Turkish gaming industry eyes next Turcorn

Three of Türkiye’s eight Turcorns come from the gaming sector as Turkish mobile game developers rapidly expand their global revenues and ability to attract investment.

According to information from a report prepared by mobile app market research platform AppMagic and mobile gaming content platform Gamigion, Türkiye’s gaming industry is making a major impact on the global market, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.

As Türkiye’s gaming industry continues to develop rapidly, its success has also been reflected in the “Turcorn 100” list. With the growing impact of artificial intelligence on the sector, the wider adoption of 5G and an increase in the number of companies operating in the industry, many brands have emerged in the spotlight.

The gaming industry’s journey toward producing billion-dollar companies began with Peak Games, which reached a valuation of $1 billion. Dream Games and Loom Games followed.

3 of 8 Turcorns are from gaming

Three of Türkiye’s eight existing Turcorns are gaming companies: Peak Games, Dream Games and Loom Games.

Dream Games’ Royal Match and Royal Kingdom have generated more than $5.2 billion in total in-app purchase revenue since their launches.

Peak Games’ Toy Blast and Toon Blast had generated more than $3.4 billion in revenue as of April, while Match Factory had surpassed $432 million.

Loom Games, founded last year, reached a valuation of more than $1 billion in less than a year. Its game Pixel Flow generated more than $77 million in in-app purchase revenue.

The success of these three gaming companies is also reflected in the “Turcorn 100” program, which includes companies with the potential to become Turcorns. The list currently features 43 Turcorn candidates, seven of which are gaming companies: Ace Academy, Good Job Games, Hypermonk Games, Loop Games, Mega Fortuna, Motion Blur and UDO Games.

Türkiye stands out in the sector

The global in-app purchase revenue of Turkish game developers rose from $504 million in 2020 to more than $2.76 billion in 2025. This represents an increase of approximately 450 percent over six years, with average annual growth reaching 42 percent.

Turkish developers’ share of global mobile gaming in-app purchase revenue also increased from 1 percent to 5 percent during the same period. While the global mobile gaming market grew by only 3 percent in 2025, Türkiye performed significantly better than the overall market.

In Türkiye’s domestic market, revenue from mobile games increased by 6 percent last year to $347 million, reaching an all-time high. Although the number of downloads fell by 4 percent to 1.8 billion, the rise in revenue indicates that the sector has begun generating more value from existing players rather than relying primarily on acquiring new users.

97 percent of revenue comes from puzzle games

Puzzle games accounted for 96.9 percent of Turkish developers’ revenue, while strategy games represented only 0.9 percent.

Among Turkish gaming companies, Dream Games ranked first in in-app purchase revenue last year with $1.7 billion. It was followed by Peak Games with $619.7 million and Rollic Games with $207 million.

The number of Turkish game developers also increased 3.1-fold compared with 2020.

Investment appetite remains strong

Total investment raised by Turkish mobile game developers since 2009 has reached $3.6 billion.

Dream Games’ $2.5 billion investment deal in 2025 was a sector record, exceeding the combined amount of investments received by other Turkish mobile game developers since 2009.

The sector saw an average of 24 investment rounds announced each year, with investor interest accelerating significantly after 2020. Even excluding Dream Games, $234.03 million was invested in the sector last year, 32 times the level recorded in 2020.

The next Turcorn could also come from gaming

The report also identified another Turkish gaming company as a potential candidate to become the country’s next Turcorn.

Grand Games, founded in January 2024, received its first $3 million investment that year. Following a $30 million funding round in January 2025, the company raised another $70 million in May, bringing its total funding to $100 million in just 16 months. Its games have generated more than $115 million in total in-app purchase revenue in a short period.

Considering Türkiye’s three existing gaming Turcorns and the strong investment appetite for the sector, expectations are growing that the country’s next billion-dollar technology company could once again emerge from the gaming industry.

Türkiye currently has eight Turcorns: Peak Games, Getir, Dream Games, Trendyol, Hepsiburada, Insider, Loom and, most recently, HubX.

Photo: Chat GPT