"I think it's very hard to invent new games" says Sam Jones, CEO of 155.io. Jones was speaking exclusively to Global Gaming Insider ahead of the release of Fish Tank to explain why this new water-themed, real-world game is something you won't have seen before.
The games studio, launched in 2024, leads with titles like Stairpong and various marble run games. Each one features live real-world footage for players to bet on, and this new game is the same.
In Fish Tank, players bet on a live feed of a real coin being dropped into a real tank of water that fits precisely into the dimensions a phone screen.
Users just select where they think the coin is going to land and place their bet. In fact, with the auto-bet feature, they don't even have to do that - if they choose, they can just sit back and let the action wash over them.
Players can split their chances roughly down the middle and guess right or left, or go for one of the more all-or-nothing bets. For instance, maybe the coin will land in the treasure chest...
Jones says: "71% of the Earth's surface is water. 73% of the human brain is water. And yet online casinos have zero games based on real water. We wanted to change that."
That sense of fun is intrinsic to most of 155.io's games, with Jones adding: "I know how hard it is to get people's attention. We look for stuff trending on TikTok and Instagram and try to improve upon it."
Fish Tank is available for direct integration on iGaming platforms, and it is live now as part of Hub88's aggregation portfolio. That being said, there are no 'live' fish in the tank itself - players will notice a few surprises floating around, however.
Jones first got the idea after noticing a fish tank prize game in a retail store, seeing huge potential for operators and players from the off.
The real-world aspect and high production values are important differentiators with typical iGaming products. But according to Jones, the level of lighting and production expertise has, in the past, led players to think that some of 155.io's games were AI generated.
"Sometimes people look at our games and, because the camera work is so smooth, they think the games are digital. We are at pains to make sure people know these are actual physics-based games! In this case, we had a diver toy floating around the tank and some industrial bricks at the bottom. We may have to do other things so people realise this is a real tank of water."
Looking after that audience trust is important, because with trust in the visuals comes trust in the mechanics and the game overall.
"This is the studio's 10th or 11th game, and we've taken all the lessons learned into Fish Tank. First thing: let's make it fit inside a phone. Secondly, how do we get a game that starts every 10 or 20 seconds... and there's the social features. Eventually we'll launch a version in a peer-to-peer format, so you can have 10 friends playing all at the same time."
Fast iteration and rapid development is clearly a point of pride at 155.io, and Jones is already looking to how the game will be expanded upon going forward, drawing on lessons from past iterations and incorporating growing trends like social capabilities.
155.io also has a real-world games where players can bet on a rubber duck race
