Looking at the Runaway Success of Megaways Slot Games

by James Gibson, 15 October 2025

You see all sorts of features in online slots, from wilds and scatters to free spins and respins. One of the biggest is undoubtedly Megaways, which adds a whole new level of excitement and fun to the experience of playing slots online.

Explaining the success of Megaways slots. © Aarón González, Unsplash

A Brief History of Megaways

Several hundred companies have developed slots for online casinos. While some of them play it safe and focus on established features, others try to bring new ideas to the table.

One of the more innovative slot providers is Big Time Gaming, which in 2018 launched Bonanza. This was the very first Megaways slot, which would pave the way for an exciting new slot trend.

The mining-themed slot introduced the Megaways mechanic, a built-in feature that gave each spin a random number of ways to win. On each spin, there can be between 324 and 117,649 ways to win.

Bonanza was a major success for Big Time Gaming, which began developing other slots with the Megaways mechanic in place. The provider also licensed the slot feature so that other slot developers could use it in their creations.

In the seven years since the debut of Megaways, more than 350 slots with the feature have launched. Some of the providers besides Big Time Gaming that have released Megaways slots include Red Tiger, iSoftBet and Blueprint Gaming.

2025 has seen the release of many exciting new Megaways slot games. Among the most popular ones are Captain Kraken Megaways from Pragmatic Play, Dragon Queen Megaways from BGaming and ReelPlay’s Castle Cash Megaways.

Most slots with the feature are original creations; Pragmatic Play’s Bandit Megaways is an example. Some, such as Ted Megaways, are new versions of pre-existing slot games but with the Megaways mechanic incorporated into its gameplay.

How Megaways Works

Most Megaways slots have a six-reel grid. Whenever you spin the reels, the leftmost and rightmost ones can have anything from two to seven symbols on them. As for the middle four reels, they can have two to six symbols.

An extra row is sitting atop the grid directly above the middle four reels. This always has four symbols and adds them to the reels beneath. This means that the middle four reels can have three to seven symbols.

Megaways slots use the all-ways-win system, which means that all possible paylines across the reels are active. Since the total number of ways to win changes with every spin, so too does the number of ways you can win.

The maximum is 117,649 ways to win. This is only possible when each reel has seven symbols on it (remember, the middle four reels will actually have six symbols, but the extra row supplies an extra symbol, taking each reel to seven).

Why UK Players Love Megaways

In recent years, Megaways has certainly been one of the biggest trends in the world of online slots; or even online gambling in general. Players in the UK and elsewhere have found it to be an excellent slot feature.

The main reason behind the success of Megaways is the fact that it makes a slot’s gameplay unpredictable. Usually, the number of paylines is fixed. With Megaways, it’s not, so there’s an added element of unpredictability.

With every spin, there’s no telling how many ways you’ll have to win. It could be a number in the hundreds or tens of thousands; you could even get just over a hundred thousand if you’re lucky.

The more ways to win there are, the greater the chance that you’ll form winning combinations and earn some winnings. Players always enjoy winning, so it’s no surprise that the Megaways feature has gone down as well as it has.

Slots that follow the tried-and-tested formula of having a small number of paylines can still be fun to play. Having said that, the Megaways feature takes the slot experience to a whole new level.

No two spins are the same. Megaways adds randomness and uncertainty to a slot’s gameplay, making the slot a lot more thrilling for people to play. Other features such as free spins and respins enhance the slot’s appeal even further.

Some of these other features even incorporate the Megaways feature. For example, a free spins round may come with the bonus of having a guaranteed minimum number of symbols per spin.

Play Megaways Slots

Megaways slot games are unpredictable and exciting thanks to the ever-changing number of symbols on the reels and ways to form winning combinations. If you haven’t played one of these slots, be sure to give some a try.

Pretty much all of the top-rated online casinos have some Megaways slots available to play. Spin the reels of these popular slot games and see what makes the Megaways feature one of the biggest slot innovations to date.