Megaways is a patented slot engine created by Big Time Gaming and licensed to dozens of other studios including Pragmatic Play, Blueprint, Red Tiger and Yggdrasil. Each reel can show 2 to 7 symbols on any given spin, dynamically varying the number of ways to win up to 117,649.
Megaways slots typically pair the dynamic reel mechanic with cascading wins (winning symbols disappear, new ones drop in) and bonus rounds with progressive multipliers. They tend to be high-volatility — the variable structure produces streaks of dead spins followed by big hits.
Big Time Gaming was acquired by Evolution in 2021 in a deal whose deferred payment was tied to Megaways licensing revenue, validating the long-term commercial value of the patent.
Example usage
- Bonanza Megaways (the original), Fishin' Frenzy Megaways, Buffalo Rising Megaways
Related terms
- Cascading wins — A mechanic where winning symbols disappear and new symbols drop in, potentially producing chain wins.
- Cluster pays — A slot mechanic that pays when matching symbols form a minimum-size cluster touching anywhere on the grid.
- Paylines — The fixed lines across a slot's reels on which matching symbol combinations pay out.
- Volatility — How frequently and in what size a slot tends to pay out — high volatility means rare big hits.
- Ways to win — A payline structure that pays when matching symbols land on adjacent reels in any position.