ELK Studios
ELK Studios is the Stockholm developer behind the Pirots slots. Founded in 2013, it says it puts quality over quantity. Here's how it builds its games, what its licences cover and how to reach it.
ELK Studios in short
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Company | ELK Studios (ELKAB Studios AB, ELK Studios Malta Ltd) |
| Founded | 2013, per ELK |
| Base | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Founders | Rickard Annell, Filip Säfbeck, Lars Rustemeier |
| First slot | The Lab, 2013 |
| Known for | X-iter, CollectR, Pirots, Nitropolis |
| Official site | elk-studios.com |
How ELK builds a game
ELK's about page splits the work into three parts: concept, artwork and maths. You can see all three in the Pirots series.
ELK says its best concepts have "a strong game model and an inspiring theme that fits well together". In Pirots the model is CollectR, and the pirate, western and outer-space themes change around it.
"We love crisp art," the studio writes, adding that its in-house team "leaves no room for taking shortcuts" on sound, animation and graphics. That's ELK describing itself, so judge it in any demo on this site.
"The maths model is really where the game is defined." ELK says it uses statistical modelling, cloud-based computing and big data to develop, refine and verify its games. The same birds appear in six games, yet its sheets score them from 7 to 8 out of 10 on volatility, and hit rates run from 24.0% to 26.8%.
X-iter came out of the same thinking. Instead of a single bonus-buy button, ELK offers a menu of paid modes at different prices. The mode you pick changes the risk you take on, which is why each of our game guides lists the prices part by part.
Licences we can confirm
| Regulator | Holder | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gambling Commission, Great Britain | ELKAB Studios AB | Account 40844 |
| Malta Gaming Authority | ELK Studios Malta Ltd | MGA/B2B/605/2018, B2B Critical Gaming Supply, Type 1, issued 27 February 2019 |
| Romania, Second Class | ELKAB Studios AB | 821/15.05.2020, producing and distributing specialised software |
| Romania, Second Class | ELKAB Studios AB | 820/15.05.2020, managing and hosting game platform facilities |
This list comes from ELK's about page, read on 2 November 2026. Its footer also shows AGCO (Canada) and HGC (Greece) logos without reference numbers, so we leave those out of the table. These are supplier licences for ELK. They don't tell you anything about a casino that offers its games, so check any casino on its own. We're also not connected to ELK: this is an independent guide, as we explain on our about page.
The team at ELK
ELK's career page describes a team that's "+100 strong", working from an office in the heart of Stockholm, and names quality, innovation and entertainment as the backbone of its culture. The about page puts it more briefly: "Our passion is slots".
Openings change often, so we don't list them here. If you work in games and want to see what's available, check the ELK career page.
Elk Pirots: what the studio built
When people search for elk pirots, they usually mean one of two things: the first game, or the series. Pirots appeared in March 2023 and introduced CollectR. Birds replaced paylines, and each gem pays as it's collected.
Each sequel kept that base and changed what happens around it. Pirots 2 by ELK adds seven amber levels. ELK Pirots 3 brings duels and a jailed Bandit. Pirots X from ELK swaps CollectR for Cluster Pays. ELK Studios Pirots 4 adds three worlds in one game. Pirots 5 adds saved token progress and several RTP versions.
People also search for these by name: Pirots 2 ELK, Elk Pirots 3, Pirots 4 ELK, Pirots X ELK. It's the same catalogue every time, all made by one studio, and Pirots 4 ELK Studios is the one where the rules depend on which world is live.
Pirots games by ELK Studios
All six, each with a full guide and a free demo.
CollectR debut
Popcorn grid crossing
Duels and jailbreak
Cluster Pays spin-off
Three switchable worlds
Saved token progressContacting ELK Studios
These are ELK's own contact details, taken from its website on 2 November 2026. We're not part of the studio, so questions about this guide should come to us.
| Contact | Details |
|---|---|
| Office | ELK Studios AB, Vasagatan 16, 111 20 Stockholm, Sweden |
| Sales enquiries | [email protected] |
| Everything else | [email protected] |
| Careers | elk-studios.com/career |
| YouTube | ELK Studios channel |
| ELK Studios AB |
ELK Studios questions
ELK Studios, a slot developer based in Stockholm. It built all six games in the series, from Pirots in 2023 to Pirots 5 in 2026.
ELK's own about page says 2013. Some directories print 2012, but we follow the studio.
ELK's about page lists a Gambling Commission account in Great Britain (40844), a Malta Gaming Authority supplier licence (MGA/B2B/605/2018) and two Romanian licences. Those cover ELK as a supplier. They say nothing about any casino, so check the casino separately.
ELK's name for the mechanic in the numbered Pirots games: birds move across the grid and collect adjacent gems of their colour, instead of symbols paying on lines.
In the centre of Stockholm. ELK's contact page gives its address as Vasagatan 16, 111 20 Stockholm, Sweden.
Who wrote this page
