Between 2020 and 2021, Turkiye experienced a boom in hypercasual game development. With easy-to-use tools, publisher support, and low entry barriers, many small studios and indie developers rushed into the space. Simple prototypes were enough to land deals, and with the right metrics, studios could scale quickly and reach millions of users.
In 2025, a new wave is taking shape, this time around AI-powered consumer apps. These lightweight, subscription-driven applications are proving to be a new playground for mobile developers, offering quick monetization and lower technical overhead compared to game development.
Thanks to accessible AI tools and frameworks, developers can build solutions that address specific user needs and begin generating revenue quickly. A well-designed app today can earn $2,000 to $3,000 per month, allowing solo developers or small teams to operate sustainably without relying on external publishers or aggressive UA strategies.
Compared to games, building an AI app is simpler. It requires less complex art, no gamification layers, and minimal production pipelines. With a strong UI and a clear user problem to solve, developers can find traction in weeks. For many in Turkiye’s growing mobile developer community, this route is beginning to look more viable than building games from scratch.
New Players, New Strategies
One of the clearest signs of this shift is the rise of companies like Codeway, a fast-scaling Turkiye-based app studio. With over 300 employees, Codeway has opened a hub in Barcelona, not just for geographic expansion but to gain access to a broader international talent pool. This move reflects how serious Turkiye’s top AI app companies are about scaling globally.
Investor activity is heating up, too. Boby.ai, a Turkish AI app startup, recently raised $1.25 million in seed funding led by London Venture Partners. Around the same time, FERASET, known for building creative AI tools, secured $4.5 million from Play Ventures and e2vc. These are early signs of venture capital attention shifting toward AI apps, especially from firms that previously focused exclusively on gaming.
Even traditional gaming companies are adapting. Some have started selling off their mobile game portfolios to focus entirely on AI consumer apps, seeing a more scalable and stable business opportunity in the subscription-driven utility space. Game publishers who once thrived in the hypercasual era are now betting on this new direction.
As this ecosystem evolves, we’ll likely see the rise of AI-first app publishers, marketing agencies, and growth specialists, much like what emerged around hypercasual between 2019 and 2022. In fact, Mobidictum Conference 2025 will host a significant number of consumer app companies for the first time, joining the usual crowd of game studios and publishers.
As AI consumer apps continue to gain momentum, 2025 may be the year that defines Turkiye’s next wave of mobile success stories. With strong local talent, increasing global interest, and early traction in place, all signs point toward a major transformation. Whether this new wave can match the scale and impact of the hypercasual boom remains to be seen, but the foundation is clearly set.
