Developed by Lefto Studio, founded by 25-year-old Ufuk Girit, and published by TARK Games, BOMBANANA! sold 1 million copies on Steam within its first 10 days. Ahead of launch, the game had surpassed 1 million Steam wishlists and attracted more than 6 million demo players, adding another global PC success story to Türkiye’s games industry.
Türkiye’s games industry has marked another global success. BOMBANANA!, a three-player co-op party game developed by Lefto Studio and published by TARK Games, surpassed 1 million copies sold just 10 days after its release on Steam.
The game had already shown strong momentum ahead of launch. BOMBANANA! surpassed 1 million Steam wishlists before release, while its demo was played by more than 6 million players worldwide.
BOMBANANA! is also the first game published by TARK Games, the independent PC and console publisher founded in Istanbul in 2025.
Türkiye’s mobile gaming success is expanding into PC and console
Over the past decade, Türkiye has become one of the world’s notable gaming ecosystems through the global companies, investments, and exits created by its mobile games industry. More recently, the impact of this accumulated talent and experience has become increasingly visible across PC and console development.
Following the worldwide reach of independent PC games from Türkiye such as Supermarket Simulator and Liar’s Bar, BOMBANANA! has become one of the latest examples of this broader shift.
TARK Games Co-Founder İlker Ergen commented:
“Türkiye’s games industry has deservedly become known for its success in mobile. But the developer talent, entrepreneurial culture, and game development experience built over the past decade are not limited to mobile platforms. We are now starting to see more of the results of that experience in PC and console games. Supermarket Simulator, Liar’s Bar, and now BOMBANANA! show us that these are not isolated successes. Türkiye has many small, highly talented teams capable of creating games for global audiences. We believe Türkiye can become a much more visible development hub for independent PC and console games in the years ahead.”
Global success from a 25-year-old Turkish developer
BOMBANANA! was developed by Lefto Studio, founded by 25-year-old developer Ufuk Girit.
At the center of the game is a simple communication mechanic designed to create new and unpredictable situations between players. Three players take on the roles of three monkeys who are blind, deaf, and mute, with each player having access to only part of the information required to defuse the bomb.
Communication, misunderstandings, and collaborative problem-solving therefore become the core of the gameplay experience.
Lefto Studio Founder Ufuk Girit described the game’s journey:
“From the beginning, we wanted to create a game that was easy to understand but could generate different moments every time people played it. The fun of BOMBANANA! really comes from the players themselves: how they communicate, how they misunderstand each other, and how they try to solve problems together. The response we received during the demo period went far beyond what we initially imagined. Millions of players tried the game, shared it with their friends, and helped shape its development through their feedback. As a small independent team, seeing that turn into a launch like this has been an incredible experience for us.”
A publisher from Türkiye built to operate globally
BOMBANANA! is the first game published by TARK Games, which was founded in 2025 by İlker Ergen and İbrahim Yıldırım.
Although headquartered in Istanbul, TARK Games was structured from the beginning not as a local publisher working exclusively with developers in Türkiye, but as a global PC and console publisher.
The company currently has 10 games in its publishing pipeline, with approximately half being developed by studios based outside Türkiye.
TARK Games works with independent developers across development financing, production, player research, marketing, creator relations, and global platform management.
One of the core principles of its publishing model is that TARK Games does not take equity in the development studios it works with.
In 2025, TARK Games raised $2.5 million in a funding round led by Ludus Ventures, with participation from APY Ventures and Maxis Ventures, positioning the company as Türkiye’s first VC-backed independent PC and console publisher.
TARK Games Co-Founder İbrahim Yıldırım explained the company’s approach:
“When we founded TARK Games, one principle was very clear to us: we want to share in the success of the game a developer creates, not take ownership in the developer’s company. Company ownership and creative freedom are extremely important for independent developers. We want the studio and its future to remain in the hands of its founders. Our role is to strengthen the structure around the team through financing, production experience, marketing, data, and platform relationships, giving a strong game the best possible chance of succeeding globally. We come from Türkiye, but our publishing strategy has been global from day one. Today, approximately half of the games in our pipeline come from studios outside Türkiye. We want to build TARK Games into a publisher that ambitious independent developers want to work with regardless of where they are based.”
Why Lefto Studio chose to work with TARK Games
For Ufuk Girit, this approach played an important role in Lefto Studio’s decision to work with TARK Games.
“As an independent developer, maintaining our creative control and ownership of the studio was very important to me. We were looking for a publisher that could expand what we were capable of doing without changing the things that made us independent. TARK Games supported us in areas such as global marketing, platform relations, and launch strategy while allowing us to remain focused on developing the game.”
The goal is not a single successful game
TARK Games views the success of BOMBANANA! not simply as a standalone hit, but as one of the first major indicators of its publishing model.
Among the company’s upcoming publishing projects is Monster Cuisine, developed by another Turkish studio, Team Machiavelli.
For TARK Games, the growth of Türkiye’s independent PC ecosystem represents one part of a broader global opportunity.
İlker Ergen continued:
“Our goal is not to publish one successful game or become a publisher focused on a single market. We want to build a repeatable model that helps exceptional independent teams reach global audiences. “Türkiye is particularly exciting for us because we are now seeing a new wave of PC and console developers coming out of an ecosystem that has already proven itself in mobile. But we see similar opportunities in different parts of the world. The fact that around half of our current pipeline comes from outside Türkiye is an important part of how we are building TARK Games. There are talented developers all over the world. What is often missing is the infrastructure around them: early-stage financing, production support, market knowledge, publishing experience, and access to global players. That is the gap we want to help close.
BOMBANANA! is coming to mobile in October
BOMBANANA!’s journey will not be limited to PC. The mobile version of the game is scheduled for release in October.
Lefto Studio and TARK Games are also continuing development of console versions of BOMBANANA!.
Further details regarding console platforms and release dates will be announced at a later date.
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