ELK Studios: slots provider behind Pirots, Nitropolis and X-iter
ELK Studios is a Stockholm slot studio founded in 2013, known for mechanically dense games, its X-iter bonus-entry system and a house style you can recognise in a single spin. Around 155 titles, slots only, available through the IGP aggregator.
The studio
Who ELK Studios are
ELK Studios launched in 2013 out of Stockholm with a deliberately narrow brief: build video slots only, and make each one mechanically distinct enough that players seek it out by name. Thirteen years and roughly 155 titles later that is still the entire product line — no live casino, no bingo, no table games.
The studio is part of Light & Wonder, following Scientific Games’ acquisition in December 2021 and the group’s rebrand the following year. ELK continues to release under its own name and with its own creative direction; the ownership mainly changed its distribution reach rather than its games.
What players actually recognise ELK for is the franchises. Nitropolis, Pirots, Cygnus and Katmandu Gold each run to multiple sequels, and each sequel keeps the mechanic and raises the ceiling. Grizzly Stampede, released September 2026, caps at 50,000x.
That franchise discipline is why ELK punches above its catalogue size. A studio with 155 games and six recognisable series gets more lobby traction than a studio with 400 titles nobody can name.
- Founded: 2013, Stockholm, Sweden
- Owner: Light & Wonder (acquired December 2021)
- Catalogue: around 155 titles
- Produces: video slots only
- Known for: X-iter, CollectR, Betting Strategies
- Series: Nitropolis, Pirots, Cygnus, Katmandu Gold
- Max win: up to 50,000x on recent releases
The games
ELK Studios slots: the titles players ask for
The list below is the set of ELK games that actually get searched for by name, from the 2013 debut through to the 2026 releases.
| Title | Released | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Electric SAM | 2013 | The debut slot that launched the studio |
| Wild Toro | 2016 | Walking wild — the matador and bull move across the reels |
| Cygnus | 2019 | 6×4 avalanche grid expanding to 6×8; 4,096 ways rising to 262,144 |
| Katmandu Gold | 2020 | 6 reels, 4,096 paylines, expanding wilds with multipliers |
| Nitropolis | 2020 | Ways-to-win franchise built on the Nitro Reels system |
| Pirots 2 | 2023 | Cluster grid where birds collect symbols off the board (CollectR) |
| Nitropolis 5 | 2024 | Nitro Reels, NPD holding cells and a boss battle mode; 50,000x cap |
| Cygnus 6 | 2026 | 6×4 with rows expanding through the Cygnus Realm feature |
| Pirots 5 | July 2026 | 6×6 CollectR grid that expands as symbols are collected |
| Grizzly Stampede | September 2026 | 5×4 with synced symbols; ELK’s 50,000x ceiling |
Most recent ELK titles are listed at 94% RTP, and some games also come in lower-RTP versions for particular markets, so a single published figure is not guaranteed for every casino. Ask for the RTP list with the game list.
What makes it different
The mechanics ELK is known for
Three proprietary systems define the catalogue. Two are in-game, one is a betting layer that has been part of the studio’s identity since the early years.
X-iter
ELK’s bonus-entry system. Each game offers up to five buy-in modes rather than one, scaling from a small stake that improves bonus odds up to a Super Bonus at several hundred times the bet with maximum rows and bidirectional paylines. Built into ELK’s own platform, so no separate operator integration is needed.
CollectR
The symbol-collection engine behind the Pirots and Spark of Creation lines. Characters move across the grid absorbing symbols, and what they collect drives transformations and grid expansion — so the board a player ends a round on is not the board they started it on.
Betting Strategies
Four auto-bet systems usable across up to 100 autospins: Optimizer ties stake to a chosen percentage of balance, Leveller raises after five consecutive losses, Booster raises on each loss, Jumper raises on wins. A long-standing ELK signature, present across the classic catalogue.
Where it runs
Where ELK Studios games are available
ELK is a regulated-markets studio. Its strength is in Europe — the UK, the Nordics, Malta-licensed .com brands, Romania and Greece — where it holds direct licences rather than relying on distribution alone.
North America is newer. ELK entered Ontario in April 2025, launching with seven titles including Katmandu Gold, Nitropolis and Cygnus. That is currently its beachhead on the continent; individual US state certification is a separate matter and should be confirmed per state rather than assumed.
Distribution reach is wider than the licence list suggests, because Light & Wonder’s OpenGaming network carries ELK content into markets the studio does not license into directly.
- Great Britain: UKGC, account 40844
- Malta: MGA/B2B/605/2018, Type 1 B2B critical gaming supply
- Romania: ONJN Class 2 — licences 821/15.05.2020 and 820/15.05.2020
- Canada: AGCO gaming-related supplier registration
- Greece: Hellenic Gaming Commission
Recent activity
ELK Studios in the last 18 months
ELK’s newsroom is release-driven. One market entry and a steady stream of titles.
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Operator notes · Q4 2026
ELK Studios in Q4 2026: a release every two to three weeks
Between 23 July and 22 October 2026 ELK shipped seven slots: Pirots 5, Quackers, Langley Street 23, Grizzly Stampede, Concrete Cowboys, Bamboo Pandits and Propaganda 2. That is a release every two to three weeks, each on a 5×5 or 6×6 grid with a stated maximum between 10,000x and 50,000x, which is the cadence a lobby manager can plan a “new this fortnight” slot around.
Two mechanics carry the catalogue: X-iter, which lets a player buy into a predefined mode, and CollectR, the collecting-bird mechanic behind the Pirots series. Both need configuration per market rather than a global switch, because feature-buy modes are restricted in some jurisdictions; our responsible gambling guide covers the limits a platform applies, and the certification guide explains why one title can be live in Malta and absent in the UK.
On licensing, ELKAB Studios AB holds a Gambling Commission account (40844) and Romanian Class II licences (820 and 821, 15 May 2020), and ELK Studios Malta Ltd holds an MGA B2B Critical Gaming Supply licence (MGA/B2B/605/2018, 27 February 2019); the studio also went live in Ontario in 2025 through SkillOnNet’s brands. Through IGP’s aggregator the Swedish catalogue arrives in the same casino API integration as 150+ other studios; the white label guide explains how a brand on a supplier’s licence gets each market’s version of the lobby.
- Plan a new-release slot every two to three weeks around ELK’s calendar
- Configure X-iter feature-buy modes per jurisdiction, not globally
- Check which titles are certified for the UK, Malta, Romania, Ontario and Greece
- Pair Pirots 5 with the earlier Pirots titles in one lobby row
FAQ
ELK Studios — common questions
In the second half of 2026 roughly every two to three weeks: Pirots 5 (23 July), Quackers (5 August), Langley Street 23 (25 August), Grizzly Stampede (1 September), Concrete Cowboys (24 September), Bamboo Pandits (6 October) and Propaganda 2 (22 October).
ELKAB Studios AB holds a Gambling Commission account (40844) and Romanian Class II licences 820 and 821 (15 May 2020); ELK Studios Malta Ltd holds the MGA B2B Critical Gaming Supply licence MGA/B2B/605/2018 (27 February 2019). The studio is also live in Ontario and Greece through licensed operators.
Video slots, and nothing else. ELK has no live casino, bingo, table or crash products. The catalogue runs to roughly 155 titles, built around a handful of recurring franchises — Nitropolis, Pirots, Cygnus and Katmandu Gold — rather than a broad spread of one-off games.
Wild Toro, Cygnus, Katmandu Gold, Nitropolis and the Pirots series are the titles players search for by name. Electric SAM (2013) was the studio’s debut. The most recent releases are Pirots 5 (July 2026), Langley Street 23 (August 2026) and Grizzly Stampede (September 2026).
ELK’s bonus-entry system. Instead of a single bonus buy, each game offers up to five different modes, from a low-cost option that improves your chance of triggering a bonus up to a Super Bonus that starts the feature at maximum configuration. It is built into ELK’s platform rather than bolted on per operator.
Light & Wonder. Scientific Games acquired the studio in December 2021 and rebranded to Light & Wonder in 2022. ELK still releases under its own name with its own creative direction.
Yes — it holds direct licences with the UK Gambling Commission (account 40844), the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA/B2B/605/2018), Romania’s ONJN, Canada’s AGCO and the Hellenic Gaming Commission in Greece.
Recent ELK titles are listed at 94% RTP, including Pirots 2, Pirots 3, Pirots X, Pirots 5 and Wild Toro 3, while older games such as Wild Toro (2016) run at 96.4%. Some titles also have lower-RTP versions for particular markets, so ask which version an operator has deployed.
Through an aggregator. ELK content is available in the IGP catalogue alongside 150+ other studios on one API and one wallet, so adding it is a configuration change rather than a separate integration and contract.
A Pirots spin-off released on 24 October 2024. Unlike the numbered Pirots games, which use ELK’s CollectR mechanic, Pirots X is a 5×5 cluster-pays slot where five or more touching matching symbols win. It is listed at 94% RTP with a maximum win of 10,000x.
Pirots (2023), Pirots 2 (2023), Pirots 3 (2024), Pirots X (October 2024), Pirots 4 (July 2025, with Inferno and Frozen Fury versions) and Pirots 5 (July 2026). The numbered games use CollectR, in which birds collect matching gems on a growing grid.
Get ELK Studios through one integration
ELK Studios sits in the IGP catalogue alongside 150+ other providers — one integration, one wallet, one contract. Tell us your markets and we will send the current game list with the RTP configurations available to you.
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