There is definitely a mobile gaming boom going on in Turkey, just like in Finland in the early days of mobile.
Cypher Games has raised $3.2 million in pre-seed funding to develop casual mobile games. Founded in March, the Turkish company is one of several game studios making casual game titles in the country.
Play Ventures led the round, with 500 Global, Joakim Achrén (founder of Next Games and Elite Game Developers) and Akin Babayigit (founder of Tripledot Studios) in the round.
The company focuses on the next generation of mobile puzzle games and aims to become a leading global player
studio. The team previously co-built Merge Barista for Zerosum Games, acquired by Rollic in
2021.
CEO Anil Simsek said in a statement that the funding will be used to grow the team sixfold in early 2023 and develop their first casual mobile game.
“Turkey has tremendous talent potential and we reward a significant pool of stock options for our peers,” said Simsek. “We believe in cooperative success with equal-ground engagement rather than an approach focused on me. That’s why we want our colleagues to be shareholders in our company.”
After launching their first casual mobile game in early 2023, the company is planning a new
office in Berlin to give its employees the opportunity to work from anywhere.
“We are proud to lead the first investment round in Cypher Games as they embark on their quest to
a leading global casual gaming studio,” Harri Manninen, the founder of Play Ventures, said in a statement. “The Turkish mobile gaming ecosystem is extremely strong and we are very happy to see young founders like the Cypher team emerging and joining the existing players like Peak, Dream and Bigger Games.”
Enis Hulli, general partner at 500 Global, said in a statement: “The success of the Turkish startup ecosystem in creating unicorns is a lagging measure. The leading indicator is strong teams building companies (such as Cypher Games) and supporting them. by leading global gaming funds. The company is still in its infancy, but it’s exciting to dream of what lies ahead and be a part of their journey.”
Akin Babayigit, co-founder of Tripledot Studios, added, “I’m super excited to support Cypher games as they begin their exciting journey. I think it’s very clear that Turkey is emerging as a gaming powerhouse, and the team at Cypher really impressed me with the level of their ambition and motivation. I have no doubt that we will all be reading about it soon. I feel privileged that they let me in
this trip.”
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