Griffin Gaming Partners has been steadily increasing its presence in Turkiye’s games industry, backing high-potential studios such as Spyke Games and Fuse Games with significant early-stage investments.
As the region continues to grow in global relevance, Griffin’s activity highlights both the market’s potential and the types of teams attracting international capital.
In this interview, İbrahim Hafeez discusses the firm’s approach to investing in Turkiye, the qualities it looks for in founders, and the role it aims to play in supporting the country’s gaming ecosystem.
Why has Griffin Gaming Partners been investing time and resources in Turkiye over the last few years? How do you see the opportunity evolving?
We see Turkiye as one of the world’s most important gaming markets, especially in mobile. It has an exceptional track record with studios like Peak, Rollic, Spyke, and Dream Games producing globally successful puzzle and hyper-casual hits.
That success isn’t accidental. It reflects a strong product culture, a talent pool that deeply understands building, testing, and scaling mobile games profitably, and a cost base that makes these teams highly competitive internationally.
What makes it even more compelling is how quickly the ecosystem is evolving. We’re seeing second- and third-generation founders leaving these successful companies to start new ones, pushing beyond hyper/casual into hybridcore, midcore, even PC and cross-platform projects. There’s also a clear wave of consumer AI companies and infrastructure startups emerging to support that growth.
That’s exactly why we’ve been investing time and resources here over the last few years—and why I’m here on the ground. For us, it’s not just about writing checks. It’s about spending time with the founders, understanding how they think about team-building, monetization, live ops, user acquisition, and then figuring out where we can be most helpful.
Our approach is to be the go-to partner for founders at every stage—from first-check seed to growth. We want to be the first call for any Turkish founder starting something new, scaling up, or looking for a partner who understands not just the local market but how to win globally.
Long-term, we believe Turkiye will continue to be a leading hub for global mobile development, but also a source of breakout cross-platform IP and innovative AI-driven production. We want to invest early in that transition and help local founders fully capture that opportunity.
What kind of studios or founders do you think have the biggest opportunity to succeed here?
The teams with the biggest opportunity here are the ones that combine Turkiye’s strengths in lean, data-driven mobile production with a real ambition to innovate on game design or genre. Historically, the country’s success has come from strong product intuition, tight team execution, and an obsessive focus on monetization and UA efficiency. Founders who understand that playbook and know when to break it are the ones we think will win.
We’re especially excited about second- or third-time founders and experienced product leaders who are now looking to start their own studios. These are people who’ve already seen what good looks like at scale. When they set out to build something new, they often do it with better networks, clearer visions, and the credibility to attract talent and capital.
We’re also looking at studios moving beyond hyper-casual into hybrid-casual and advanced casual experiences, with real innovation in core gameplay and monetization design. Players are becoming more sophisticated, and Turkiye’s next wave of studios can deliver richer, more engaging gameplay while maintaining the commercial discipline that’s defined their success so far.
Finally, there’s a growing layer of founders working on infrastructure, live ops tooling, and consumer AI, helping other studios build better, cheaper, and faster. That part of the ecosystem is still early, but we think it’s a natural extension of Turkiye’s strength in production.
Overall, we’re backing founders who know how to ship, test, and learn quickly but who are also thinking about how to build lasting IP and teams that can scale globally.
How does Griffin work with early-stage founders compared to more established studios? What does “being a partner” mean beyond just capital?
For us, “partner” isn’t just a label; it’s about meeting founders where they are, understanding what they need next, and then figuring out how we can actually help deliver it.
With early-stage teams, that often means being their first institutional believer. We roll up our sleeves to help them think through hiring plans, product roadmaps, monetization strategy, and IP development. We also leverage our network to connect them with other founders, product leaders, and IP holders who can help them level up quickly. Early-stage is where you earn long-term trust by showing you’re willing to go deep with them when it matters most.
With more established studios, our role shifts toward being a strategic growth partner. That might be helping them think about new platform expansion, BD partnerships, or M&A strategy. We’ve supported teams in their negotiations with publishers, in mapping out global UA strategies, and even in exploring exits. It’s about helping them scale smartly while staying founder-led.
In both cases, it’s never just about writing a check. It’s about having a real relationship with the team, understanding their vision, and being the call they make when something breaks, or when they’re about to make the next big move. Our whole philosophy is that if you show up for founders consistently, especially in moments of uncertainty, you become the partner they want to work with for the long run.
You’ve been meeting with founders, product leaders, investors, accelerators, universities, and even government stakeholders. What role do you see Griffin playing in helping develop Turkiye’s gaming ecosystem?
We see our role here as being much more than just an investor. Turkiye already has a remarkable track record in gaming, but the next phase of growth will depend on building stronger connections between founders, product leaders, investors, publishers, and even institutions. That’s where we can really add value.
Part of it is being on the ground, meeting everyone from early founders to seasoned product leaders, VCs, accelerators, universities, and government stakeholders, and understanding what they need to go from good to great. We want to help founders think globally from day one, connect them to partners who can help them scale, and share hard-won lessons from other markets.
We also see ourselves as helping signal the strength of the Turkish ecosystem internationally. By showing we’re willing to invest our time and resources here, and by leading rounds early, we can help attract more global capital and attention to the local scene.
Ultimately, our goal is to be the partner that founders here want at every stage of their journey. If we do our job right, Turkiye won’t just be known for mobile puzzle hits, it’ll be a place where world-class IP is built, new genres are defined, and local talent has the resources to own the upside.
What do you think founders in Turkiye should be thinking about as they build their teams and plan for the next stage of growth?
I think the first thing is to stay clear-eyed about what Turkiye does really well and then decide where to push beyond that. The talent here is world-class at fast iteration, data-driven design, and monetization efficiency. That foundation is a huge advantage. But as the market gets more competitive and players get more sophisticated, there’s an opportunity to invest in deeper gameplay, stronger IP, and more sustainable player retention.
So my advice is: don’t just think about the first hit—think about the studio you want to become. Build teams that can own the full stack of production, from game design to live ops to user acquisition, but also invest in creative leadership that can push genre boundaries.
Also, think globally from day one. Turkish teams have proven they can compete in the biggest markets. That means building processes that scale, understanding UA in the U.S. and Europe, and thinking about partnerships or M&A opportunities early.
Finally, I’d say don’t be afraid to ask for help. Whether it’s other founders, investors like us, or publishers, there’s a lot of experience out there that can save you time and money. The best founders know how to use their networks to move faster and smarter.
Investor at Griffin Gaming Partners
