The State of Turkish Gaming Ecosystem 2023 report is published by Invest in Türkiye. The report gives an in-depth analysis and evaluation of the Turkish gaming ecosystem, going into full detail of the journey since its early days.
Türkiye’s gaming landscape has undergone a transformative journey since the early 2000s, evolving from local successes in online gaming to a thriving ecosystem boasting significant achievements and substantial growth. The industry gained momentum in the early 2010s with the advent of social gaming, then accelerated further with the mobile gaming boom in 2012. However, it wasn’t until 2017 that Türkiye truly made waves, captivating game developers and investors alike with a string of successful exits.
During the pandemic, the game industry experienced its zenith, resulting in the emergence of two unicorns. However, the industry faced a downturn in the first quarter of 2022 due to multiple factors, including the end of the pandemic, geopolitical tensions such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and global financial concerns like the money shortage attributed to the FED and ECB policy changes. Despite these challenges, the acquisition of Good Job Games’ portfolio toward the end of 2022 and into 2023 served as a robust indicator of the game industry’s resilience and vitality.
Presently, the Türkiye gaming ecosystem thrives with 740 active game studios backed by 12 game incubation centers, 21 acceleration programs, two game clusters, and eight dedicated game-focused investment funds. While the rate of new game startups declined post-pandemic, Türkiye stands out as Europe’s second-largest hub for game studios, trailing only behind the UK regarding the sheer number of active game development entities. The Turkish gaming industry continues flourishing, demonstrating resilience and maintaining a promising position within the broader European gaming landscape.
Batuhan Avucan, Founder & Managing Director of Mobidictum, shared his insights, saying:
“The Turkish games industry is rapidly evolving. At Mobidictum, we are closely observing the changes happening in the local industry. Türkiye successfully combined the easy money era with the rise of hyper-casual and grew its ecosystem. Hundreds of new game companies of different sizes emerged.
Even though the market is having hard times with the global economic slowdown, local game companies are shifting their focus to more long-term projects. Many of them moved to PC, which makes the industry more balanced instead of a mobile-dependent ecosystem. We are seeing amazing indie game studios coming up with successful titles.In the coming years, Türkiye will keep its importance of amazing talent. Teams full of ambitions will keep growing the industry. We see a rising interest each year by welcoming more and more internationals to visit our conference in autumn. The global scene is eager to meet with Turkish studios to invest and do business.
The investment scene is still active, and there are many opportunities. Anyone who wants to enter the market should understand the business culture and have local partners to navigate through the ecosystem.“
The Turkish gaming sector, despite appearing to have a reduced need for investors, has sparked significant interest among investment circles due to its vibrant dynamism and promising exit opportunities. This enthusiasm has translated into establishing eight dedicated funds exclusively targeting the Turkish gaming industry within the last couple of years. These specialized gaming-focused funds signify the growing allure of the sector and its potential for lucrative returns.
