Wanted Dead or a Wild – A Year On
A slot that is received praise from streamers, casinos, and players alike, we’re going to find out precisely why audiences are nonetheless glued to WDW’s 5×5 reels a year on.
September 29th marked the launch of the space shuttle Discovery in 1986, US racehorse Greyhound breaking 1938’s globe trotting record, and some may say, most importantly, the 2022 release anniversary of Wanted Dead or a Wild, the wild west-themed slot from Hacksaw Gaming. 
Dead or a Wild Information 
WDW has skilled unprecedented popularity for an extended period of time. Casinoanalytics.com saw streamed minutes of the slot reach a stratospheric 2 billion views in August 2022.
The uptick in viewing figures is widely regarded as to be due to the slot’s mechanic, and made-to-stream creative. The bonus acquire function is a present to casino streamers waiting for a huge win or a dip in gameplay. By simply buying a WDW bonus – of which there are three – streamers can invoke some high-adrenaline action by merely spending funds provided by providers. 
The tsunami of upcoming slot streamers on Twitch and YouTube also coincided with the release of WDW in September 2021, which showed month-on-month streamed minutes information steadily escalating from the starting of Q2 to the end of Q3. 
The self-perpetuation of slots displayed as ‘trending’ or ‘popular’ remains an ongoing, contentious concern for casino UX. Slot studios on smaller budgets are typically where the most innovation is found, however small-budget releases are unlikely to get on this evil-by-design and style conveyor belt of self-promotion.
How else could Starburst have reached such stratospheric levels of recognition? For a space-themed slot, the gameplay is decidedly pedestrian. Also, the graphics, even for the time, are a really common affair. 
Casino’s promotional calendars are also highly influential when it comes to deciding a slot’s popularity. Regardless of whether an operator decides to push a new release could be the difference between a title becoming the subsequent massive thing or dying a death in casino lobby backwaters. 
Developer marketing and advertising budgets are also a deciding issue as to whether or not a game will be promoted. The massive guns of the business can facilitate free spin network promotions on releases whilst smaller studios are left to cross their fingers and hope their game has sufficient draw for casino product managers to flag as the major slot for a campaign. 
Data science is the contemporary-day equivalent of test audience screenings with statistics believed to transform the way we will behave for the subsequent 50 to 100 years. What utilised to be information gathered from a demographic cross-section has now become stats pulled from information points across metrics such as retweets, shares, views, and likes. 
With instant information insights at slot developers’ disposal, there’s never ever been a far better time to accurately predict, and as a result fulfil player wants.  
Dream Theme
We cannot get to the bottom of why WDW has enjoyed such recognition without having analysing the forces that attract audiences to the wild west genre. The massive screen has seen numerous outings portrayed by directors such as Ford, Leone, Van Cleef, and Eastwood but the resurgence of wild west v2. has tiny screen outings to thank. 
The viewing vogue of shows such as Godless, Deadwood, and Yellowstone has opened the thematic doors to genre-defying releases such as Westworld and the Netflix 2021 anime Cowboy Bebop. This stylistic shift to genre makeovers or mashups is possibly accountable for casino platforms seeing such large numbers flock to Wanted: Dead or a Wild. 
We’re sentimental for a period we’ve never knowledgeable – when life was easier, scores settled with a six-shooter, when masculinity was measured by how numerous indigenous American scalps you had to your name or the number of double negatives you could match into a sentence.
Many are struggling with the shift to a post-binary society and the polarised globe of wild west movies is noticed as comforting. From the blank canvas setting of frontiers to spitoon pings you can set your watch by, it is a familiarity that appeals to buyers due to its predictable nature. 
How lengthy will it continue to be lucrative? Cinematic history suggests that the cowboy genre met its match towards the end of the ’60s and buyers of wild west movies have been then overloaded with creatives advertising, Television outings, exciting park rides, and merch. 
The tipping point came when spoofs became more prominent than the source material. If we’re to use this as a benchmark for predicting longevity, the wild west will stay a bankable option for slot producers till factors get silly. 
WDW doesn’t quite parody the genre but treads a fine line with the inclusion of an anachronistic soundtrack. Interestingly, 80s soft rock riffs do not seem that out of place in WDW. 
What’s Subsequent?
As Wanted: Dead or a Wild continues to trend on BigWinBoard 
– the only 2021 release to do just that – concerns are getting asked about the future of the game. No matter whether or not the Hacksaw release is destined to turn into the next slot for a Megaways reboot is on the cards, as is the potential for a sequel. 
As data surpasses oil as the most worthwhile commodity on earth, predicting player behavior has in no way been easier. But, with no access to the figures, some are left to dwell in the reduce rankings of a information caste technique. Those with access to the facts and figures can appreciate an Elysium of data-backed insights, although the rest of us are found flailing in a swamp of conjecture. 
We could commit hours speculating on the subsequent smash hit slot theme, gathering feedback from players as to their requirements, and hypothesising as to the most well-known features of 2023. But, of course, this is pointless. 
Data currently holds the answers to all these concerns. We just require to ask.