Evolution (formally Evolution Gaming) is one of the few online game providers that spend most of their time creating titles for the live casino audience. While it also produces automated games, even those tend to be standalone versions of its live casino offerings, so it's very much the live casino experience that Evolution focuses on and is best known for. In this article, we'll take a look at how this company almost single-handedly put live gaming on the map and in the process became one of the biggest players in the industry.
Play at The Best Evolution Casinos
Background and History
Evolution was founded in Sweden in 2006. A limited number of live casino games were available at that time, but there was no consistency in quality, so Evolution's aim from the outset was to revolutionize the live dealer platform in Europe. It did that by creating authentic gaming environments with casino-grade equipment and professional dealers, and by employing the latest available technology to stream the action directly from its bespoke casino studios.
This approach proved to be an instant success, and the operation has gone from strength to strength ever since. The company launched mobile gaming in 2012, opened studios in Spain, Malta, Belgium and Romania in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, and invented the Game Shows genre in 2017 with Dream Catcher.
The big release of 2018 for Evolution was Lightning Roulette, and in 2019 it added MONOPOLY Live and Deal or No Deal Live to its Game Shows series. Crazy Time was released in 2020, and 2021 saw the arrival of Evolution's first Virtual Reality title, Gonzo's Treasure Hunt.
Over the course of all this time, the Evolution Group has also acquired a number of other big online gaming brands, including NetEnt, Red Tiger and Big Time Gaming. Today, Evolution is a gaming giant, with more than 10,000 employees helping to bring over 170 games to players in 49 countries.
Canada's 10 Favourite Evolution Games
Canada Loves Evolution Games
Evolution games are incredibly popular here in Canada, just as they are around the world. To give you some idea of the kind of games that Evolution offers, here's an overview of their main genres:
Classic Table Games and Lightning Derivatives
Evolution made its mark in the early years by giving online casino players access to some of the best-loved and most traditional table games, such as blackjack and roulette. However, it didn't stop there. The company also breathed new life into such classics by creating derivative games such as Lightning Roulette and Lightning Blackjack.
These Lightning games are played in much the same way as the original versions, but they also award random multipliers to certain outcomes, giving players the chance of winning far more than is normally possible.
While the company has released multiple Lightning games, it continues to release traditional titles that you might find in land-based casinos, with Super Sic Bo and Dragon Tiger being two good examples.
First-Person Games
The First Person games from Evolution are driven by computer software programs and their outcomes are determined by random number generators. However, it would be a mistake to think that they are run-of-the-mill automated games as you'd find from any other online developer.
What makes First Person games special is that they boast beautifully realistic graphics and they allow you to switch at any time to a live casino version of the same game. For example, if you are playing First Person Blackjack, you can press GO LIVE and you will instantly find yourself sitting in a virtual seat at a corresponding Live Blackjack table.
There are more than a dozen games available in the First Person series, and those include Blackjack, Baccarat, Roulette, Dragon Tiger and Craps. If you can't decide whether to take your seat at an automated or live casino table the next time you want to play any of those, consider playing a First Person game and enjoying the best of both worlds.
Game Shows
In 2017, just when players thought that they'd seen everything that live casino gaming had to offer, Evolution created a whole new Game Shows genre. The idea here was to make each player feel like the main contestant in a live television game show, and it's a concept that caught on quickly.
Dream Catcher was the first title in this new Game Shows category, and it focused on spinning a vertical wheel to win prizes. That is a popular format that has since been adopted by plenty of other games, but Evolution's Game Shows don't all involve spinning wheels. Some, like Deal or No Deal Live, are based on actual television game shows, and others, like Gonzo's Treasure Hunt Live, have been inspired by popular slot games.
Awards for Evolution
Here are some of the most recent awards that the company and its acquired brands have added to the Evolution Group trophy cabinet:
Evolution: Innovations Are Inevitable
After looking at how Evolution has been able to push boundaries, breathe new life into old games and even create brand-new categories, it seems clear that this is a company that innovates at every turn. As technology has progressed over the years, Evolution has been just as quick to take advantage of breakthroughs and put them to good use. This developer has already given us Lightning games, First Person games, Game Shows and even Virtual Reality games, so we are very keen to see what it will come up with next.
