The Aviator crash game is one of the world’s most popular gambling games. Developed by Polish studio Spribe, Aviator has 42 million monthly players and handles hundreds of thousands of bets per minute. But how did it get so popular? What is it about this game’s design choices that made it more popular than almost any other online gambling game of all time?
Well for one the gameplay took the emerging concept of crash games – where players watch a multiplier rise and decide when to cash out before it crashes and they might lose it all. However Spribe took this concept to new markets as well as making the game social and drastically improving the visuals. Which resulted in massive success and one of the biggest gambling games of all time. Of course, that sounds simple, but there’s a lot more to the story.
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The Visuals are Minimalist, Retro and Classy
In an online gambling world of mile-a-minute animated online slots with a dozen bonus rounds and hundreds of symbols all flashing and expanding and tumbling over the reels, there’s something to be said for a simplistic game like Aviator crash game.
This is a title that uses a plain black background, a monotone red logo and a simplistic gameplay loop with just one core objective for players. Hold on for as long as you can, only cash out before the crash. Simple, but endlessly engaging.
The visual design in this game is precisely made to reflect that purpose. The font and logo use a vintage art-deco style, That is a subtle nod to the history of gambling, as many famous old casinos around the world (specifically in Las Vegas) were built to follow this style.
The plane as the main symbol, and the name Aviator, capture that perfectly. Players watch a number rise higher and higher. Why not make it plane?
This simple visual choice is a great hook into narrative movement that is easy to follow through each round. This is invaluable in a market full of games with a huge amount of sensory overload.
Even the sound design in Aviator is minimal, clean and bang on theme. The hum of the plane’s engine. The whir of the propellors. The ultimate explosion when it crashes. Each piece is simple, but plays a part in the overall orchestration.
This combination of a simple, recognizable image with some classic retro charm and a clean interface with an appealing core gameplay loop has clearly proved irresistible to many players.
The Dynamic Live Chat and Winners Board Bring Players Together
When you place an Aviator bet, you’re not placing a wager in isolation – you’re part of a community, all willing the plane to go higher at the same time. A top casino understands how popular these games are and will have Aviator, as well as similar games, and bonuses that can be used on them.
You only need to look at the chat on the Aviator game at any reputable casino to see how many people play it daily. As well as the live chat where people discuss big wins, strategies and stats, you’ll also find a leaderboard of all the recent big winners.
It takes some nerve to hold on for a really high win and choose to cash out at the right time, so players with massive wins are often celebrated in the community.
Because players can cash out early while the game round continues, players who hold on for those highest scores can often have thousands of people watching them while they wait to decide to cash out (or not). The very highest multipliers hit 10,000x or more, although such numbers are obviously very rare. More often a big win for a day is around 100x to 250x.
Although whether the game actually has skill involved is debatable, it is certainly more interactive than many casino slot games – while being faster and less intimidating to new players than something like blackjack or roulette.
Spribe’s Commercial Partnerships Turned an Opening Boom into an Explosion
Another big factor in Aviator’s success is that revenues from initial interest in its distinctive design choices and gameplay were ploughed back into commercial partnerships that gave it massive brand reach.
The Aviator logo can be seen on the shirts of top football teams in Europe, on concert arenas and on UFC promotions. Recently it signed a teal with UFC owner TKO to appear as a sponsor at WWE Wrestling events.
The company has also been global with its ambitions for Aviator. The game is now remarkably popular in emerging online gambling markets in Africa and South America, which are also places where UFC and high-octane sports are popular.
By hijacking the visual style and language of competitive MMA and translating that into its thrilling crash game formula, Spribe hopes to keep Aviator relevant to online gambling fans for many years to come.
