Türkiye’s gaming startup ecosystem has grown globally in recent times, pushed primarily by a mix of high-profile exits, substantial investments, rising curiosity within the subject and modern entrepreneurs.
The trade’s evolution from its humble beginnings underscores its exceptional trajectory to a thriving ecosystem.
The roots of Türkiye’s gaming trade date again to the early 2000s, when early digital video games like Backgammon and Okey emerged on platforms comparable to Superonline and Mynet. Initially powered by Java and later transitioning to Flash-based variations, these video games set the stage for the trade’s future growth.
Before 2010, Türkiye’s gaming ecosystem was constructed on bootstrapped ventures, missing enterprise capital (VC) corporations, angel networks or institutional funding help, aside from a single Fund of Funds (VC), in response to Invest in Türkiye.
This modified with the arrival of exterior investments in 2009 and 2010, catalyzing the expansion of startups like Peak Games (later acquired by Zynga), Markafoni (later acquired by Naspers) and Trendyol (later acquired by Alibaba). These successes laid the inspiration for a sturdy VC-backed startup ecosystem.
Mobile gaming leads the cost
Mobile gaming has develop into the dominant platform in Türkiye, with 44 million gamers recorded in 2023. Casual and puzzle video games resonate strongly with native preferences, driving regular progress.
Dream Games, a standout within the sector, secured the biggest share of investments in 2021 and 2022, in response to Mobidictum.
Burak Yılmaz, CEO of the Istanbul-based gaming firm Weplay Ventures, lately informed Anadolu Agency (AA) that Türkiye ranks among the many prime international locations on this planet concerning cellular gaming.
Stressing that Turkish corporations are making probably the most cash after American and Israeli corporations on cellular gaming, Yılmaz famous that the nation’s younger inhabitants is a pivotal driving issue within the trade’s progress.
He additionally famous that Türkiye wants to enhance its constructions in laptop and different gaming platforms past cellular, including that diversification of genres would propel the nation additional within the international trade.
Speaking to AA, Barış Özistek, chairperson of Istanbul-based gaming firm Joygame, additionally emphasised the surge in Turkiye’s cellular recreation ecosystem in recent times. “Especially in the last 10 years, the mobile game ecosystem developed super-fast. Right now, we have more than 500 game companies in Türkiye,” he famous.
In distinction to the cellular gaming sector, console and PC gaming have skilled declines, with participant numbers falling to 11 million and 20 million, respectively. Despite this, the sector’s diversification efforts maintain promise to broaden its attain.
High-profile exits drive progress
Peak Games’ $1.8 billion acquisition by Zynga in 2020 marked a turning level for Türkiye’s gaming trade because the nation’s first unicorn.
Highlighting the influence of this occasion, Yılmaz stated 20 gaming corporations had been born from Peak Games following the corporate’s exit in 2020, including that the evolution of this realm as a “stable” trade is a “process that might take some time.”
Özistek echoed these sentiments, noting the trade’s evolution since Joygame’s acquisition by South Korean big Netmarble in 2013. “That was the first time a game company exited Türkiye. And that was the first time a global, multinational game company invested in that region, not only in Türkiye but also in Eastern Europe and the Middle East region.”
By the mid-2010s, accelerators and buyers within the gaming world more and more acknowledged the significance of globalization, prompting a surge in visits and packages centered round Silicon Valley.
This marked a pivotal shift as entrepreneurs started specializing in coming into new markets and increasing their attain past native boundaries.
In parallel with this example, Türkiye has witnessed rising overseas curiosity in acquisitions and partnerships, solidifying its place as a key contributor to the worldwide gaming trade and a promising vacation spot for buyers looking for modern, high-growth alternatives.
Istanbul has develop into a thriving gaming hub
Today, Istanbul is a locomotive behind this fast progress as Europe’s second-largest gaming hub by way of studio density, second solely to London.
This progress is supported by 13 game-focused enterprise funds and accelerators that present early-stage funding and strategic steering, empowering native expertise to scale their ventures effectively.
Özistek underscored Türkiye’s “perfect” location to grasp each Asian and European cultures, saying: “That’s why our culture, our creative culture and our development capabilities all fit to the game industry. Then, the investments followed that trend.”
Both Yılmaz and Özistek agree that AI shall be a pivotal component in gaming’s future. They even have comparable opinions on the expansion of the Turkish gaming sector, indicating that the market in Türkiye is predicted to witness a surge at a price even sooner than the worldwide tendencies.
Yılmaz famous that the Turkish gaming market, value roughly $1.5 billion, will exceed $2 billion within the subsequent two years.
“Türkiye will keep growing,” states Özistek.
According to him, the nation instructions a rising share of the worldwide market, estimated to whole between $205 and $210 billion in 2024, because of its “very successful companies and they are growing significantly every year.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com