Caesars In-House Online Games Studio and Exclusive Games Trends

Who makes online casino games? Traditionally, these games are made by independent gaming studios, exclusively B2B providers. Players don’t have interactions with the software providers; these game vendors simply build games, form deals with iGaming operators, and the operators then take on the games, and following some tweaks, launch the games across their iGaming brands. But Caesars Entertainment is breaking that mould, testing original new offerings through its in-house gaming studio, Empire Creative.

They just released a new slot machine this week, adding to a humble portfolio of games that include blackjack and baccarat offerings. The news here is not that Caesars have added a new game to their repertoire, it is their newfound interest in creating originals, and not just specially requesting exclusive titles from a provider and slapping on their brand logo. It is unusual for an online casino to have a fully functioning in-house studio, and make its own proprietary games from scratch. This could be symbolic of a new shift in the game development industry, and if Caesars hits a home run with their new games, more operators could follow suit.

Who Is Creative Empire

Caesars Entertainment formed Empire Creative back in 2025, creating an in-house games developer studio. The company, which owns some of the biggest US landbased casinos, including many of the most iconic casinos on the Vegas Strip, also runs an online sportsbook and iGaming platform for its casino gaming audience. The new games developed by Empire Creative are solely for its online casino, with blackjack, baccarat, and now an online slot machine. There are just a handful of these original games, and for a studio that started a year ago, that is a pretty modest output.

But this is more about testing the waters for Caesars, as they look for alternative ways to get an edge over their competition and release exclusive content. Should the new Creative Empire games hit the best seller shelves, there is no doubt that Caesars will pump more resources into its project and release loads more. This, for the time being, is an experiment in the market. It is one that independent software providers will be wary of, as if these proprietary games make seismic waves in the iGaming industry, it could completely change the external providers’ roles.

But what it didn’t stop there. Just imagine, years in the future, if the majority of games at online casinos were unique – it would completely revamp the online gaming experience.

Original In-House Titles vs “Exclusive” Labelled Games

Originals and Exclusive games are nothing new, most gamers will say. There are loads of US online casinos and international iGaming platforms that supply Exclusive games. These casinos will have separate collections for these games, where you can browse them, and try them out for yourself. But that does not necessarily mean that the online casino operator is the same company that creates the game. A lot of online casinos form partnerships with software providers and specially request a custom game. Once they get the game, they will put their logo into the game or slap it with a display that says the game is an Original. It may even have a special name that somehow relates to the operator.

But, and not to be critical, a lot of these games tend to be skins of already existing titles, just with a revamped design or special in-game mechanic. Operators may tweak the paytables, change up the symbols in a slot game, or add some kind of jackpot prize to the game, to change it ever so slightly. Or, it may be tied to their loyalty programs, with double points for every round, or special in-game achievements unlocking unique prizes. Again, these are interesting additions to the game, but they are not really truly new offerings. Not like Caesar’s Empire Creative studio.

In Crypto Gaming

Originals tend to be a whole lot more prominent at crypto casinos than they are at traditional online casinos (fiat, or non-crypto). The pioneering BTC casinos originally didn’t have many games to pick from, because very few software providers adapted their games for crypto gaming when it first became a thing. That has changed now, with many of the leading software providers like Pragmatic Play, Evolution, Hacksaw Gaming and more, have added crypto solutions to their games, so you can play them with BTC, ETH, LTC, and so on.

But in the early days of crypto casino gaming, there were very few crypto-first game suppliers. So many of the bigger platforms made their own Originals, using crypto first solutions like blockchain based RNGs and blockchain powered crypto bonuses. These games, mostly dice, mines, plinko, and crash games, made up a big part of the games library at online crypto casinos. Now, these casinos have a more diversified portfolio of games, but the demand for Originals and exclusive titles is still pretty high.

At Live Tables

Another area where you will find more Original games is in the live dealer games category of bigger iGaming brands. Many of these brands will actually use their own studios, or rent professional gaming tables and serve games of roulette, blackjack, baccarat, casino poker, and other live games. These are the live gaming tables that will have the casino brand’s logo imprinted onto the gaming tables, displayed in the background, or even printed onto the gaming chips and cards on the table.

They may add extra elements to the traditional casino games, such as side bets, jackpots, or even special rule deviations. But you don’t really get Original live gameshows, or live slots. More live game Originals can include exclusive bingo rooms, poker rooms, and lucky numbers lotto-based games.

Advantages of In-House Studios

For players, the appeal behind Originals is evident. You get to play games that are not available elsewhere. In some cases, these games may appear regularly in Game of the Week promos or have additional loyalty program perks. Of course, it only gets better if you actually enjoy playing that game, and it has good replayability value.

The benefit for operators is not really a case of cutting corners and saving money, money that they would spend partnering with software providers and gaining new games. No, it is more about the level of control they have over the games.

The operator controls the game and can tweak the software, add unique elements and create something that gels into their ecosystem better. Should any of the games become international hits, it helps the operator boost visibility and gain more customers. Players who are coming just to play those games, as they cannot find them elsewhere. And from what slots players know about big selling games, these usually produce countless offshoots, rebrands, and even series of games.

Further Trends in Casino Game Development

Another example of an operator creating their in-house studio is Finland’s Veikkaus, the current state run firm that holds the monopoly on gambling in Finland. That monopoly is going to come to an end soon, and Veikkas has been quietly setting itself up to dominate the market. It launched Fennica Gaming, an in-house software developer that originally only created games for Veikkaus. But as Fennica Gaming grew, it gradually became a recognized software provider in its own right and even obtained vendor licences abroad in the UAE and other countries.

In a world where online casinos fight for the best games, lower their wagering requirements and increase their bonuses, all to stay ahead of the competition, content exclusivity is one of the biggest marketers out there. But it is still not an outblown shift that has taken over the industry. Players still gravitate towards titles they are familiar with. The likes of NetEnt, Playtech, Pragmatic Play, and Games Global are still powerhouses in the industry, and whenever they launch new games, players are quick to respond. Whether or not exclusive games remain a rare luxury, or become a viable selling point for operators remains to be seen. But the B2B software providers remain the most respected and demanded suppliers in the industry, for now.