18+Play responsibly · gamblingtherapy.org
We write the story first and build the game out of it: the cast, the symbols, the features, the sound. Every frame in the game is rendered in-house. Every number in the rules is the real one.
02 Story
Before anything is built there is one sentence. For Heist Bots it was Boss, Patch and Bulk built this vault. Tonight they crack it.
For Whatu Stories it was The line they could not cross.
Everything in the game grows out of it.
A slot or a walk through history: the sentence decides the cast, the world, the rules and the sound.
03 Build
The sentence becomes a game: a cast, a world and a set of rules. We light, animate and render it in our own pipeline.
Our games →04 Games
Every game we make starts with a story. Some stories become slots. Some are history, and you walk through them.
Slot gamesFor Stake Engine · 18+
Three robots built a vault. Tonight they come back to crack it. A 7 × 7 cluster slot, rendered in-house. In development, coming to Stake.
RTP and max win are printed for every mode. For adults, 18 or older, or the legal age where you live.
See the game · 18+ →Story gamesHistory · For everyone · Preview
Walk Te Rohe Pōtae in March 1883 as a fictional survey chainman. Every line of narration comes from the Waitangi Tribunal's report Te Mana Whatu Ahuru (Wai 898, 2023), with its page number. Real people appear only as faceless figures and say only the words the report quotes.
Whatu Stories is a programme of the Mission New Zealand Charitable Trust, and our team builds the game. It is a preview: nothing is released until mana whenua have reviewed it.
Play the preview →05 Studio
An independent game studio from New Zealand. We write, build and render our own games: slots for Stake Engine, and story games.
Every symbol, feature and line of copy comes out of the game's story. If it does not belong to the story, it does not go in.
No near-miss tricks, no win banner for a return at or below the cost, and every round stands on its own. RTP and max win are printed for every mode.
Every frame in our games is rendered in our own pipeline. Our key art is AI-generated, and it always says so.
Our slot games are for players 18 or older, or the legal age where they live. This site asks before it opens, and every page links to free, confidential support.
Play responsibly
Our slots are for adults, 18 or older, or the legal age where you live. A slot is entertainment with a cost, and the expected return is below what you put in. If it stops being fun, stop, and talk to someone: gamblingtherapy.org offers free, confidential support.
gamblingtherapy.org →06 Pitch
We are open to game projects from people with an idea of their own: a story, a world, a mechanic, a piece of history that should be played. You bring the idea. We build it with you: story, math, art, sound and review.
One page is enough: the story, who it is for, and what the player does. No deck needed.
We read every pitch and reply. If it fits, we meet and shape it together.
Credit and terms are agreed in writing before any work starts.
Slots and story games. Slot ideas are for adults only. A story game respects whose story it is.
07 Press
Logos, art from the game, the fact sheet and a text to quote. Everything below is ready to download. For anything else, write to us.
Heist Bots logoThe game's own logo, transparent, from the game buildPNG · 316 KB
Heist Bots artCrew lineup and cut-outs, symbols, the game logo, two in-game coversZIP · 10.1 MB
Fact sheetSpecs, modes, the crew and the text above, one pagePDF · 369 KB
Key art · AI-generatedOne image, AI-generated and labelled as such. Please keep the label when you use it.ZIP · 341 KB
On request
Not in the kit yet.
Each line opens a mail with the subject filled in. We answer ourselves.
1 / 6
Waka Games is an independent game studio from New Zealand. We make story-first slots for Stake Engine, and story games. In our slots every symbol, feature and mode comes out of the game's story, every frame in the game is rendered in our own pipeline, and RTP and max win are printed for every mode. Our first slot, Heist Bots, follows three robots who built a vault and come back to crack it. It is in development and coming to Stake.
Short versionWaka Games is an independent game studio from New Zealand, making story-first slots for Stake Engine and story games.
Facts
Work with us
Reviews, features and interviews. Tell us your outlet and deadline.
Write to usWork with us
Cut-outs, symbols, the logo and the fact sheet are in the kit. Clips and video cuts on request.
Write to usWork with us
Heist Bots is built for Stake Engine. Write to us about the studio and what comes next.
Write to us
hi@wakagames.studio
We answer press and partner mail ourselves.
08 FAQ
Short answers to what partners, press and players want to know about the studio and our games.
Two kinds of game. Slots for Stake Engine, for adults only: our first is Heist Bots. And story games, where you walk through a piece of history: the first is Whatu Stories.
No. It is a history game for everyone, with no money in it. Whatu Stories is a programme of the Mission New Zealand Charitable Trust, and our team builds the game.
On Stake, once Stake's review is done, and only if you are 18 or older. Its page has the spec, how it plays and every number in its rules.
Yes. Send one page: the story, who it is for and what the player does. We read every pitch and reply. Credit and terms are agreed in writing before any work starts.
New Zealand. We write in English and answer our own mail: hi@wakagames.studio.
Yes, for coverage of our games. The art in the press kit is ready to use; clips are on request. Keep the “Key art · AI-generated” label on key art and do not change the logo.
Yes. Write to us for the math sheet per mode: RTP, max win, costs and the paytable. How often things happen in each mode follows once the submitted math is confirmed.
Yes, in two places, and we say so. Where a character starts from an AI-generated shape, we rig, light and render it ourselves. Some music starts from open-weight models we run on our own hardware; we cut, edit and mix every cue. Key art on this site is AI-generated and labelled as such.
File 002 is on the bench. That is all we say until it is ready.
No. It sets no cookies and loads nothing from other companies. Your 18+ answer is stored on your device only. Details on the privacy page.