Northern Lights Gaming is to be the first independent game studio to develop on the Yggdrasil Gaming platform as part of the Yggdrasil Game Server Masters programme.

The agreement is the first of its kind since the March launch of YGS Masters, an invite-only, semi-open platform, with Yggdrasil curating content from leading independent games studios.

The deal means that Northern Lights’ UK-focused slots will become available to Yggdrasil’s operator partners while Yggdrasil will provide access to Boost, its collection of in-game promotional tools, allowing studios to develop their own versions of these tools.

Based in Manchester and Stockholm, Northern Lights was formed in 2017 by a group of industry veterans including ex-Barcrest and WMS executives.

Andrew Goodale, CEO of Northern Lights Gaming, said: “As we are finishing off our first games and preparing to show them to the world, we are extremely proud to be the first external game developer to gain access to Yggdrasil’s innovative platform.

“We look forward to building a close working relationship with Yggdrasil and making the most of the powerful tools they have developed. These are exciting times.”

Stuart McCarthy, head of studio partnerships at Yggdrasil, said: “Since launching YGS Masters last month, we have received many enquires and I am thrilled to announce our first partnership.

“Northern Lights has built a team with unparalleled expertise when it comes to developing for the UK market, and we’ve been hugely impressed by what we’ve seen so far. We are certain YGS Masters will help take Northern Lights’ content to the next level, and we are excited to share the games with customers in the coming months.”