Fifteen years of the Black Knight: how a 2011 classic still holds court
From land-based cabinet to Evolution — one dynasty, five machines, no abdication.
The oldest knight in this codex was struck in November 2011 and has never really left the floor. Black Knight began as a WMS cabinet game — one expanding symbol, thirty paylines, a horn on the soundtrack — and it has been rebuilt four times since by the company that inherited the WMS catalogue. Fifteen years is a long reign for a slot, and the line is worth reading as a history of how the genre changed around it.
The dynasty, in order
The machines, in order, with workshop, date struck and published RTP. Black Knight — Eurasian Gaming, 2025-02-21, no figure published. Black Knight II — WMS, 2014-03-11, 95.91%. Mighty Black Knight — Light & Wonder, 2017-05-25, 96.00%. Mighty Black Knight Wonder 500 — Light & Wonder, 2023-06-14, 94.00%. Black Knight Evolution — Light & Wonder, 2025-02-27, 94.00%.
A sixth Black Knight exists, from an unrelated workshop, and is entered in the dynasty chapter with its maker named. A shared title is not a shared game, and the register never pretends otherwise.
2011: one idea, done properly
The original has exactly one mechanic — the knight expands to fill a reel — and it works because everything else is out of its way. Published at 94.90% and declared medium volatility, it plays like what it is: a floor machine that came online with its manners intact.
2014 and 2017: the sequels raise the number
Black Knight II adds sticky wilds and a multiplier and lifts the published return to 95.91%. Mighty Black Knight, the first under Light & Wonder, reaches 96.00% — the highest figure the line has ever carried. Both keep the expanding knight. This is the dynasty at its best: the same idea, tuned.
2023 and 2025: more engine, less return
The Wonder 500 rebuild bolts a reelset-changing engine onto the old art and publishes at 94.00%. Black Knight Evolution, in 2025, drops paylines for a multiway engine and publishes at 94.00% as well, with no volatility declared at all. Both are more elaborate than the 2011 original and both return less on paper, which is a pattern worth noticing across the whole register: added machinery is frequently paid for out of the return.
What that means at the reels: nothing dramatic in a short session, and quite a lot across a long one. Two points of return on NZ$2,000 of turnover is NZ$40 of expected difference — the price of the newer feature set.
Which Black Knight to play in 2026
On the published figures, Mighty Black Knight at 96.00% is the pick of the line, with Black Knight II close behind. The 2011 original remains the purest version of the idea and costs a point of return for the privilege. The two newest machines are for players who want the modern engines and have read what they cost.
All of these are in the register with their figures. Casinos may run a lower certified setting of any of them — the game's own info panel is the last word. Play is R18, and the Gambling Helpline (NZ) is free and confidential on 0800 654 655.