International Game Technology PLC (IGT), holder of the largest slot game feature patent portfolio in North America, has signed a patent cross-licence agreement with FlowPlay Inc, a developer and publisher of community-based online social games. Under the agreement, FlowPlay can develop games including patented game features from the IGT portfolio and will pay ongoing licensing fees to IGT. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Derrick Morton, FlowPlay CEO, welcomed the new alliance, saying: “We are excited to become a member of the game features patent pool managed by IGT. Licensing these game features patents will help FlowPlay build on our legacy of success offering massively multiplayer online (MMO) games and free-to-play social casino titles such as Vegas World. Partnering with industry leader IGT provides us with a phenomenal selection of patents that we can leverage to expand our scope of development and suite of online social games to ultimately reach new audiences.”
Renato Ascoli, IGT CEO North America, said: “We are excited to expand our game feature patent licensing efforts to online social casino game development with FlowPlay. FlowPlay offers more than 45 different casino-style games already, and this agreement helps to ensure that even more of the authenticity and excitement of land-based casino gaming extends to players in the online social space.”
