Nolimit City x-Mechanics Full Breakdown – From xNudge to xGlitch, a Timeline of Origins and Combination Formulas

From the nudge wild of Hot Nudge in 2018 to xGlitch in 2026, we follow through official materials when and in which games Nolimit City’s x-mechanics were born and how they have interlocked.

the-dog-houseAI Slot Magazine

Published2026.10.23

Reading time26 min

ProvidersNolimit City

x mechanics (xMechanics) is the name for the bundle of signature features that Swedish slot developer Nolimit City puts into its games. Like xNudge, xWays, xSplit and xBomb, they all start with ‘x,’ and most are marked as Nolimit City registered trademarks (® or ™). By layering several x mechanics into one game, Nolimit City has designed max wins ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of times the bet.

This article does not list the meaning of each x-Mechanic again. Short definitions of each feature are collected in the wiki’s x-Mechanics entry. Here we follow when and in which game each x-Mechanic first appeared, how they interlock within the signature games, and how they were licensed to other companies, based on Nolimit City’s official game pages and press releases.

What kind of company is Nolimit City?

Sources differ a little on when Nolimit City got started. Evolution’s 2024 press release for the US launch gives 2014 as the founding year. Co-founder Jonas Tegman, however, said in one interview that he started the company when he left ComeOn in 2013, and COO Malcolm Mizzi explained in another interview that the legal entity existed on paper from late 2011, but the company only took real shape around 2014, with its first slot released in 2015. In short, it is safe to say the company effectively launched in Stockholm, Sweden in 2013-2014 and began releasing games in 2015. Co-founders Tegman and Per Lindheimer both came from NetEnt.

At the bottom of Nolimit City’s official site you will now find the Maltese entity (Nolimit City Limited) and its Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) B2B license number. The license issue date is listed as August 1, 2018.

Evolution acquisition – Up to 340 million euros

On June 22, 2022, live casino company Evolution announced an agreement to acquire Nolimit City. The deal was worth €200 million upfront plus an earn-out of up to €140 million based on performance, for a total of up to €340 million. The earn-out was structured as payments spread across 2023 to 2025, based on Nolimit City’s EBITDA for 2022 to 2024. At the time, Evolution projected Nolimit City’s 2022 revenue at €30 million and EBITDA at about €23 million. The acquisition closed in August of the same year.

Since then, Nolimit City has become an Evolution slot brand alongside NetEnt, Red Tiger and Big Time Gaming. In June 2024 it launched for the first time in 6 US states (Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia) through Evolution, and the first title out was Buffalo Hunter.

The order of x-Mechanic arrivals on a timeline

The dates below are release dates from Nolimit City’s official game pages. “First appearance” is based on the earliest game that the official page classifies under that x-Mechanic, or the game that a press release calls the “first.”

• July 2018: Hot Nudge – the prototype of the wild whose multiplier rises with each nudge. The official page now classifies this game as xNudge
• May 2019: Tombstone – settled the nudge multiplier wild (Outlaw wild) in a Western theme
• September 2019: Pixies vs Pirates – the names xWays and xNudge made their official debut
• August 2020: first external license – xWays and xNudge provided to Spearhead Studios, part of Evematrix
• January 2021: San Quentin xWays – max win of 150,000x
• February 2021: East Coast VS West Coast – first appearance of Infectious xWays
• March 2021: Fire In The Hole xBomb – first appearance of xBomb
• July 2021: xWays Hoarder xSplit – xSplit debuts
• August 2021: Mental – combines xWays, xNudge and xSplit in one game
• January 2022: Tombstone R.I.P – xRIP debuts, with a 10% extra bet option (classified as xBet officially), max win 300,000x
• March 2022: Misery Mining – xSize debuts
• June 2022: Evolution acquisition announced (closed in August)
• September 2022: The Border – xCluster debuts
• October 2022: Little Bighorn – xMount debuts
• November 2022: Rock Bottom – xCap debuts (the only game to use it so far)
• May 2023: Disturbed – the earliest game the official page classifies as xGOD
• June 2023: Gluttony – xZone debuts
• November 2023: Nine To Five – introduces ‘GOD MODE’ as a new feature
• May 2024: Kenneth Must Die – xHole debuts
• August 2024: Outsourced – extra spin purchase (classified as xTra officially) debuts / Stockholm Syndrome – reel xSplit debuts
• September 2024: Skate or Die – xCrash debuts
• December 2024: Tanked – xLoot debuts
• January 2025: Tombstone Slaughter – max win 500,000x
• March 2025: Mental II – xMental debuts
• August 2025: Evolution announces x mechanics license for its new studio Sneaky Slots
• June 2026: Tanked 3: First Blood 2 – xGlitch debuts

First generation – nudge and ways (2018-2020)

The root of the x mechanics is the nudge wild. In Hot Nudge, released on July 26, 2018, when a 4-cell Hot wild dropped on reels 2 to 4, it nudged until the wild covered the whole reel, and the multiplier rose by 1 for each cell. The official page explains that if all 3 wilds drop with just one cell showing, a 10x multiplier is applied. This reads as a base of 1x plus 9 from 3 wilds each nudging 3 cells. The name ‘xNudge’ was not used yet, but the official site now classifies this game as xNudge.

On May 2, 2019, Tombstone carried the same principle over to a 3-spot-tall Outlaw wild, and in free spins the multiplier stacks with no cap and is kept to the end.

The names were attached starting with Pixies vs Pirates on September 3, 2019. The press release title at the time was “Nolimit City debuts xWays and xNudge with Pixies vs Pirates,” and Lindheimer said this was the first release to include the new xWays feature. xWays is a device where a single mystery symbol expands into several of the same symbol to increase the number of ways. The two features were used again in Dragon Tribe in December of that year, followed by Punk Rocker in February 2020 and Deadwood xNudge in May.

Generation 2 – infection, explosion, splitting (2021)

2021 was the year the x mechanics grew fastest. On January 12, San Quentin xWays advertised a max win of 150,000x and made Nolimit City’s name widely known, and a new device followed nearly every month after that.

• Infectious xWays (February): first used in the East Coast spins of East Coast VS West Coast. The official page for Infectious 5 xWays, released in June, also says “a feature already seen in East Coast VS West Coast.” If the same symbol as the one xWays revealed appears on screen, those are expanded to the same size as well.
• xBomb (March): The Fire In The Hole press release introduced it as “the first Nolimit City slot with the new xBomb feature.” A detonated xBomb wild clears the surrounding symbols and raises the next cascade’s multiplier by 1.
• xSplit (July): The xWays Hoarder xSplit press release said it was a new addition to the x mechanics library. When an xSplit symbol lands, the symbols to its left in the same row split in two, and the xSplit cell turns into a wild. However, the idea of splitting symbols to add ways was already seen in January in San Quentin’s Laser Split and Split Wild.

With the ingredients in place, Mental on August 31 arrived. If 2021 was the year the individual devices were built, Mental is the game that showed how to stack those devices in a single round.

Generation 3 – touching bets and rules (2022 to 2023)

From 2022, x mechanics began to change not just the symbols on screen but the betting structure and the winning rules themselves.

• xBet: An option that lets you pay extra on your bet to raise your chance of entering the bonus. According to the official pages, the earliest game with this classification is Tombstone R.I.P in January 2022 (10% extra on the base bet guarantees a scatter), and the earliest game where the name ‘xBet’ appears directly in the text is Karen Maneater in May of the same year (30% extra on the base bet). Cost and effect differ by game, and symbol payouts do not change.
• xRIP: A rule where nothing is paid if the total win of a spin is less than the base bet. It first appeared in Tombstone R.I.P. You can understand it as a design that removes small wins and shifts that share toward big wins.
• xCap: In Rock Bottom (November 2022), when total wins exceed 1,969x, you pick one of 2x, 3x, 5x, 7x or 10x to multiply it. Choosing 10x gives a max of 19,690x. The Nolimit City blog also notes that xCap appeared only in Rock Bottom.
• xGOD: A feature that can produce the max win on its own, without help from other features. The official page classifies Disturbed (May 2023) as xGOD, and in this game, matching 4 tombstones with a specific symbol leads straight to the max win. The name ‘GOD MODE’ was introduced as a new feature in the Nine To Five press release in November of the same year.

Around the same time, xSize (Misery Mining, expanding the grid), xCluster (The Border, adding a multiplier when a single cascade has 2 or more clusters), xMount (Little Bighorn, a nudge wild dedicated to a specific reel) and xZone (Gluttony, adding multipliers to the 8 surrounding cells) followed one after another.

Generation 4 – devices that flip a whole round (2024 to 2026)

Recently, x-Mechanics have broadened toward acting after a spin ends or across the whole screen.

• xHole (May 2024, Kenneth Must Die): It sucks in the symbols on screen, splits them into 2 to 8 cell sizes, and spits them back out at random positions.
• xTra Spin (August 2024, Outsourced): After the round ends, you can buy one extra spin while keeping the multiplier state. The cost is calculated based on the remaining multipliers. It was later included in many 2025 to 2026 releases, such as Duck Hunters and Seaman.
• Reel xSplit (August 2024, Stockholm Syndrome): splits an entire reel rather than a single line.
• xCrash (September 2024, Skate or Die): The press release introduced it as ‘a completely new x mechanic.’ It brings the crash-game format, where a multiplier climbs and you never know when it will end, into a slot.
• xLoot (December 2024, Tanked): A moving character picks up symbols of the same color to collect payouts.
• xMental (March 2025, Mental II): When triggered, a Fire Frame attaches to every cell, xWays, xNudge wilds and xSplit all unlock at once, and xHole can even go off.
• xGlitch (June 2026, Tanked 3): A presentation where the screen seems to break and only special symbols drop 4 to 50 times in a row.

In a July 2026 official blog post, Nolimit City joked that the x-Mechanics had grown numerous enough to make its math team cry, and re-explained only the signature features.

Combination breakdown – Five signature games

The real power of x mechanics comes from combinations. All figures below are based on Nolimit City’s official game pages.

San Quentin xWays (January 2021) – Enhancement cells and multiplier wilds

San Quentin starts on 5 reels and 3 rows. Above and below each reel are locked enhancement cells, and when 1-2 bonus symbols drop, that reel’s cells open. An opened cell produces one of the following: a high-paying symbol, a wild, a Laser Split (splits every regular symbol on that reel in two), or xWays (expands into 4 of the same symbol). One cell increases the ways while another splits those increased ways again.

In the Lockdown Spins bonus, the enhancement cells stay open and a jumping wild moves randomly every spin. When the jumping wild lands on a reel with a Laser Split, the multiplier doubles, rising up to 512x. RTP is 96.03%, max win is 150,000x, and hit frequency is 34.25%.

Fire In The Hole xBomb (March 2021) – The explosion opens the board

It starts as a 6-reel, 3-row grid, and each cascade opens one more row, up to 6 rows. According to the launch press release, the number of ways grows from 486 to 46,656. The xBomb wild explodes whether or not there is a win, clearing the surrounding symbols and raising the next cascade multiplier by 1. Because the explosion triggers a new cascade even without a win, xBomb works as both a ‘grid-expanding engine’ and a ‘multiplier ladder.’ RTP is listed at 96.06%, max win 60,000x, and the max win probability is listed at 1 in 2.4 million.

Mental (August 2021) – Multiplying three x-Mechanics together

In Mental, when 4 or 6 flame frames appear, the enhancement cells activate and attach xWays, xNudge, xSplit and more. When 2 Dead Patient symbols drop, the patient symbols receive a random multiplier between 5x and 9,999x. xWays expands the symbols, xSplit splits those symbols again, and xNudge wilds add multipliers, so the three devices interlock almost like multiplication. RTP is 96.08% and max win is 66,666x. Mental II, released in March 2025, adds xMental, which packs these ingredients into a single spin, and raises the max win to 99,999x.

Tombstone R.I.P (January 2022) – An x-Mechanic that changes the rules

Tombstone R.I.P bundles an xNudge wild, a 2-cell xSplit wild that only drops on the last reel, and xRIP. Because of xRIP, every win smaller than the base bet disappears, and the official hit frequency drops to 9.08%. In exchange, the max win is 300,000x, and in the Boothill free spins the cowboy symbols carry multipliers from 5x to 999x. The max win probability is listed at 1 in 130 million. In January 2025, the same-family Tombstone Slaughter advertised a max win of 500,000x using the same xRIP-based design.

Duck Hunters (February 2025) – The latest combination formula

Duck Hunters pays on 8 or more scatter symbols and adds position multipliers on top. A 2x multiplier appears where symbols pop, and if the same spot wins again, the multiplier doubles, rising to a max of 8,192x. xWays turns into regular symbols and grows the multiplier in that spot by 2x, 4x or 8x, and in the free spins upgrade it becomes Infectious xWays. There is also an extra spin (xTra) that lets you buy one more spin after the round ends while keeping the position multipliers. RTP is 96.05% and max win is 30,000x.

Why does mixing them make the numbers bigger?

The principle behind x mechanic combinations is separating ‘expanding’ from ‘multiplying’ and letting them overlap. Take it as a simple calculation example to aid understanding (these are not actual game figures).

• Basics: a 5-reel, 3-row ways game has 3×3×3×3×3 = 243 ways.
• xWays alone: If xWays on reel 3 expands into 4 identical symbols, that reel becomes 6 cells, and the ways become 3×3×6×3×3 = 486.
• xSplit alone: If xSplit lands in one row of reel 5 and splits the same-row symbols on reels 1 to 4 on the left in two, reels 1 to 4 each become 4 cells, giving 4×4×4×4×3 = 768 ways.
• xNudge alone: On ways expanded like this, if a nudge wild shifts 3 cells, the multiplier rises from 1 to 4. The entire win amount becomes 4x.

When a device that increases ways (xWays, xSplit) and a device that raises multipliers (xNudge, xBomb, xZone) trigger together on the same screen, the results multiply. This is also why the Pixies vs Pirates press release stressed that when both features land on the same reel, the multiplier can rise up to 6x. xRIP and xBet, by contrast, are devices that adjust “when the big results come.”

Licensing – From Spearhead to Sneaky Slots

Nolimit City has lent its x-Mechanics to other companies as well.

• August 2020: announced a licensing agreement for xWays and xNudge with Spearhead Studios, a game developer under Evematrix. The result was Book of Spies Mission X, unveiled in October of the same year, which put both features in a 5×4 ways game and advertised a max win of 27,000x.
• August 2025: News emerged that Evolution’s new studio Sneaky Slots would be able to use xNudge, xWays, xBomb and others. Industry reports said the deal covers about 20 trademarked x mechanics. Sneaky Slots debuted on September 24, 2025 with Nip Tuck, then added xBomb to Freak Show Revelation on October 29, xNudge to Gofnik on November 26, and xZone to Gods Go Poo Poo in January 2026.

Studios within the same group sharing signature mechanics is similar to Big Time Gaming’s Megaways licensing, but on a much smaller scale. Even now, x mechanics can mostly be seen only in Nolimit City games.

How it differs from other providers’ signature features

With Big Time Gaming’s Megaways or Pragmatic Play’s tumble, a single feature forms the backbone of the game. The x-Mechanics are the opposite: closer to a “parts box” where many small devices are built in advance and pulled out in different combinations for each game. That is why even the same xWays has different detailed rules per game, such as a fixed 4 cells in San Quentin xWays, 2-4 cells in Punk Rocker, and positional multiplier amplification in Duck Hunters. It is also why, when reading Nolimit City game info, you should not assume a feature behaves just like it did in an earlier game based on its name alone.

Another difference is how the numbers are disclosed. Nolimit City’s official pages often list not only RTP and max win but also hit frequency and the “max win odds” (for example, 1 in 130 million). Reading these numbers together gives you a sense of how distant the max win multiplier really is.

What to keep in mind when reading official information

• Name and first appearance can differ: some prototype games, like Hot Nudge, were later classified as xNudge, and some features, like xBet, have different dates for classification and for when the name was first used. The timeline in this article draws on both official page classifications and press releases.
• Same name, different details: the extra cost of xBet varies by game, from 10% in Tombstone R.I.P to 100% in Disturbed. Always check the feature description of the game in question.
• Some games have low hit frequency: in games like the xRIP titles, where hit frequency hovers around 10%, long stretches of empty spins are normal.
• Max win is a cap: once you reach it, the round ends, and the odds of hitting max win are often in the tens of millions to one.
• The official page states that bonus buy and xBet may be unavailable in some regulated regions.

When you try a Nolimit City game in a free slot demo, start by checking the x-Mechanics logos at the bottom of the screen. Then watch which devices expand the ways and which raise multipliers, and how often the two overlap in the same spin, and you will see the character of that game. A demo is a tool for understanding features, and it should be kept separate from betting real money.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many x mechanics are there?

Nolimit City’s official blog picked 14 signature features to explain (15 if you count Reel xSplit) and noted that a few less-used ones exist as well. Industry reports say the company holds around 20 trademarks. Going by the official game page categories, xNudge, xBet, xWays and xSplit are the most used, followed by xTra, xGOD, xBomb and Infectious xWays.

What was the very first x mechanic?

In terms of when the names were attached, xWays and xNudge, which debuted together in Pixies vs Pirates in September 2019, came first. However, a wild whose multiplier rises with every nudge appeared earlier in Hot Nudge in July 2018, and the official site classifies that game as xNudge too.

Who owns Nolimit City now?

It is Evolution. Evolution announced an acquisition agreement worth up to 340 million euros (200 million euros upfront plus up to 140 million euros tied to performance) in June 2022, and completed the deal in August of the same year.

Can I see x-Mechanics in other providers’ games?

Yes, in some cases. In 2020, Spearhead Studios’ Book of Spies Mission X used xWays and xNudge under license, and since 2025 Sneaky Slots, under Evolution, has released games using xBomb, xNudge, xZone and more.

Does turning on xBet raise the RTP?

According to the official description, xBet only raises the odds of entering the bonus and does not change symbol payouts. In exchange, the cost per spin goes up. How the RTP changes differs from game to game, so check the game’s info screen.

Does a game with more x mechanics mean a better game?

Not necessarily. More features raise the chance of a big win, but they often come with higher volatility as well. Some games, like Duck Hunters, have few features yet still build huge numbers through their multiplier structure. It is more accurate to look at hit frequency and max win odds together rather than just the number of features.

Related reads

You can find a short definition of each x mechanic and the number of games using it in the wiki’s x mechanics entry, and company information in the Nolimit City entry. If you are curious about cascade structure, read the Tumble Complete Analysis, and to compare with other providers’ signature features, read the Megaways Complete Analysis as well.

Sources: Nolimit City official game pages (nolimitcity.com/games), Nolimit City official blog xMechanics Explained, Evolution press release (Cision, June 22, 2022), iGaming Business, European Gaming, Gambling Insider, CasinoBeats, Gaming Intelligence, LCB, Casinos.com, SBC News, Sneaky Slots official site and Playin game pages