Mobidictum Founder & Managing Director Batuhan Avucan joined Tenjin’s ROI 101 podcast, where he spoke with Tenjin Account Executive and Country Manager for Türkiye, Tabarak Paracha, about how Türkiye has evolved into one of the world’s leading mobile gaming and app ecosystems.
Highlights from the conversation
Why Türkiye became a global mobile gaming hub
- Peak Games’ success extended beyond gaming—it became the first unicorn in Türkiye and proved that globally successful technology companies could be built locally.
- Peak Games acted as a catalyst for the entire startup ecosystem by inspiring entrepreneurs and investors alike.
- Batuhan argues that Turkish founders excel at executing and improving proven ideas rather than pursuing completely novel concepts.
- Mobile gaming’s borderless nature allowed Turkish studios to compete directly in the US and global markets instead of being limited by the domestic market.
- Fast development cycles and rapid iteration in mobile games matched the entrepreneurial culture in Türkiye, where founders generally prefer quicker validation over multi-year development timelines.
- Success created a self-reinforcing effect: once founders saw that billion-dollar companies could be built in Istanbul, many believed they could replicate that success.
Was Türkiye really the “perfect laboratory” for mobile gaming?
- The discussion revisits claims that Türkiye’s young population and expensive console hardware naturally pushed consumers toward mobile gaming. Batuhan partially agrees but challenges the idea that Turkish studios primarily test games in their home market. According to him, most Turkish mobile studios target the US from the very beginning because that is where commercial validation happens.
- Batuhan believes the high cost of consoles likely encouraged more people to play mobile games but questions whether it directly inspired founders to create mobile game companies.
- Batuhan also highlights the fundamental difference between PC/console development and mobile gaming, describing mobile games as heavily driven by mathematics, analytics, retention, and monetization rather than traditional game design.
Government incentives and their real impact
- Government cashback programs for marketing tools and user acquisition provide Turkish companies with a meaningful competitive advantage.
- Batuhan argues these programs are better described as cashback schemes rather than incentives because companies spend the money first before being reimbursed.
- Delays in reimbursement reduce some of their financial value due to currency depreciation.
- Despite their usefulness, he believes Türkiye’s gaming industry would still have become successful without these programs because of strong venture capital support and entrepreneurial talent.
- Additional benefits such as tax advantages in technoparks further strengthen the ecosystem by lowering operational costs.
Iteration over innovation
- The discussion explores Akın Babayiğit’s philosophy that mobile gaming is fundamentally an execution business rather than an innovation business.
- Instead of inventing completely new genres, successful companies continuously improve existing mechanics.
- Batuhan largely agrees but notes that today’s market is becoming more competitive due to AI-assisted development and stronger competition from countries such as Vietnam.
- He questions whether future success may eventually require more innovation as mobile gaming becomes increasingly crowded.
- Even so, execution, LiveOps, and disciplined product iteration remain core strengths of Turkish studios.
What successful Turkish studios have in common
- Rather than attributing success solely to Peak Games alumni, Batuhan points to resilience as the defining characteristic of successful Turkish founders.
- He highlights companies such as Dream Games, Rollic, Masomo, Gram Games, Ruby Games, Alictus, and Loom Games as examples of different paths to success.
- Batuhan emphasizes persistence, arguing that successful founders continue pushing through setbacks instead of blaming market conditions.
Why fewer mobile gaming startups are being founded
- The number of new mobile gaming startups has declined as the industry has matured.
- Mobile gaming has become significantly harder to enter than during the hypercasual boom of 2020–2021.
- Founders now require stronger metrics, clearer business plans, and more capital before launching studios.
- Some entrepreneurs are instead choosing PC game development or mobile app businesses, both of which have become increasingly attractive.
- Batuhan also notes that many investment rounds are no longer publicly announced, making the ecosystem appear quieter than it actually is.
The future of Turkish technology and gaming
- Batuhan expects more unicorns to emerge, with Grand Games positioned as the strongest candidate to become Türkiye’s fourth unicorn.
- Continued venture capital investment is expected to produce additional exits across gaming and mobile apps.
- He hopes to see stronger consolidation within the industry, with successful Turkish companies acquiring smaller domestic studios rather than immediately selling themselves internationally.
- On the PC gaming side, he believes Türkiye still needs a globally transformative success story comparable to Peak Games in mobile.
- He also predicts continued evolution from hypercasual toward increasingly sophisticated casual experiences.
Long-term vision for the ecosystem
- Batuhan expresses hope that Turkish companies will eventually think beyond individual games and build long-term entertainment brands.
- He imagines companies like Dream Games potentially expanding into films, entertainment, or even theme parks rather than remaining solely game developers.
- He believes one of Türkiye’s biggest challenges is maintaining long-term visionary thinking amid an uncertain economic environment.
- He concludes that the ecosystem will continue producing more funding rounds, exits, and global companies, while Mobidictum aims to become one of the world’s five largest gaming conferences.
Most of the data on the conversation comes from “The State of Gaming Turkish Gaming Ecosystem” report by Startups.watch and Invest in Türkiye.
The full video is available on Tenjin’s YouTube Channel.
