PlayStar is a casino game development company that was founded in September 2015. While the company website does not disclose where its offices are based, nor does it divulge how many employees it has in its ranks, PlayStar’s firm focus on the Asian online gambling market becomes clear on viewing the Global Service section on the homepage.
The dynamic map on the PlayStar website highlights how the company’s products are utilized by gaming companies across countries like China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, with H3Bet.com being one of the most popular online casinos offering software by PlayStar. While the company’s roots are firmly planted in the Asian market, eagle-eyed players who visit the PlayStar site will also notice that the business has expanded into the Southern African gaming market in recent times. This highlights the company’s intention to gain market share outside of Asia, and it will be very interesting to see whether there will be any attempts to break into the European market over the coming years.
There’s clearly no social media strategy in place to promote PlayStar games, and this is highlighted by the fact that both Facebook and Twitter accounts have long been abandoned. There is, however, a link to SoundCloud in the footer – click on it, and you’ll be taken to the PlayStar SoundCloud account, where all the unique game soundscapes can be listened to in full.
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Technology, trust and humanity are the three core values that PlayStar raves about to entice both players and operators to its games. Of these, it’s the trust value that stands out most to us. Highlighting how seriously it takes responsible gaming, PlayStar ensures all its games are safe and secure by working closely with regulators.
Such world-class testing has resulted in PlayStar becoming fully certified as a fair and reliable casino game developer by Gaming Laboratories International (GLI). Possessing such certification will be of great benefit as PlayStar attempts to expand into regulated markets, particularly across Europe.
PlayStar has always recognized the importance of ensuring all its games are cross-platform-friendly, which explains its significant investment in the development of a powerful HTML5 game engine. This advanced technology ensures that players get to enjoy the same immersive experience with mobile slots, using their iOS and Android devices as those who play on desktop from the comfort of their own home, thanks to every game being mobile-optimized.
Constantly on the lookout for highly skilled artists to join its team, PlayStar has invested heavily in assembling a talented creative team who ensure every release is as eye-catching as can be. While 3D graphics are becoming increasingly popular among casino game developers, at PlayStar they have stuck with traditional 2D artwork for all their releases to date. This won’t appeal to players who love the excitement of characters leaping from the reels, but the 2D characters that feature in their games have a photorealistic feel about them, thanks to the design team’s attention to detail.
If you’re a fan of online slots that include progressive jackpots, you’re going to become a massive PlayStar fan. That’s because every slot they release includes four jackpots that are linked to the others in their network. The smallest of these is the mini, followed by the minor and major jackpots, but it’s the grand jackpot that you’ll have your eyes set on for a truly life-changing win!
As all our loyal visitors will know, we provide a function for players to rate slots in each game review that we publish. Such feedback, combined with posts on player forums and detailed reports from online casinos where the slots are played, enables software providers to get an idea of how well-received their releases have been. This gives developers and idea of what works ands what doesn't, and as you can see from collections, such as Big Time Gaming slots, or the range of Push Gaming slots, it leads to a natural selection of top-quality games. However, the PlayStar team have taken the peculiar step of giving a rating for their own casino slot machines.
A quick browse of the official PlayStar website highlights that they’ve taken it upon themselves to give their real money online slots an excitement rating. Each has been given a star rating ranging from one – meaning it’s as exciting as watching paint dry – to five, which indicates that you should have plenty of fun spinning the reels. At the lower end of the spectrum we have Wizard with his single star, while The Empire video slot is one of the few to have been awarded five stars.
We can’t fathom why the people behind a company would even consider releasing a slot they think so little of, let alone make their dim views on it public knowledge. But it’s clear that there are several reasons why such games have been rated so lowly. One or two stars means you’re set to witness extremely basic animations, with symbols on winning paylines simply flashing in and out, and that you’re going to be starved of special features. When we compare these poorly rated slots to those with four- and five-star ratings, such as their Gods of War online slot game, the difference in quality becomes clear. These slots boast engaging storylines to immerse players in the theme, far slicker animations, plus a selection of bonus features to ensure you have something to get excited about.
PlayStar boasts a collection of 80 slots on its website under the title Hot Games, but we’ve already gathered that plenty of them have ice-cold ratings and should be avoided. Therefore, we’re going to look at the best PlayStar slots you should play, whether it be for free or real cash at our pick of the fastest paying casinos online.
They say money doesn’t buy happiness, but you’ll be grinning from ear to ear when you trigger the Rich and Happy slot machine bonus features. That’s because you’ll be meeting a beautiful empress who promises rich rewards for exploring her tranquil garden in search of bags of gold coins, lotus flowers, gemstones, musical instruments, birds and golden eagle statues.
The Empire video slot is another release that stands out from PlayStar’s colorful collection. Based on the Empire of China, you’ll be hoping the Hongxian Emperor welcomes you to his residence and presents you with lavish gifts. Such gifts include guardian lion statues and intricately decorated vases, which you’ll see line up across the 5x3 reeled slot that boasts 243 ways to win. Plus, you could receive the special gift of 7 free spins that can be retriggered.
If you get bored spinning the reels and love to play baccarat online for money, you’re in for a treat. The PlayStar team have developed two exciting multi-table games – Grand Baccarat and Super 6 Baccarat. Their focus on baccarat shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering their focus is mainly on Asia, but we’re crossing our fingers they develop more table games to add even greater variety.
While information about PlayStar is relatively scarce compared to what’s available on other software providers in the iGaming market, the size of its portfolio suggests it’s a small to mid-sized company with headquarters somewhere in Asia – possibly Taiwan, if the domain details are anything to go by.
The focus on impressive 2D artwork, unique sounds and ensuring every release is compatible with desktop, mobile and tablet devices has ensured a solid foundation for PlayStar to build on. Taking the next step and breaking into the European gaming market will require a little more creativity in the mathematics department, as the game mechanics will have to evolve exponentially if the company is to succeed in such a competitive market.
It will be very interesting to see what lies in store for PlayStar over the next year or two. The confidence of the team will be soaring after successfully gaining a foothold in the online casino market in Southern Africa, but cracking Europe won’t be so easy. Regardless, we’re sure they’ll be happy sealing more content deals with online casinos across Asia, as they cement their positions as one of the fastest-growing casino game developers in the continent.
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