Eclipse Gaming Systems: A New Dawn

Eclipse Gaming Systems reinvents itself through new talent and a new game development philosophy

Duluth, Georgia-based Eclipse Gaming Systems has long stressed its role as a Class II supplier, partnering with the tribes that place Eclipse slots in Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas and other markets. The partnerships include not only games but a variety of project sponsorships to help address tribal issues and needs.

The games themselves were always clever, and unique among Class II games, with amusement and perceived skill elements that stood out. However, the past two years have seen a metamorphosis of the game development function at Eclipse. In an effort headed by Mike Trask, who joined Eclipse as chief product officer in May 2025, the game development process has been completely overhauled.

Trask—who has a long history of product management and marketing at Ainsworth, Scientific Games and Bally Technologies—led a game development effort that changed the look, operation and performance of Eclipse games, employing all of the popular game mechanics from the Class III world to create games that take the company to the next level in game design.

Technology helped in the effort. In mid-2025, Eclipse launched the Callisto cabinet, featuring a 49-inch 4K floating glass display. The stronger processing speed allows for 3D animation, vastly improved graphics and a faster overall development process.

“We built a completely new, very robust set of math tools,” says Rob Visintainer, president of Eclipse Gaming Systems. “The tools we had before were very limited, so the features that we produced had to conform around the tools. We invested a year and a half to rebuild that whole system, and now we can build any feature that we want.”

The results have already shown in the market, with games including Ra’s Legacy, Mighty Tiki, Chicken Pop and Bandit Pop all landing in the Top 25 New Game-Class II list in the Eilers-Fantini Game Performance Report.

“The one word I’d use to describe the changes at Eclipse is transformation,” says Visintainer.

“First and foremost, people who have joined us in the last year and a half have made a huge difference in the transformation. And it’s not just the people, but the chemistry of the people, the synergy. The environment has changed. We don’t have everyone in Duluth. We still have a large number of people on our development team in Duluth, but we have people across the country now. They’re complementing each other.

“That’s made a difference in the level of game output. We release two titles for every game family. That makes a huge difference. We’re doing fast skins of those games, allowing us to put out more content—better-performing content—faster. Our content output has doubled.”

“The transformation at Eclipse goes well beyond the games themselves,” says Trask. “We’ve made deliberate investments in our people, our technology and the way we approach product development, creating an organization that can move with greater speed, creativity and purpose. What you’re seeing in our portfolio today is the result of those changes coming together, stronger product, greater depth in our offerings and a development pipeline built to consistently deliver compelling experiences.

“Ultimately, our measure of success is whether we are creating products that perform for our customers and tribal partners while delivering experiences that keep players engaged. I believe this lineup demonstrates how far Eclipse has come, but more importantly, it provides a clear indication of where we’re going.”

Visintainer comments that the new technology has transformed the quality of Eclipse games. “The sound is enhanced, the colors are brighter, and the mechanics of the game are put together in such a way that it makes it a better experience for the customer, resulting in more time on device. We’re seeing the occupancy levels go up on our games; we’re measuring that. And more time on device means gameplay is lasting longer than ever before. We’re seeing the result in revenue performance.”

Coming-Out Party

This year’s Global Gaming Expo will provide a showcase for the largest-ever G2E exhibit for Eclipse, with 22 games, all new titles.

“G2E is an opportunity for us to show the industry what the next chapter of Eclipse looks like,” says Bree Cardona, director of marketing at Eclipse Gaming Systems. “This lineup represents more than the largest collection of new titles we’ve ever brought to the show; it reflects the strength of the team we’ve built, the investments we’ve made in our product, and a clear evolution of the Eclipse brand.

 “There is a tremendous amount of momentum within the company right now, and I think you’ll see that reflected across our entire portfolio. We’re coming to G2E with a stronger, more diverse lineup, proven performance behind us, and a very clear vision for where Eclipse is headed next.”

Among the game launches planned for G2E is a game family certified by BMM in August. Precious Pot is a two-game series featuring themed versions of a grinning feline character in base games Kung-Fu Kitty and Sakura Samurai.

The Asian-style game has a single central pot, but multiple bonus outcomes can be attained. When the pot fills with coins, the cat appears and knocks it over to trigger a pick-’em screen. The player picks to match three jackpot icons or three bonus symbols to trigger a free-spin round. (Three scatters in the base game also trigger the feature.)

“Grow” symbols in the free spins expand the reel on which they land, so the overall reel array keeps changing, with a meter keeping track of the ways to win on each spin. Extra spins can be won on the free spins, and the pot can burst again for a new picking bonus.

Of the games to debut at G2E, one highlight is the follow-up to last year’s hit Banana Bash. Eclipse is launching a brand extension with two tropical island-themed base games, Banana Bash Sunrise Stack and Banana Bash Sunset Shakes.

The familiar monkey character from the original game hosts the Sunrise Stack version, and the Sunset Shakes version features a new character—a laid-back Orangutan in a Hawaiian shirt. Each performs an entertaining bit in a central hold-and-spin bonus triggered by one of four pots. “Flambe,” “Pie” and “Split” pots are carried over from the original game, with the fourth pot unique to each new title.

On Sunrise Stacks, the “Stack” pot sends the monkey into action, flipping up to 18 pancakes to form a growing cash-on-screen prize, delivered when the Stack symbol lands on the reels. In Sunset Shake, the Orangutan mixes up cash-on-reels prizes in a blender to be awarded when the special symbol lands.

As in the first game, “Flambe” boosts the value of cash-on-reels symbols, and “Split” splits cash-on-reels symbols into two, doubling the value. (They can split again for four values in one reel spot.) “Pie” triggers a feature within the feature, a secondary hold-and-spin round to fill pie wedges with cash-on-screen values for a secondary jackpot. Filling the entire pie also grants a 2X-10X multiplier on the cash-on-screen value.

In addition to bursting a pot, the bonus can be triggered with three coolers on the reels—silver coolers for the normal hold-and-spin; gold coolers for a double reel array in the feature.

“This is going to be the first game where we actually have voiceovers that interact with the player,” says Tamara Johnston, studio director at Eclipse. “He’ll say, ‘Here’s more wilds,’ or ‘I’m whipping you up a treat,’ or other things to help the player feel he’s really your buddy and he’s rooting for you. When good things happen, he’ll cheer you on.

“The monkey is very energetic, of course, because he’s a monkey. The orangutan is very chill. He’s relaxed.”

One of the strengths of the Banana Bash series has been its program math, so Eclipse is duplicating that math in Power Bash, a game family with two base games to appeal to different players. Power Bash Surging Barrels is themed to the oil fields, with a wealthy oil tycoon as the main character. Power Bash Surging Reactors goes the nuclear power plant route, with the character in a biohazard suit, holding a wrench to “fix” the reactor.

“The product team wanted an oil-themed game because they thought it would work really well in Oklahoma, and we tried to think of something that would be exciting to some of our Washington customers, so we decided to go the nuclear route,” says Johnston. “Both continue that proven math model, Banana Bash, and our team has done a really great job with an art overlay on that proven math model.”

She adds that the game will be available across all Eclipse hardware, including the legacy Impact as well as the Callisto.

Proven Brands

Eclipse’s G2E display also will include several extensions of proven brands, starting with a refresh to the Big and Bad series. The company will bring back the werewolf character with the plaid shirt for two new entries in what is now the Storytime Spins series, Big and Bad, and Little and Mad. Both build on the math of the original Big and Bad game, with a fresh art package.

“We’ve taken that math and added a triple-pot mechanic with popular gameplay elements,” says Johnston. “We’ve turned it into something that we’re really excited about, and we think it’s going to work very well on today’s floor.”

The other brand extension is Wicked Mad Hot Pots, another revival of a proven math model. “It just came out last month, and is doing well above house average in all of its placements,” Johnston says.

The Eclipse Gaming Systems G2E lineup reflects some of the highest-quality product in the Class II market, which Visintainer says will remain the main market served by the company. “There are opportunities  outside of Class II, but we want to be very good at Class II,” he says.

“We struggled content-wise as a company in past years, but we’ve turned that corner, and now we really want to penetrate the market further. And there’s plenty of space within Class II.”

He adds that Eclipse holds a rare position in the overall slot market as a private company—privately owned with no equity partner. “It makes a big difference,” he says. “Our owners are happy to be in the background, so we can be nimble in operating the company.”

As R&D continues to produce new content, he says, Eclipse will continue to expand its footprint. “We’re expanding into new properties but we’re also expanding the base because of the number of themes,” says Visintainer. “We’re allowing ourselves to expand beyond the properties we currently serve.”

Meanwhile, the new team and the new technology will continue to pour on the new content.

“That’s what it’s about,” say Visintainer. “Content, content, content.”