New studios , new Las Vegas headquarters and new game styles mark rapid growth for Bluberi
GLOBAL GAMES 2024
BLUBERI
Growth Spurt
New studios , new Las Vegas headquarters and new game styles mark rapid growth for Bluberi
Andrew Burke has been cutting a lot of ribbons lately . And unlocking a lot of locks .
Ever since Burke took over as CEO of Bluberi Gaming in early 2020 — aside from that year ’ s Covid shutdowns — things have been moving at a rapid pace for the supplier .
The company has grown from what had been a 25-year-old Canadian Class II supplier into one of the bright stars among emerging
North American slot suppliers . Early in 2023 , the company won its first Eilers & Krejcik Gaming Slot Awards for its hit Devil ’ s Lock game , and since then , the company has been on a quest to broaden its capabilities as a slot manufacturer .
Much of that has been physical expansion , culminating with all those ribboncutting ceremonies — which , of late , have been transformed into “ unlocking ” ceremonies , locks and chains replacing the ribbons in honor of its landmark Devil ’ s Lock game .
Over the past two years , the company has christened new game design studios in Moncton , New Brunswick and Austin , Texas , bringing its total number of game design studios to five , plus a thirdparty studio creating games exclusively for Bluberi . Just two years ago , the company expanded what was only its second studio , in its historic home of Drummondville , Quebec , where its original “ center of excellence ” still operates and is growing rapidly itself . In 2022 , the company opened its Reno studio , complementing the exclusive third-party studio there , Luciano Design .
Luciano Design is headed by Cyrus Luciano , son of Bob Luciano , the legendary designer and inventor who founded Sierra Design Group in Reno after a long career at IGT and has more than 300 patents to his name . The younger Luciano , a veteran of Bally Technologies , Acres Gaming and IGT who formed Luciano Design in 2023 , had worked with Bluberi Chief Product Officer Mike Brennan while Brennan was an executive at IGT .
Burke comments that Luciano now makes land-based games exclusively for Bluberi . “ We ’ ve opened a studio every year that I ’ ve been here , and we ’ re continuing that trend ,” he says . “ We ’ re really excited to be able to showcase these investments , and it ’ s exciting to see it all come to fruition .”
Brennan says having six different studios provides diversity in game style , as they all work together toward a common goal . He likens the process to a symphony orchestra .
“ Everybody ’ s playing different instruments , but as a company , we have the same sheet music ,” Brennan says , “ and everybody interprets it through different ways of playing the Bluberi notes . That way , we can grow our output without turning a little studio into an 80-person assembly line . We want to grow each of these to maybe 20 or 30 people , and then they can make
56 Global Gaming Business OCTOBER 2024