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Build the game. Buy the platform. Why reinventing land-based gaming infrastructure could be costing you years

Bringing a game to the regulated casino floor is about much more than developing great content. From gaming protocols and peripheral integration to regulatory compliance and certification, the infrastructure behind every slot machine is complex, costly and time-consuming to develop. But what if you didn’t have to build it yourself?

For gaming manufacturers developing their next product, or online game studios looking to bring their content into the land-based casino market, one of the biggest decisions comes before the game even reaches the casino floor: build the underlying gaming platform from scratch, or use an existing solution?

Traditionally, entering the regulated land-based gaming market has required significant investment in specialist software development, hardware integration and regulatory expertise. Even organisations with extensive experience developing successful online games can find that the requirements of a physical casino environment present an entirely different challenge.

Quixant’s Launchpad™ game software platform offers an alternative: focus your development resources on creating the game, while Quixant provides the technology foundation that enables it to operate in a regulated land-based environment.

The hidden complexity of building a land-based gaming platform
Developing a game for a casino floor involves far more than creating engaging graphics, compelling gameplay and innovative features.

Behind every successful gaming machine is an extensive technology infrastructure responsible for managing communication with casino systems, financial transactions, peripheral devices, game accounting, security and regulatory requirements.

This includes capabilities such as:

  • Gaming communication protocols, including SAS and casino management system integration.
  • Peripheral management for bill validators, ticket printers, buttons, doors and other cabinet devices.
  • Game meters, accounting, audit functionality and game history.
  • Non-volatile memory, game-state management and power-failure recovery.
  • Ticket-in, ticket-out (TITO), cashless and bonusing functionality.
  • Security, jurisdiction-specific requirements and regulatory compliance.

Each of these elements requires specialist development, integration, testing and ongoing maintenance.

For organisations starting from scratch, developing the underlying platform can take approximately 36 months to reach certification. That’s up to three years spent developing and validating infrastructure before the first game can generate revenue.

And development is only the beginning. Once deployed, the platform must continue to be maintained as regulatory requirements evolve, peripheral technologies change and new market opportunities emerge.

For many game developers, this raises a fundamental question: why invest years recreating infrastructure that already exists, when those resources could be directed towards developing the games that differentiate your business?

A different approach: build what makes your game unique
Quixant developed Launchpad™ to remove much of this underlying complexity.

Launchpad™ is a purpose-built gaming software platform that provides the essential infrastructure required to support game content in regulated land-based gaming environments.

Rather than developing these capabilities independently, customers can integrate their game content with Launchpad™, which manages the underlying gaming functionality and its interaction with Quixant’s gaming hardware.

The platform supports key requirements including meters and accounting, game history and recovery, peripheral management, SAS communication, TITO, cashless functionality and other essential gaming services.

Crucially, Launchpad™ is designed to work with the development technologies game studios already use, including Unity, Godot, HTML5, Cocos and native C/C++ environments, through supported integration interfaces.

This enables studios to retain control over their game content, mathematics, RNG, gameplay and player experience, without needing to develop the entire regulated gaming infrastructure beneath them.

The result is a fundamental shift in development priorities: your engineers focus on what makes your game commercially successful, rather than rebuilding the technology required to operate it.

More than software: an integrated route to the casino floor
One of Launchpad™’s most significant advantages is that it isn’t offered as a standalone software component.

It forms part of Quixant’s broader gaming technology offering, combining a purpose-built software platform with gaming hardware, development tools and specialist engineering support.

This integrated approach addresses challenges that game developers can encounter when working with multiple technology suppliers, particularly when hardware, software and peripherals must operate together within a regulated environment.

Customers benefit from a platform designed for Quixant gaming hardware, alongside access to engineering teams with extensive experience in gaming-specific integration and certification requirements.

Development can begin before physical gaming hardware is available, using Quixant’s peripheral simulator to replicate key cabinet interactions such as bill validators, ticket printers, doors and LEDs.

From there, customers can progress to Quixant gaming hardware and ultimately their target cabinet configuration.

The result is a more streamlined development process, with fewer integration unknowns and a clearer path from initial game development to a deployable gaming solution.

Simplifying the path to regulatory certification
For companies entering land-based gaming, regulatory certification is often one of the most unfamiliar and resource-intensive stages of development.

Unlike online gaming, land-based machines must satisfy requirements covering physical peripherals, accounting, security, game recovery and communication with casino management systems.

Launchpad™ has been developed with these requirements in mind, providing a gaming platform foundation that has undergone GLI-11 functional evaluation.

By starting with an established platform, supported by evaluation evidence and specialist engineering expertise, customers can reduce the amount of platform functionality that needs to be developed and debugged during their certification journey.

While each customer’s complete gaming solution must still undergo the applicable regulatory approval process, Quixant can support integration, testing and engagement with independent laboratories.

This is particularly valuable for online gaming studios entering the land-based market for the first time, enabling them to draw on established expertise rather than having to build it entirely in-house.

From first integration to GLI approval in just 10 months
The benefits of this approach are no longer theoretical.

Quixant’s first Launchpad™ customer, an organisation with no previous slot machine development experience, successfully achieved Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) approval in October 2026, just 10 months after starting its project in December 2025.

By combining Launchpad™ with Quixant’s IQ 2® gaming hardware and hands-on engineering support, the customer was able to progress from initial development through to regulatory approval without first spending years creating its own gaming platform.

This milestone demonstrates what’s possible when game developers can build on an established technology foundation.

Compared with an estimated development and certification timeline of up to 36 months for a platform built from scratch, the project achieved approval in just 10 months.

While individual development and certification timelines will vary, this first success provides a powerful demonstration of Launchpad™’s potential to accelerate entry into the regulated land-based gaming market.

Opening the casino floor to online game studios
The opportunity is especially compelling for online game developers.

Online studios may already have successful game content, experienced development teams and established game engines. However, bringing that content into a physical casino environment introduces an entirely new set of technology and regulatory requirements.

Historically, these barriers have made land-based expansion a significant undertaking, requiring investment in specialist engineering resources and infrastructure before a game can reach the casino floor.

Launchpad™ changes that equation.

By providing the underlying gaming platform, compatible hardware and engineering support, Quixant enables online studios to explore the land-based market without having to become experts in every aspect of slot machine infrastructure.

The same advantages apply to established land-based manufacturers looking to accelerate product development, expand their portfolios or free up engineering resources for innovation.

Build the game. Buy the platform.
The build-versus-buy decision is ultimately about where development resources deliver the greatest value.

Building a proprietary platform may make sense for organisations with the scale, specialist expertise and long-term resources to maintain it. But for many gaming businesses, recreating the underlying infrastructure adds significant cost, complexity and time without necessarily improving the player experience.

Launchpad™ offers a different approach.

With an established gaming software platform, integrated Quixant hardware, development tools and expert engineering support, customers can focus on what differentiates their products while simplifying the journey towards a regulated casino floor.

And with its first customer achieving GLI approval in just 10 months, Quixant has demonstrated the potential of this approach in practice.

Your competitive advantage is your game. You shouldn’t have to spend years building everything underneath it.

Build the game. Buy the platform. Get to market faster with Quixant Launchpad™.
Discover how Launchpad™ can support your next land-based gaming project.
Contact Quixant to discuss your requirements >

A land-based gaming platform is the underlying software infrastructure that enables casino games to operate on physical gaming machines. It manages essential functions such as accounting, game meters, peripheral devices, casino communication protocols, security and game recovery. Quixant Launchpad™ provides this foundation, allowing developers to focus on creating game content rather than building the supporting infrastructure from scratch.

The decision depends on development resources, technical expertise and time-to-market objectives. Building a proprietary platform provides control but requires significant investment in specialist engineering, regulatory compliance and ongoing maintenance. Buying an established platform such as Quixant Launchpad™ can reduce development complexity and accelerate the route to market, while allowing studios to retain control over their game content and intellectual property.

Yes. Online game studios can bring their content into regulated land-based casino environments, provided the complete solution meets the relevant technical and regulatory requirements. Quixant Launchpad™ supports this transition by providing the gaming-specific software infrastructure, compatible hardware and engineering support needed to integrate game content with physical gaming machines.

Timelines vary depending on the game’s complexity, development approach and regulatory jurisdiction. Building a gaming platform from scratch can take approximately 30 months, with certification potentially adding another six months. Using Quixant Launchpad™, one first-time land-based gaming customer achieved GLI approval just 10 months after starting its project, demonstrating the potential to significantly reduce development timelines.

Yes. Launchpad™ supports integration with popular game development technologies, including Unity, Godot, HTML5, Cocos and native C/C++ environments. Through supported APIs and integration interfaces, developers can connect their existing game content to Launchpad™’s underlying gaming functionality without having to recreate the platform themselves.

Yes. Launchpad™ provides a platform foundation that has undergone GLI-11 functional evaluation, supported by technical evidence and Quixant’s engineering expertise. This can help reduce platform-related development and testing challenges during certification. Each customer’s complete gaming solution must still undergo the applicable regulatory approval process, with Quixant providing integration and certification support throughout the journey.

Launchpad™ provides essential land-based gaming functionality, including game meters, accounting, audit capabilities, game history and recovery, peripheral management, SAS communication, TITO and support for cashless and bonusing functionality. Combined with Quixant’s gaming hardware, development tools and engineering support, it provides an integrated foundation for developing regulated land-based gaming solutions.

Yes. Launchpad™ is designed to manage the underlying gaming infrastructure, not replace the developer’s game content or intellectual property. Customers retain control over their game logic, mathematics, RNG, graphics and player experience, while using Launchpad™ to manage the gaming-specific platform functionality required for land-based deployment.

Elevate your player experience.