Last updated: May 2026. Franchise history compiled from Pragmatic Play's release timeline, Reel Kingdom's developer announcements, and casino-side game-launch records.
Big Bass Bonanza wasn't just a successful slot — it was the single most consequential release in Reel Kingdom's history and arguably the most-cloned slot template of the early 2020s. Released in December 2020, the original spawned a franchise that now includes more than a dozen sequels, dozens of competitor knock-offs, and an entire sub-genre of "fishing slots" that didn't really exist before this game shipped. This article tells the story of the original — the studio context that produced it, the design choices that made it stick, and the trajectory from a single 5×3 release to a franchise with annual cadence.
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Reel Kingdom — the studio behind the fish
Reel Kingdom is the slot studio behind Big Bass Bonanza and most of its sequels. The studio operates as a Pragmatic Play partner — Pragmatic distributes Reel Kingdom games globally under its own brand framework while Reel Kingdom retains the creative and technical lead on development. The arrangement gives the studio access to Pragmatic Play's enormous casino integration network without diluting the team's design identity.
The studio's pre-Big-Bass-Bonanza catalogue was modest. Earlier titles like Pirate Gold, John Hunter and the Tomb of the Scarab Queen, and Buffalo King had moderate commercial success but didn't define the studio. The team specialised in clean, classic-feeling video slots — 5-reel grids, traditional themes (pirates, Egyptian archaeology, wildlife), competent paytable design — without much technical experimentation.
Big Bass Bonanza changed that trajectory. The fisherman-collect mechanic, the satisfying loop of money symbols accumulating and being swept, and the visible-from-the-screen-tile theme (everyone understands "fisherman with a rod") turned what was a competent studio into a franchise-running powerhouse. Subsequent Reel Kingdom releases — both inside and outside the Bass franchise — got significantly more attention from operators and players alike.
December 2020 — release context
The market Big Bass Bonanza launched into:
Pragmatic Play's catalogue was dominated by megaways and tumble mechanics. Sweet Bonanza had launched in 2019 (tumble pays, cluster, multipliers). Gates of Olympus was around the corner (also tumble, multiplier scatter). Reel Kingdom went the other direction — a classic 5×3 grid with fixed paylines, no tumbles, no clusters. The simplicity was a deliberate counterposition.
The fishing-slot genre barely existed. Asian-market studios had produced fishing-themed arcade games and a few fishing-themed slots, but no Western studio had built a fishing slot that became a hit. Reel Kingdom didn't have direct competition — they were entering an empty space.
The pandemic year accelerated online slot adoption. December 2020 was nine months into pandemic-era online gambling growth. Newly-online players (refugees from closed land-based pokie venues) gravitated toward simple, familiar games. Big Bass Bonanza's 5×3 grid felt like an online translation of a pub pokie — instantly familiar.
Player video-streaming was exploding. Slot streamers on Twitch and YouTube needed visually-readable games. The fisherman-collect mechanic is visually obvious: viewers watching a stream can immediately see what's happening and why a payout is big. The game was streamer-friendly by design.
All four factors compounded. The game caught.
The design choices that made it stick
Three deliberate choices set Big Bass Bonanza apart:
1. The collect mechanic. Collecting mechanisms existed before this game — Hold & Win formats (Wheel of Wishes, Megamoolah's coin-collect) and progressive-style mechanics had been around. But Reel Kingdom's version was the cleanest: one symbol (the fisherman) collects all visible money symbols. No multi-step, no respin between collects, no token-bank UI. Just a fisherman who sweeps the screen.
2. The narrative coherence. The fisherman literally catches fish (the money symbols are visually styled as caught fish flying into his bucket on collect). Every mechanic maps to the theme. There's no abstraction. Casual players don't need to learn what the symbols mean — they already know.
3. The intentionally modest max-win. 2,100× felt big in 2020 without being so big that the bonus round structure had to be exhausting. Sequels would push the ceiling, but the original prioritised bonus frequency over bonus magnitude. That makes it forgiving for beginners — you'll see a bonus round within a reasonable session length, and you'll get a payout that feels meaningful.
The combination produced what game designers call a resonant loop: each individual element reinforces every other element. Theme → mechanic → math → visual → player experience all lock into the same idea.
The first sequel — Bigger Bass Bonanza (April 2021)
Four months after the original, Reel Kingdom released Bigger Bass Bonanza. The sequel didn't redesign anything — it iterated:
- Same 5×3 grid base, but with an expanding row that opens up during the bonus.
- Money symbols up to 1,000× (vs the original's 500× cap).
- 4,000× max win (vs 2,100×).
- Added Bonus Buy at ~100× stake.
- Same fisherman-collect mechanic, same scatter triggers, same retrigger logic.
The sequel was a hit too. That's when Pragmatic Play and Reel Kingdom realised they had a franchise on their hands.
The franchise timeline
| Release | Year | Notable changes |
|---|---|---|
| Big Bass Bonanza (original) | Dec 2020 | 2,100× cap, no Bonus Buy, the prototype |
| Bigger Bass Bonanza | Apr 2021 | 4,000× cap, expanding row, Bonus Buy added |
| Big Bass Splash | Mar 2022 | 5,000× cap, multipliers on fisherman |
| Bigger Bass Splash | Sep 2022 | 5,000× cap, expanded grid version |
| Christmas Big Bass Bonanza | Nov 2022 | Seasonal reskin with snow theme |
| Big Bass Halloween | Oct 2022 | Halloween reskin |
| Big Bass Mission Fishin' | Feb 2023 | Adds "missions" mechanic to base game |
| Big Bass Hold and Spinner | May 2023 | Adds Hold & Win round alongside free spins |
| Big Bass Day at the Races | Jul 2023 | Horse-racing theme overlay |
| Big Bass Floats My Boat | Mar 2024 | 10,000× cap, boat-stacking multipliers |
| Big Bass Crash | Aug 2024 | Crash-game hybrid version |
| Big Bass Bonanza 1000 | Sep 2024 | 5,000× cap with 1,000× money symbols and multipliers |
| Big Bass Christmas Bash | Nov 2024 | Christmas reskin v2 |
| Big Bass Amazon Xtreme | Feb 2025 | Amazon-river theme, 7,500× cap |
| Bigger Bass Blizzard | Dec 2025 | Winter theme, 8,000× cap |
That's 15+ titles in five years — a release cadence of roughly one new Bass title every four months. Few slot franchises in any era have sustained that pace.
What the franchise did to the broader market
The success of Big Bass Bonanza prompted every major studio to release a "fishing slot" of their own:
- Spinomenal — Fish Catch
- NetEnt — Fishin' Reels
- NextGen / Yggdrasil — Reel King Fish (regional)
- Push Gaming — Fish 'n' Nudge
- Microgaming/Games Global — Multiple fishing-themed re-skins
- iSoftBet — Fishin' Fortune
- Realtime Gaming — Multiple fishing-themed games for US-targeting brands
Most of these knock-offs use a variation of the fisherman-collect mechanic. None has produced a franchise on the scale of Reel Kingdom's. The original Big Bass Bonanza is the only game in the genre to spawn 15+ first-party sequels.
The genre's success also influenced how slot studios think about IP. Before Big Bass Bonanza, "slot franchises" were rare — most studios shipped one-off titles. After Big Bass Bonanza's commercial proof, almost every major studio began building serial IPs (Hacksaw's Le Bandit series, Nolimit's "xWays" template line, Push Gaming's Razor sequel structure). The fishing slot proved franchises work in slots.
The original's place in the franchise
In 2026, the original Big Bass Bonanza sits at the bottom of its own franchise's spec sheet:
- Lowest max-win (2,100× — every sequel is higher).
- Lowest money-symbol ceiling (500× — sequels go up to 1,000× or 2,000×).
- No Bonus Buy (every sequel has it).
- Simplest mechanic (no multipliers, no expansions, no hold-and-spin overlay).
That's not a weakness. The original's appeal is purity — it's the cleanest expression of the formula. Players who come to the franchise after playing several sequels often go back to the original because the simpler math feels more honest. Streamers occasionally use the original for "back to basics" sessions even when they could easily play the higher-ceiling sequels.
Why the original still rotates in 2026
Five years after launch, the original Big Bass Bonanza is still in regular rotation at virtually every Aussie-friendly casino. Reasons:
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Casino-side data shows it still pulls players. Casinos rotate slots based on session frequency and net deposit data. Big Bass Bonanza consistently performs well across both metrics.
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The brand is a "gateway" slot. New players to a casino's slot library frequently start with games they've heard of. Big Bass Bonanza is a recognisable name; sequels are deeper-catalogue.
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It still rewards play. The 96.71% RTP and 2,100× cap don't feel dated when you're inside a satisfying bonus round. The mechanic still produces moments worth experiencing.
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Operators include it in welcome-bonus eligible games. Big Bass Bonanza is on almost every casino's "bonus-funds eligible" list (often at 100% contribution). New players who claim welcome bonuses encounter the original first.
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Quick FAQ
When was Big Bass Bonanza released? December 2020.
Who made it? Reel Kingdom, distributed by Pragmatic Play.
How many sequels are there? 15+ as of 2026, with new entries continuing to release at ~3-4 per year cadence.
Is the original still played? Yes — it remains in active rotation at most casinos.
Which sequel is closest to the original? Bigger Bass Bonanza is the most direct continuation. The reskins (Halloween, Christmas, Day at the Races) are essentially the original with seasonal decoration.
Why does the original have the smallest max-win? Reel Kingdom intentionally left headroom for sequels to grow into bigger ceilings.
Does the original still update? The math and mechanics are fixed at release. Cosmetic updates (UI polish, mobile improvements) happen occasionally.
Is the original or the sequels more popular? Hard to measure exactly — the original wins on brand recognition; the sequels collectively pull more spins because there are so many of them.
About this franchise history
Compiled from Pragmatic Play's official press releases, Reel Kingdom's product documentation, and casino-side launch records from the four featured AU casinos.
Gambling responsibly. Slot franchises sustain themselves on player engagement. That's a feature for the studio, not necessarily for you. Set limits, take breaks. AU support: gamblinghelponline.org.au · BetStop · 18+ only.
Further Reading
Related reading in this guide: