Cloudbet Launches First-Person Shooter Casino Game with Joy Studios

First-person shooter (FPS) games have come a long way since their earliest days in the 1970s. What began as a relatively simple experiment in navigating a virtual maze eventually became one of the video game industry's biggest and most recognizable genres, producing blockbuster franchises, competitive esports and millions of dedicated players worldwide.

Now, the familiar format is entering an entirely different industry. On October 28, 2026, cryptocurrency gambling platform Cloudbet and independent developer Joy Studios announced the launch of Fearshot: Phantom Mansion, a casino game that combines first-person shooter mechanics with real-money betting. Available exclusively through Cloudbet, the title introduces what the companies call Immersive World Betting (IWB). Rather than asking customers to spin reels, watch a roulette wheel or wait for a multiplier to climb, the concept places them inside an interactive 3D environment where their actions directly trigger wagers.

What is the new Immersive World Betting experience?

The first release takes players into a haunted mansion, where they assume the role of a supernatural bounty hunter armed with a weapon called the Phantom Blaster. The objective is to explore seven rooms and shoot the ghosts inhabiting them. However, there is an important difference between this experience and traditional FPS games: every shot is a separate bet.

Players choose their wager, aim at a target and fire. Successfully capturing a ghost awards a payout based on its assigned multiplier, while missing means losing the stake. The targets offer different potential rewards, ranging from 1.1x for the Wailing Widow to 350x for the rare Inquisitor.

There is also a secondary reward system called the Soul Collector. Every captured ghost contributes to a jar that can eventually overflow, triggering another payout worth between 2x and 999x the original wager. Players can also encounter Sister Penance, a boss character accompanied by seven Bailiffs, with the encounter offering additional potential rewards.

According to Cloudbet's published game specifications, Fearshot has a 97% theoretical return to player (RTP), with wagers ranging from $0.01 to $588.58 per shot. A particularly successful combination of rewards can produce a multiplier of up to 1,699x, although the maximum advertised payout is capped at $1 million per bet. The 97% RTP represents a theoretical average across an enormous number of wagers, not a guaranteed return for an individual player.

Who are Cloudbet and Joy Studios?

Cloudbet is an established name in cryptocurrency gambling. Founded in 2013, the company describes itself as one of the earliest cryptocurrency sports betting sites and online casinos. Its platform supports more than 30 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether, and offers sports betting, esports markets, live casino games and thousands of other casino titles. The website is operated by Halcyon Super Holdings B.V., a Curaçao-registered company licensed by the Curaçao Gaming Authority under licence OGL/2024/328/0599.

Joy Studios, meanwhile, is described in the launch announcement as an independent development studio specializing in high-quality casual games. Its Games Product Manager, Will Cordry, explained that the concept is designed to move casino experiences away from traditional button-pressing mechanics and towards greater participation in an interactive environment. Cordry also pointed to artificial intelligence as an important development behind the concept. New tools are allowing smaller studios to build detailed 3D environments more quickly, potentially making this type of casino experience more accessible to developers without the resources of major video game publishers.

What does this mean for the casino industry?

The immediate significance is that online gambling operators are continuing to look beyond traditional casino formats to differentiate their products. Crash games, Plinko and other instant-play titles have already introduced more interactive ways to wager. Immersive World Betting takes that approach a step further by making the surrounding environment part of the betting experience.

For Cloudbet, the launch provides an opportunity to attract customers interested in video games as well as cryptocurrency gambling. It also gives the company an exclusive product that could help distinguish its casino offering from competitors.

The longer-term possibilities are potentially much bigger. If the concept attracts an audience, developers could experiment with casino experiences built around racing, exploration, survival or role-playing mechanics. Instead of simply pressing a button to initiate a wager, customers could navigate entire environments, encounter different challenges and make betting decisions as they progress.

However, the introduction of these hybrid experiences could also create new regulatory challenges. Gambling laws in Canada, for example, operate under a federal Criminal Code framework that gives provinces and territories significant responsibility for overseeing and managing legal gambling activities. As casino operators continue experimenting with formats that blur the lines between video games and traditional gambling, regulators may face new questions about game classification, consumer protections and responsible gambling requirements.