Slots in which a symbol, usually the wild, grows to cover its whole reel. Five expanding wild games compared, from Starburst and Hall of Gods to Divine Fortune and Sakura Fortune.
One Symbol, a Whole Reel
An expanding symbol lands in one position and then stretches to fill its entire reel. Almost always it is the wild, so a single landing turns a whole column into wilds and can complete lines that one position never could. Some games add a respin when that happens; others save the expansion for the free spins.
The idea is older than online slots and belongs to no single studio, but NetEnt made it famous. The version where a regular paying symbol expands in free spins, as in the Book games, has its own Book of mechanic page.
Five Games Built on the Expanding Wild
All the figures are from the studios’ own game pages, and the games are ordered by top prize.
| Game | Studio | When the wild expands | RTP | Max win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starburst XXXtreme | NetEnt | Base game, with multipliers | 96.45% | 16,800x |
| Hall of Gods | NetEnt | When it completes a win | 95.70% | 4,300x |
| Divine Fortune | NetEnt | When a wild lands on a wild | 96.59% | 1,000x |
| Starburst | NetEnt | Every landing, with a respin | 96.08% | 800x |
| Sakura Fortune | Quickspin | In free spins, then it stays | 96% or 90% | – |
Quickspin publishes Sakura Fortune’s two return models but not a top prize.
Starburst XXXtreme
The 2021 remake keeps the wilds on reels 2, 3 and 4 and gives each one a random multiplier of 2x up to 150x, which lifts the ceiling from 800x to 16,800x. NetEnt describes it as the high-volatility version of the original, and it returns 96.45%.
Hall of Gods
A Norse classic from 2010, on 5×3 reels with 20 lines. Its wild only expands when doing so helps complete a winning line, wins in the free spins are tripled, and a bonus game offers three jackpots, the largest of them progressive. It pays on 37% of spins. Other Viking-era games are on our Norse and Viking slots page.
Divine Fortune
The expansion here has a condition: Wild on Wild starts when an overlay wild lands on top of a wild already on the reels, and the expanded wild then slides down one position with each respin. Falling Wilds bring more respins, and a jackpot game offers three prizes, with the Mega jackpot progressive. NetEnt calls it medium volatility, at 96.59%, the highest return of the five. More games with a growing prize pot are on our progressive jackpot slots page.
Starburst
The 2012 original is built around this one feature. A wild landing on any of the middle three reels covers the whole reel and holds it for a respin, and a new wild on the respin brings another, up to three in a row. It has 10 lines, wins on 23% of spins and tops out at 800x. Our Starburst guide has the full detail.
Sakura Fortune
Quickspin’s 40-line Japanese tale keeps its expansion for the bonus. In the free spins, every princess wild that lands grows to cover its reel and then stays there for the rest of the round. Quickspin calls it extremely volatile and offers it at 96% or 90%. More games in the same setting are on our Japanese slots page.
Expanding Wild or Sticky Wild?
The two often appear together, so they are easy to confuse. An expanding wild grows: it fills the reel it landed on for that spin. A sticky wild stays: it keeps its position for later spins without growing. Sakura Fortune does both, growing to a full reel and then staying put.
Games where the wilds hold their place are on our sticky wilds slots page.
Why the Same Feature Plays So Differently
An expanding wild does not fix how a game feels. On Starburst it shows up often and pays modestly, and the top prize is 800x. Put random multipliers on the same wild, as in Starburst XXXtreme, and the game swings much harder towards a 16,800x ceiling. In Sakura Fortune the expansions only come in the free spins, so the base game is quieter while the bonus does the heavy lifting.
So the label alone is not much of a guide. The top prize, the volatility the studio gives and where the expansion happens tell you far more about a session.
Sakura Fortune’s Two Models in Pounds
The same game can cost very different amounts. Over 600 spins at £1, Sakura Fortune’s 96% model averages about £24 an hour and its 90% model about £60. At the £5 limit for players aged 25 and over, that is about £120 against £300, and at the £2 limit for 18 to 24-year-olds, about £48 against £120. The game’s information screen shows which one a casino runs.
In other markets Starburst XXXtreme sells XXXtreme Spins, which buy one or two wilds on every spin for 10x or 95x the stake; in Great Britain no slot may sell a bonus or feature, so its wilds have to land on their own.
