Hot Ross

By Zena Grantham | Updated 19 February 2026

Hot Ross is a video slot developed by Hacksaw Gaming that launched on 26^th February 2026. Hot Ross sees the return of the monochrome, gritty backstreets featuring Ross the Cat and Maxx the mouse. The duo was first introduced in RIP City and later featured in Rad Maxx, but this time the focus is firmly on Maxx as he rules the streets on his patch.

The slot shares many similarities with RIP City, featuring expanding wilds and multipliers up to 200x. Hot Ross also features three bonus features: Cat Calls, Nine Lives and Big Boss Ross, along with a packed feature buy menu.

Technical

Hot Ross features 5 reels, 5 rows and 19 fixed paylines. It is available on desktop and mobile devices with bets ranging from 10p to £50 per spin (Note: The max bet per spin in the UK is capped at £5). It’s classified as highly volatile with a slightly above average RTP of 96.32% and a max win of 15,000x the bet per spin.

Design and Symbols

Set in a grimy backstreet, it’s not the sort of place to be out alone at night! It is designed in Hacksaw’s signature grey, white and black monochrome with splashes of bright pink and yellow. Graffiti and spray paint smeared on the walls. It is a bleak outlook, but the bawdy, jazz soundtrack breaks the monotony and adds depth to the rundown theme.

On the reels are the card suits, awarding 5 to 10x the bet for 5 matching symbols on a payline. The top-paying symbols are fish bones, a spray can, a banana, a dice, and an 8-ball. Five matching high-paying symbols award between 15 and 20x the bet. The bomb is the Wild, while the Scatter is a blue and white icon with ‘FS’ letters.

Features

The features in Hot Ross are similar to the original RIP City, with Expanding and Wild mechanics driving the action. There is an additional upgraded Ross symbol and a third bonus round. Let’s take a closer look.

Ross and Hot Ross symbols

If a Ross or a Hot Ross symbol lands, it will expand if it creates a win. If not, it does not expand.

Additionally, an expanded Ross or Hot Ross symbol acts as a Wild across all the expanded positions.

If the symbol does not expand, it acts as a single Wild on its position. Only a single Ross symbol can land on a reel at any time.

Ross symbols expand downwards from their position. HR symbols jump to the top of the reel and proceed to expand downwards to cover the entire reel, creating a fully Wild reel.

If a Ross or Hot Ross symbol expands via the Wild, the Wild transforms into a multiplier worth between 2x and 200x and is added to all Ross positions. If multiple expansions pass through multiple Wilds, the multiplier values are added together, and the combined multiplier is added to the final win value.

Cat Calls

Landing 3 Scatters during the base game awards 10 free spins. During the free spins, Ross and Hot Ross symbols appear more frequently.

Nine Lives

Landing 4 Scatters during a base game spin awards 10 free spins. Any Ross or Hot Ross symbols landing trigger their respective reels, and a Ross or Hot Ross symbol is guaranteed on every spin.

Big Boss Ross

Big Boss Ross is the most lucrative round and triggers 10 free spins. However, you’ll now get at least two Hot Ross symbols and a Wil on every spin. Landing 2 or 3 Scatters during the bonus rounds awards 2 or 4 extra free spins.

Bonus Buy (Not available in the UK)

The slot features a bonus buy menu for those who would rather skip the grind and dive into the features.

3x the bet – for 5x the chance of triggering a bonus

60x the bet – guarantees at least 3 Ross symbols on every spin

100x the bet – awards Cat Calls

200x the bet – awards Nine Lives

1,000x the bet -guarantees 5 Ross symbols and at least 3 Wilds on each spin

1,000x the bet – awards Big Boss Ross

Verdict

Although Hacksaw Gaming opted for the signature, monochrome colour scheme and kept the features fairly similar to its predecessor, there are a couple of extras like the Ross and Hot Ross symbols to spice things up a bit. That said, it is not unconventional, but it offers enough extras to prevent it from becoming a clone of the original. The fully expanded reels offer endless win potential when the Ross and Hot Ross symbols align. All in all, Hot Ross is worth exploring.

Hot Ross FAQs

Zena Grantham

News Editor at Slotfruit

Zena Grantham has been part of the Slotfruit team since the very beginning, making her one of the site’s longest-serving contributors. As news editor, she is responsible for the majority of Slotfruit’s industry news coverage – from UKGC enforcement actions and regulatory developments to major slot releases and record-breaking jackpot wins.

With well over 15 years of experience in the UK gambling sector, Zena has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the industry. She tracks everything from licensing changes and operator consolidations to emerging trends in game design, and her reporting keeps Slotfruit readers ahead of the curve on the stories that matter.

Zena’s writing is grounded in accuracy and a genuine understanding of how the industry works – both for operators and players. Whether it’s a £3.6 million jackpot win or a major policy shift from the Gambling Commission, she makes sure the facts are straight and the context is clear.

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