Turkiye’s gaming sector, once hailed as a breakout success story in the global games market, is facing a period of recalibration. While earlier years saw record numbers of new startups and massive exits, recent data points to a maturing ecosystem marked by fewer newcomers, cautious investment, and selective scaling.
Startup activity: A sharp decline
The number of new gaming startups in Turkiye has dropped dramatically in recent years. After peaking with 186 new ventures in 2021, the trend has steadily declined to just 9 new startups in the first half of 2025.
Out of 1,153 total gaming startups founded in the last few years, 850 remain active, while 303 have shut down, signaling a more competitive, possibly saturated landscape.
Investment trends: Volume down, value holding steady
Investment deal flow has cooled compared to the highs of 2021, but capital is still flowing — albeit with more discretion. The first half of 2025 has seen 13 angel and VC deals amounting to $72.4 million, compared to 27 deals totaling $128.5 million in 2024.
Notable recent deals include:
Exits: A quiet year (so far)
Gaming exits in 2025 have yet to materialize, following a modest 2024 that saw $56.1 million in exit value. This marks a major drop from historic highs like 2020’s $2 billion — largely driven by the Peak acquisition.
Ecosystem Snapshot
Turkiye continues to build institutional support for its gaming ecosystem:
- 13 gaming incubators
- 22 accelerators
- 2 gaming clusters
- 2 unicorns
The ecosystem remains active with major local investors such as Ludus Ventures and Arcadia, each leading 3 deals in the past six months.
Historical Highlights
Top All-Time Exits:
- Peak Games – $1.8B
- Gram Games – $250M+
- Masomo – $200M
- Rollic – $180M
- Alictus (now SciPlay) – $100M
Top Acquirers:
- Zynga – 7 acquisitions
- Miniclip, Rovio, SciPlay – 1 each
All data referenced in this article is sourced from startups.watch and H2O Beyond Investment as of June 30, 2025. You can check out the data here.
