Peter & Sons and Play'n GO Dominate Europe Game Design Awards

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-05-04

The iGaming world just witnessed something special at the SBC Awards Europe in Malta. Small studio Peter & Sons walked away with two major wins, proving you don't need to be a giant to make a giant impact. ### Small Studio, Big Wins Peter & Sons, an Armenia-based studio, scooped up two awards at the glitzy ceremony last week. Celebrity soccer presenter Alison Bender called them to the podium twice, which is no small feat considering the competition. The studio's LinkedIn post called these "two very special victories" for the team. The standout win was **Game Studio of the Year** in the small category. Gibraltar's Pragmatic Play took the large category, and Hacksaw Gaming won medium. For players, the real excitement came in the Game Developer section, which focused on slots creation excellence. ### Soundtrack Success Peter & Sons' second win was for **Best Game Soundtrack**, awarded for their "Spotify project." The winning slot was Barbarossa: Dragon Empire, the latest in their Barbarossa series. The series already includes Barbarossa Revenge and Barbarossa Double Max, and it even has its own 2026 playlist on Spotify. The studio's tribute to their team was heartfelt: "For every sound, every animation, every line of math, every deal closed, every stand built, every message sent." ### Industry Leaders Speak SBC CEO Rasmus Sojmark noted that iGaming firms keep raising the bar every year. For 2026, he said the winners were "the people, teams, and products that have not only kept pace with change, but adapted quickly and continued to push that bar even higher." One of those bar-pushers was TaDa Gaming, which won **Game Feature/Mechanic of the Year** for its Win Card gamification tool. The Taiwan-based firm calls Win Card their "secret weapon." It lets players store or instantly activate bonuses, boosting engagement through progression and earned advancement. This mechanic works across all their slots, from celebrity streamer titles like Fortune Yuri 500 to the new high-volatility slot Mr Null's Wicked Wardrobe with a 5,000x win potential. ### Game of the Year Honors Swedish studio Play'n GO took top spot for **Game of the Year** with Reactoonz 100. This slot is part of their bestselling toonz series, which includes the evergreen Gargantoonz, last year's SBC Game of the Year winner. Second place went to Evoplay Entertainment's Uncrossable Rush, powered by SlotCatalogue's CrossyRun mechanic. It features adjustable volatility and an eye-watering max win potential of up to 75,000x. ### Other Award Highlights - **Best Crash Game**: Spribe's Aviator won first place, less than a month after the UK Gambling Commission lifted its ban on the Warsaw-based studio. - **Game Design & Art Direction**: Creedroomz took first with The Road to Eldorado, while Massive Gaming's Slot Mart: Three Little Pigs was second. - **Casino Supplier of the Year**: BGaming claimed first, with Evolution as runner-up. - **Platform Provider of the Year**: EveryMatrix won this award. ### What This Means for Players These awards highlight the creativity and innovation driving the iGaming industry. From Peter & Sons' immersive soundtracks to TaDa Gaming's player-friendly mechanics, studios are pushing boundaries. For US players, this means more engaging, rewarding, and entertaining slot experiences on the horizon. Keep an eye on these winners—they're shaping the future of online gaming.