famous TV series, movies, heroes and heroines. After all, who can resist slots created in collaboration with Hollywood’s biggest hits, like Microgaming’s Jurassic World, or the new Highlander online slot?

One of the areas where players have found the most success has been comic-based slots, which outperformed the competition from traditional table games such as blackjack and roulette.

In recent years, Marvel heroes like Iron Man and Hulk have battled with DC Comics rivals, including Superman and Wonder Woman, for unchallenged supremacy in casino lobbies.

As with the pages of comics, many of them have moved from side to side, with slot developers ready to steal rival franchises from under their noses in a fight to the death.

Exploring the wonderful world of Marvel

Long before it was bought by Disney in a nine-figure deal, the Marvel Universe was significantly smaller than it has now become. Major titles were starting to see the light on Hollywood sets and the big screen was taking its first steps to try to revitalize the superhero genre.

Interestingly, the online slots world was also facing a similar process: by the middle of the first decade of the new century, the technology used by casinos was improving and developers like Cryptologic and Playtech had started releasing more and more titles.

From 2009 to 2010, slots such as Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were launched following the success of the films of the same name with which players could admire images taken directly from films instead of comics. The Fantastic Four and Iron Man 2 soon arrived , the latter being produced in direct collaboration with the 2010 film.

At the dawn of 2013, Microgaming also became part of the games thanks to a collaboration with the partner company of DC Comics, Warner Bros., producing slots such as The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises , obviously based on their respective films. Both are now two of the largest progressive jackpot slots available on the market.

The future of franchise-based slots

Developers have long been using big-screen and TV series names to create collaborations, and it doesn’t look like this trend will slow down.

Think for example of one of the most prominent developers, IGT: the new range of physical slots uses successful brands and makes them accessible to everyone. Games like Sex and the City , based on the spin-off of the famous TV series, rely on a “common” element to make the gaming experience even more engaging thanks to which multiple players can in fact sit at the same slot and participate in functions interactive and multi-player bonuses such as the wheel of fortune.

Although many video slots aim to offer variety to their players, the collaboration with HBO, producer of the Sex and the City series , is aimed at those who already know the program. Thanks to faster processors, video slots are able to handle longer video sequences taken directly from the movie, thus adding a different element to traditional online slots.

IGT has also released a physical slot inspired by The Dark Knight movie , not to be confused with the hit game produced by Microgaming. Although the target of this slot is the fans of the film, even here there is a “common” element.

Developers like Microgaming have moved into this area with the hit slots Tomb Raider and Hitman , while Atari has harnessed the nostalgic element to produce slots inspired by classic arcade-style games.

The contamination between applications and slots is also increasingly evident. The apps that allow you to play in mobile mode, such as Bejeweled , have become real slots and the replacement of the symbols that have formed a winning combination with new ones is a function that has been adopted by the main slot producers. Present in Microgaming’s Avalanche Reels slot , the feature has hit the hearts of players.

As technology improves, slots and games of chance will have more and more elements of skill, as in console games. Slot developers will certainly not struggle to meet the demands of players, who want more and more special effects, increasingly attractive graphics and more and more innovative bonus features in their games, assuming that the theme of the slot is the right one.