Why we built Stratex
I took over international development at Bally Gaming when the company had almost no footprint outside the United States. Over the following years we grew it into one of the largest international footprints in the industry, and I did the same again at Scientific Games and at Light & Wonder.
The part I loved was opening markets. I kept a world map on my office wall and marked off every jurisdiction as we entered it. Watching that map fill in was the best measure of the work I have ever found. When it was finally covered, the feeling was more bittersweet than triumphant. There was nowhere left to go.
What I miss most is not the finish. It is the stretch before it, when a team is growing into new markets with everyone pulling toward the same goal.
This industry is dominated by a handful of companies large enough to spend millions a year on platform development. Everyone else is locked out of markets they could otherwise compete in, not because their games aren't good enough, but because the cost of the platform underneath them is out of reach. I think the industry is healthier with more players in it.
We built Stratex so that other companies can start filling in their own maps.
Shawn Falstrom Founder and Chief Executive Officer
We built Stratex so that other companies can start filling in their own maps.
What we are building on
Stratex is a new platform, and that is deliberate. Three decades of building these systems inside large manufacturers teaches you exactly which early decisions you end up living with for twenty years.
Every platform in this industry carries the weight of the choices made at its start, usually under commercial pressure, usually before anyone knew which markets would matter. Stratex is what it looks like to make those choices again, with the benefit of having seen where they lead.
That is the experience the platform is built from: the submissions, the lab cycles, and the jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction differences that never appear in any published standard.
What we believe
More competitors on the floor makes for a better industry.
Good games lose to platform economics all the time. A studio with a strong title and no path into a regulated market is a loss for operators and players, not just for the studio. Lowering the cost of that path is the whole purpose of this company.
It also shapes how we intend to behave: honest status on the coverage map, documentation you can read before you commit, and no claim of certification before certification exists.
Where we are today.
Stratex is in development. Partnerships begin now. No platform sale or lease takes effect before GLI-11 certification is complete, and no jurisdiction carries certified status on our coverage map until it genuinely does.
We are selecting a small number of launch partners now.