Interview with Alchemy Gaming

Interview with Marcus Thorpe-Fairall

Alchemy Gaming is an independent game development studio with mathematics at its core. With a varied collective of professionals that have just the right mix of passion, experience, and expertise, this team understands the games they create and the players that enjoy them.

Working exclusively with Games Global, this team balance unique mechanics with polished audiovisuals, creating experiences they can be proud of – like their X UP series.

With more than 9 titles in this series so far, including Sparkling Joker X UP and Chronicles of Olympus X UP, the core mechanic has proved to be incredibly popular with a variety of players.

We sat down with Marcus Thorpe-Fairall, Creative Director at Alchemy Gaming, to ask him some questions about their journey and this series. With more than two decades of experience, Marcus has seen the evolution of slot gaming from multiple angles, so we were itching to pick his brain.

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Mark: The X UP™ series has been a standout for Alchemy Gaming, with Bass Cash Diamond X UP™ being the latest release this July. What do you think makes the X UP™ mechanic so consistently popular, and how do you adapt it to suit each new game?

Marcus: We’re a “feature-first” studio. X UP™ has been a mechanic that has been with us since the beginning of Alchemy Gaming – in earlier titles as a mechanic that maximizes the potential of our Scatter symbols.

Landing two scatters can be rather anti-climatic with many slots, but in the X UP™ series, two scatters contribute to a Free Spins Multiplier trail, so that when you do land three scatters and trigger Free Spins, you already have a starting win multiplier in place.

With subsequent releases, we’ve introduced different types of X UP™ scatters that not only influence your free spins but now in base game too where you can multiply your cash wins at the current trail level.

We have made things even better now in Bass Cash Diamond X UPTM where you have the Diamond X UPTM giving you potential of the top of the trail on any spin.

Mark: Fishing-themed slots like Bass Cash Deluxe™ and Bass Cash X UP™ have struck a chord with players. Why do you think this genre is so appealing, and what was your approach to putting a unique Alchemy spin on it?

Marcus: Fishing has long been a staple theme in the iGaming world, and for good reason, it taps into a universal sense of relaxation, anticipation, and reward. The idea of spending a peaceful day on a boat, casting a line and waiting for that perfect catch, has broad appeal.

Our unique Alchemy-spin on it was to embrace that familiarity while adding depth and personality in a way that’s unmistakably ours. Rather than treating the fisherman as a static lobby character, we made him a central part of the gameplay by turning him into an active Cash Collect symbol. That shift, from decoration to dynamic feature, was a key step in making Bass Cash Diamond X UPTM stand out.
 
Of course, we didn’t stop there. The addition of three X UP™ features brought layered progression and replayability to the experience, while the presence of Winston, the loyal golden retriever, added a dose of charm and character that players have really connected with.

For us, it was all about taking a well-loved genre and enhancing it with feature-forward design, character-driven storytelling, and the polish that defines an Alchemy release.

Each game we develop is treated as its own creative journey, one that needs time, iteration, and refinement to truly shine.

Mark: How often does Alchemy Gaming aim to release new titles, and how do you strike the right balance between maintaining a steady release schedule and ensuring top-tier game quality?

Marcus: We aim for a regular release cadence throughout each year, striking a balance between entirely new ideas and twists on existing mechanics. Our focus is always on creating the best possible game at that moment.

At Alchemy Gaming, we take a thoughtful approach to our release roadmap. While it's important to maintain a steady flow of fresh content to keep players and partners engaged, we never let volume take precedence over quality.

Each game we develop is treated as its own creative journey, one that needs time, iteration, and refinement to truly shine.

We believe quality is defined not just by visual polish or technical excellence, but by how a game feels to play; its flow, its rewards, and its ability to surprise and delight. Our goal is to craft experiences that are not only mechanically sound, but emotionally resonant and memorable.

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Mark: Your studio often describes itself as being “driven by passion, guided by data”. Can you elaborate on what that means in practice when designing and developing new slots?

It’s important to us that we always keep that sort of statement front of mind. Passion means pride in our game mechanics, and a shared goal of creating the greatest games possible.

We look to data for guidance in a market that is constantly evolving and changing at a rapid pace. Be it game performance, uptake, feedback, sales success or market trends, data-driven decisions enable Alchemy Gaming to pivot quickly to market changes.

It’s important to us that this philosophy stays at the heart of everything we do. Being ‘driven by passion, guided by data’ is more than a just a line. It’s how we build games with both heart and purpose.

Passion is what fuels our creativity. It means pride in our craft, a deep respect for game mechanics, and a shared ambition across the team to create the most engaging, high-quality experiences possible. Every member of the Alchemy team is invested in the details, from how a feature feels to how a moment lands with the player. That emotional investment is what gives our games their soul.

At the same time, we operate in a fast-moving, ever-evolving market. This is where data becomes essential. We constantly analyse performance metrics, feature engagement, market trends, and operator feedback. This insight doesn’t dictate our creativity, but it sharpens it. It helps us identify what resonates, what could be refined, and where new opportunities lie.

By combining creative instinct with strategic insight, we’re able to stay agile and make informed decisions that keep our content relevant and competitive. It’s a balancing act, intuition and analytics, emotion and evidence, and it’s one we believe gives Alchemy Gaming its distinctive edge.