Before we dive into Money Train 4, let’s quickly backtrack and tell our readers how the entire saga began. The first Money Train part debuted in 2019 when the hold&win mechanism wasn’t yet that popular. There were some games that utilized it, like the jackpot round of Divine Fortune from NetEnt or the bonus round in Wolf Gold by Pragmatic Play. Was it the first and only idea to make Money Train all about the hold&win with added features?

Martin, GAMBLINGTON

The initial idea for Money Train came about during a trip to Las Vegas for an iGaming exhibition. The story goes that my colleague and I snuck into a client-only area and a hold&win game caught our eye due to one special feature, a collector.

The idea for Money Train was actually born out of our misunderstanding of the game in question. While playing this slot, we were both buzzing with anticipation of how far this feature could go but were disappointed to see that the mechanic fell flat. The second collector failed to collect the value of the first, providing a much more linear experience with very limited potential.

It was that anticlimactic moment that gave rise to the idea of Money Train. We wanted to take this feature to the next level and decided it would have no limitations on symbols that could interact with another; the only limit would be a highly necessary, and also achievable, win cap.

As soon as we got back to the studio, the concept was presented to the team, named and given a theme; the rest is history.

Ola, RELAX GAMING

Did Money Train take off right away or was there some “getting used to” period for players to discover its fantastic potential?

Martin, GAMBLINGTON

The mechanic took off right away! Players immediately understood the scalability of the features and the title was a knockout success. Although we had full faith in the concept, we expected that it would take some getting used to, but players and streamers grasped the concept right away. With its unusually high win potential, streamers were all over it, and it quickly found its way to a wider audience from there.

Ola, RELAX GAMING

Was it clear from the beginning that Money Train will turn into a saga or were you basing such a decision solely on the game’s performance?

Martin, GAMBLINGTON

Although we were brimming with ideas and development concepts prior to Money Train’s launch, it wasn’t at all clear whether the audience would love the game as much as we did. But we didn’t have to wait long, the title hit the ground running and its extraordinary performance answered the question for us. We all wanted to build on the core mechanics and see Money Train evolve, however we base these decisions on what the players want and so the decision boiled down to their interpretation of it.

Ola, RELAX GAMING

Which of the three core games performed the best in terms of game rounds and active players? Naturally, today they have different lifetime periods behind them, so let’s try to make the competition fair and take the first six months after the release.

Martin, GAMBLINGTON

Each game in the series has outperformed its predecessor. We learn so much from each iteration that we’re able to keep coming back stronger. This evolution is reflected not only in our numbers, but also our industry-wide recognition. Money Train 2 saw the steepest inclination in hype and playership, while Money Train 3 went on to win over 5 ‘Game of the Year’ titles. The hype has only grown from there so we’re at the edge of our seats to see how Money Train 4 performs.

Ola, RELAX GAMING

Right, let’s move to the latest hit Money Train 4. The bar is already extremely high, so what does the final part have that will completely blow players away and mark its place in slots history?

Martin, GAMBLINGTON

Money Train 4 is the pinnacle of the series. Every successful title has led to this point and the series truly reaches a climax in this final sequel. For starters, the title has more special features than ever before, with a total of 20 special scatters in the bonus game and countless high paying feature combinations. There’s a new character, the Arms Dealer, who takes normal symbols and transforms them into special symbols, a new and improved base game that gets hearts pounding from the get-go, and of course, the monumental 150,000x max. win that’s going to take players by storm.

Ola, RELAX GAMING

There are undoubtedly high expectations for the game’s performance, but do you see it outrunning its older brothers?

Martin, GAMBLINGTON

It won’t be easy to surpass the previous record-breakers in the series, but I think Money Train 4 has all the right ingredients to take yet another leap in performance.

Ola, RELAX GAMING

How do you feel about so many attempts to imitate Money Train by other studios and capitalize on its success? Is it more of a “imitation is a form of flattery” feeling or resentment towards their lack of creativity?

Martin, GAMBLINGTON

I genuinely applaud the creativity in other studios who are inspired by Money Train and add their own touch to the well-loved mechanic. I feel proud that we sparked something in them. Of course, they are not all so inventive and perhaps some are a bit too close to ours, but at the end of the day we’ve created a franchise we’re endlessly proud of and no one can take that away from us.

Ola, RELAX GAMING

Thank you for taking the time to speak to us. We’re super-excited for Money Train 4 and we wish you the best possible results on that launch.

Martin, GAMBLINGTON