The ‘Why’ Behind Grand Games’ $30M Investment

We wrote about "Grand Games secures $30M Series A" last week. Cooler stuff? Just published our "Magic Sort Analysis", check it out! Let's talk about the How & Why. Securing $30M just 9 months after its launch? 🦄 Folks, it's something big. The publisher behind Magic Sort made $4M+ in 6 months. Among the largest Series A rounds for Turkish gaming startups. Turkey’s Casual Mobile Gaming scene is booming. Or, it's been booming 😅 Check out: Mobile Gaming World: Türkiye Dream Games raised $255 million in 2022. Peak Games was acquired by Zynga in 2020 for $1.8 billion. Spyke raised $50M last year and launched with $55 million. DoubleU Games Acquires Turkish Studio Paxie Games Azur Games, has acquired the hypercasual portfolio of Good Job Games. Agave Games' $18M Series A at a valuation of around $100M last month. Cypher Games Secures 10M$ Investment […]

Ömer Yakabagi January 17

Highlights

Huuuge Games Lays Off 122 Employees

Poland office faces 89 layoffs as studios in the Netherlands and Finland shut down. Huuuge Games Restructures, Laying Off Nearly a Third of Its Workforce Huuuge Games is downsizing its global workforce by 29%, letting go of 122 employees as it shifts focus back to social casino titles. The layoffs include 89 positions in its Poland office, representing 21% of that branch's headcount. The company is also closing its Netherlands and Finland studios, known as 'Huuuge Pods,' and halting new game development. Additionally, funding for Bananaz Studios will cease, leading to a $3.5 million write-down. Huuuge expects the restructuring to be completed by February 2025, asserting it will not negatively affect revenue. Despite an 18.2% year-over-year decline in net income to $15.3 million in Q3 2024, the company remains profitable, holding $125 million in cash reserves and exploring potential mergers […]

Ömer Yakabagi January 16

Highlights

Ex-King and Ex-Apple Team Raise $9 Million Seed Round for Metica to Revolutionize Gaming Growth with AI-Powered Personalization and Monetization

Metica, a cutting-edge technology company building AI-driven customer engagement and personalization solutions for the gaming industry, has announced the successful raise of $9 million seed round. The round was led by top-tier venture capital firms Play Ventures, 13books, and Firstminute Capital, with participation from renowned angel investors including Riccardo Zacconi, founder and ex-CEO of King (makers of Candy Crush), Caro Krenzer, CEO of Trailmix, Klaas Kersting, CEO of Phoenix Games, Michail Katkoff, Founder of Deconstructor of Fun, Roland Rudd, Chairman of FGS Global, Nigel Morris, former CEO of Dentsu, and René Rechtman, founder of Moonbug Entertainment. Metica is on a mission to help games grow faster by uniting user acquisition (UA), in-game monetization, and AI-driven personalization. Founded by serial entrepreneurs Phil Mohr and Puli Liyanagama, Metica marks their third successful venture together. Their previous startups include Comufy, acquired by King, […]

Ömer Yakabagi January 16

Highlights

Former Space Ape Exec Simon Hade launches NextBeat

The creators of Space Ape Games’ popular music rhythm game Beatstar have spun the title out into a dedicated music-gaming company called NEXTBEAT. The move follows Supercell‘s full acquisition of Space Ape Games in November 2024 – a deal which is expected to close in the spring. Beatstar was launched globally in 2021 after five years of development within Space Ape Games by a team that included Simon Hade as COO and co-founder of the studio, and Olly Barnes, who led music strategy and rights acquisition. Barnes is the co-founder of Voisey, a music-making app that Snapchat acquired for $70 million in 2020. Snapchat later offloaded Voisey in 2022 as part of Snap Inc.’s wide-scale restructuring. Beatstar is a free-to-play mobile game often compared to Guitar Hero. It features over 850 global music hits secured through music licensing deals with major labels, indie publishers, and dozens of rightsholders. In September 2022, MBW reported that Beatstar shared USD $16 million of its revenue with music labels and […]

Ömer Yakabagi January 16

Highlights

The Strategy Behind Aonic’s $70M Acquisition of Mega Fortuna

Turkish Ad Tech startup Mega Fortuna boasts 10 million MAUs for its mobile gaming discovery and loyalty platform. Aonic, a fast-growing video gaming and technology group, has completed a $10M minority investment in Mega Fortuna. The deal includes an option for Aonic to acquire the entire share capital of Mega Fortuna for a valuation of up to $70M. The WHY behind the investment Paul Bowen This acquisition is logical in the highly fragmented Play & Earn (P&E) ecosystem, which is experiencing unprecedented growth. With 27 companies listed in the Incentivized Advertising Database offering gift card reward services, consolidation is inevitable as larger players and their owners absorb smaller companies to expand their P&E portfolios. However, key questions remain, particularly around the total addressable market (TAM) for users interested in earning gift cards by playing games. I anticipate we'll see further consolidation […]

Ömer Yakabagi January 16

Highlights

Mobile Game Leaders: 2024 Analysis

Market Performance Global consumer spending on Mobile Games declined for the second consecutive year, reaching $107 billion in 2023. Mobile game downloads fell for the first time, totaling 88 billion. Emerging Trends Casualization: There's a notable shift towards more Casual Gaming experiences, with Mid-core games facing challenges connecting with their audiences. Brands & IPs: Brands are increasingly engaging in partnerships to attract new audiences, leveraging well-known intellectual properties to enhance appeal. Regional Developments Chinese gaming companies have significantly expanded their global presence, with China-based publishers capturing a third of global revenue. They've successfully entered markets like Japan & U.S. through quality production and localization efforts. WeChat Minigames Are Crushing It in China Technological Innovations Advancements in cloud gaming and AI integration have been pivotal. Big Studios like Tencent and NetEase are leading with cloud gaming platforms and AI-driven game features, […]

Ömer Yakabagi January 9

Highlights

Grand Games secures $30M Series A

Istanbul-based Turkish Mobile Game Studio, Grand Games raises $30M Series A to build genre-defining mobile games. Grand Games, the trailblazing gaming studio behind the widely loved Magic Sort mobile game, has raised a $30M Series A round marking its arrival as the latest up-and-coming studio to emerge from Istanbul, the gaming powerhouse that brought forth Dream Games and Peak Games. Balderton led the round with participation from existing investors Bek Ventures (formerly known as Earlybird Digital East), Laton Ventures and angel investor Mert Gür. Suranga Chandratillake - General Partner, Balderton 👇🏻 Istanbul is producing some of the world’s finest gaming studios and within that ecosystem the founders of Grand Games stood out with their vision to create world-class genre-defining casual games that players love to play. The speed with which they have built a brilliant team culture and achieved success with their […]

Ömer Yakabagi January 9

Highlights

DoubleU Games Acquires Turkish Studio Paxie Games

DoubleU Games Acquires Turkish Studio Paxie Games in a Deal Valued at Up to $67 MillionStrategic Entry into the Fast-Growing Merge-2 Puzzle Market South Korean mobile gaming giant DoubleU Games has agreed to acquire Paxie Games, a leading Turkish gaming studio renowned for its hit title Merge Studio: Fashion Makeover. This strategic acquisition, valued at up to $67 million, marks DoubleU Games’ entry into the high-growth Merge-2 puzzle genre and strengthens its global portfolio. Under the agreement, DoubleU Games will acquire a 60% stake in Paxie Games for $27 million at closing, with the remaining 40% to be purchased over three years, contingent on achieving financial performance milestones. The transaction, financed through treasury shares and cash, will close in Q1 2025. Founded in 2021 by Direnç Çelik, Hüseyin Anıl Özmen, Refik Anıl Bulut, and Sarenur Başel, Paxie Games has achieved […]

Ömer Yakabagi December 26

Journal

Apple: Most-downloaded Games of 2024

As 2024 ends, Apple has revealed the most downloaded games and apps in the U.S. You can find the year-end charts on the App Store’s Today tab for iPhone and iPad. These charts highlight the top Apple Arcade games and the most popular free and paid apps and games. This list follows the 2024 App Store Awards announced last week. It’s interesting to see a mix of new games and long-time favorites, like Monopoly Go, Roblox, Minecraft, Royal Match, Subway Surfers, Stardew Valley, and Among Us. Top Apple Arcade Games NBA 2K24 Arcade EditionSnake.io+Hello Kitty Island AdventureSneaky SasquatchBloons TD 6+Sonic Dream TeamNFL Retro Bowl ’25Disney Dreamlight ValleyCooking Mama: Cuisine!Solitaire by MobilityWare+ Top Free iPhone Games Block Blast！Monopoly Go!RobloxCall of Duty: Warzone MobileTownshipLast War:SurvivalRoyal MatchBrawl StarsSubway SurfersMy Perfect Hotel Top Paid iPhone Games Minecraft: Play with FriendsHeads Up!Geometry DashPapa’s Freezeria To […]

Ömer Yakabagi December 18

Highlights

Agave Games, Creator of Find the Cat, secures $18M

A Turkish startup, Agave Games, known for its hit mobile game Find the Cat, has raised $18 million in Series A funding. The game, inspired by Where’s Wally-style puzzles, has players search for hidden cats in increasingly complex drawings. The funds will help Agave grow its team and develop at least two new games within the next year. The casual mobile gaming market, including puzzle and farm-building games, remains highly profitable. Find the Cat has been a massive success, surpassing 10 million downloads just three months after its August release, with revenues of $10 million on Android alone, according to SensorTower. Investors see it as “the next Tripledot,” a successful casual game studio. The funding round was co-led by Felix Capital and Balderton Capital, with participation from E2VC. All three firms were early investors, with Balderton also leading Agave’s seed […]

Ömer Yakabagi December 17

Highlights

AONIC AB Receives €152M Investment

The Games Group includes nDreams, TutoToons, Red Games, Exmox, Gravite, and more. Swedish gaming group AONIC has secured €152 million in funding to drive mergers and acquisitions and to bolster ongoing projects across its studios. European investment firm Metric Capital Partners contributed €100 Million to the funding round, while AONIC's majority shareholder, Active Ownership, added €52 Million by converting an existing shareholder loan into equity. Advisory support for the transaction was provided by UBS and DLA Piper for AONIC and Active Ownership, while Metric was advised by Dechert, 8Advisory, and Grant Thornton. Expanding games portfolio Since its establishment in 2021, AONIC has acquired a range of companies involved in development, publishing, and gaming services. Its portfolio includes VR developer nDreams, user acquisition platform Exmox, ad monetization tools provider Gravite, and mobile gaming studios Red Games Co and TutoToons. Other notable […]

Ömer Yakabagi December 16

Journal

Multiplayer Mini-games on Playables by YouTube

Available for just 2 titles now. YouTube expands how you can interact with games on its free in-app platform, Playables. They announced that users can now try out a multi-player function that allows them to game with other players in real time. However, that doesn't extend to YouTube Playables' entire 100-plus catalogue of titles. "We’re beginning to test a new multiplayer feature for a few select games on YouTube Playables. Multiplayer on Playables lets you play games in real-time with other users," YouTube said in a release. "We're just getting started testing out new features for YouTube Playables with more to come in the future." Now, multiplayer is available on two games, Ludo Club and Magic Tiles 3, on both desktop and mobile devices. They first announced Playables in September 2023 and it was originally available to select participants before expanding to all […]

Ömer Yakabagi December 10

Ömer Yakabagi

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