Video games in Turkey

Video games in Turkey is a massive industry with many branches. Video gaming also covers pastime in Turkey that includes the production, sale, import/export, and playing of video games.

Market statistics

In 2021, the market statistics in total reached 1.2B$, around 600M$ coming from mobile games. Turkey’s market statistics were $464 million in 2015, while in 2016 it was $755 million and most of the revenue in 2016 was $332.5 million in mobile games, the rest was obtained from the computer and console genre. Turkey grew 7.2% compared with the previous year, in online game revenue during 2016, Turkey ranked 16th in the world in both the mobile PC and console area. Today in general & with all genres, Turkey stands at 18th globally. The global rank within all genres has not seen a change.

Many big Turkish developer companies exist, such as Peak in the mobile games genre, Tale Worlds in the PC genre for many years. (e.g Mount & Blade.)

Professional gaming

Turkey has a presence in the professional e-sports market, especially in League of Legends and other games created by Riot Games.

E-Sport team found that the market for more than ten professionals from more than four thousand in Turkey are also licensed e-athletes. Beşiktaş and traditional sports clubs also stepped in, and other sports clubs, especially Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, joined the e-Sports market.

The Türkiye Digital Games Federation was established in 2011 and later superseded by the e-Sports Federation of Turkey on April 24, 2018.

Rating System

In Turkey, the most widely used video game content rating system PEGI (Pan European Gaming Information), does not have a legal basis that supports it officially but it was semi-officially introduced to the country in 2014–2015 and is used in both foreign and Turkish published video games all around the country, and in almost all cases, though Turkey is not officially represented in the PEGI council. Other labels can be seen as well such as the German USK specially on second-hand items.

In 2006, the Intellectual Property Registration and Registration Department made arrangements about a regulation "Computer Games", a new regulation for using & regarding marking content ratings system that was and has been implemented for film, television and video games in the Turkish market that are sold. -Although the criteria used for marking are still officially and legally somewhat uncertain, but for video games is dominated by PEGI, this method is mostly applied to products sold physically, there is no control mechanism for video games acquired through digital distribution etc.

With the Regulation on Internet Bulk Use Providers, which came into force in 2009, made the play of video games (or the screening of films) that include drug or stimulant habit, suicidal orientation, sexual abuse, obscenity, prostitution, violence, gambling etc. like-elements prohibited at public workplaces, though not applying to certain private workplaces.

Although the PEGI rating system is still not official and not legally supported, based on the government regulations and laws, games can be banned by the Ministry of the Interior. So far no games have been banned, even if banned, did not have an effect at all and their bans were either forgotten, or lifted (unbanned). Though certain games were investigated as to whether they should be banned, or reported, there were no outcomes in those cases and the games were left untouched and playable.

Games that cause adverse effects can be banned entirely if reported and investigated, but again none have been banned so far either. Games can still be unavailable to be played due to the choice of the publishers specifically not making them available or playable in the Turkey region, but they are all still available physically and still playable if accessed physically. (Except online web-based game sites) See video-game bans (Turkey) for more information.

Video Game Development

Game developers from Turkey

• BeryMery
• Berzah Games (Also co-devs)
• Bluespy Studios
• Cup of Pixels
• Gorilla Softworks
• Hyperlab
• Lamagama Entertainment
• Laps Games
• M11 Studio (Former publisher)
• Misclick Games
• Motion Blur (Ex-Son Işık in 2004–2013)
• Nowhere Studios
• Permanent Way Entertainment (Games & animations)
• Pinq Games
• Pixeduo Studios
• Pokuch
• Pyrena Studios (Also Pyrena Games/Software)
• Redivided Studios
• Remoob Games
• Simula Games (Turkish HQ. Also German. Simulations.)
• Sobee Studios (Additional page) (Ex-Dinç Ä°nteraktif in 2000–2004)
• Stormling Studios (Ex-Zoetrope Interactive)
• TaleWorlds Entertainment
• Team Machiavelli
• Team Untested
• Turquoise Revival Games
• Wendigo Games

Misc Games

• AEON Game Studio (Unknown portfolio)
• Dirty LEDS (Unknown portfolio)
• Flamingo Game Studio (Mobile, AR/VR games)
• Funverse Games (Online games)
• gamegine (Unknown portfolio)
• Gyroscoping Games (Serious games)
• Hypernova Technology & Gaming (Unknown portfolio)
• Inventuna Games (Blockchain)
• Kumkat Games (Online games)
• Makemake Studio (Mobile, blockchain games)
• OTTO Games (Mobile, serious, AR/VR games)
• Rokogame Studios (Blockchain services)
• Semruk Games (Edutainment, serious games)
• Simurgify TECH (Games, websites, mobile apps)

Mobile games

• Ace Games
• Aden Games
• Bermuda Games
• Bigger Games
• Boom Games Yazilim Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi (Casual games)<small></small>
• Boost Games
• Brew Games
• BugFix Games
• Clap Games (Simulations)
• Cratoonz
• Creasaur Entertainment Co.
• Cube Games
• Cypher Games
• Dream Games
• Duuby Games
• Easy Clap Games
• Eggs Games
• Fabrika Games (Funded by French publisher Voodoo)
• FH Studio
• Fiber Games
• Fomo Games
• Forge Games
• Frosy Game Studios (Supported by Israeli publisher CrazyLabs)
• Frozen Monkey Games
• Fugo Games
• Funmoth Games
• Gamegos
• Gamepatron<small></small>
• Gametator
• Garawell Games
• Giant Avocado Games
• Gleam Games
• Global Champions (HQ in San Francisco)
• Gulliver's Games
• Gybe Games
• HEY Games
• Hifive Games
• Hoody Studios
• Hyperlab
• Joker Games
• Kontra Games
• Lerp Games
• Libra Softworks
• Longhorn Games
• Lost Panda Games
• Lotus Games
• Lumos Games
• MagicLab Game Technologies
• Mavis Games
• Midpoly Games
• MobGe
• Moon Star Games
• Morii Games
• Nano Games
• Noho Games
• NOKO GAMES
• Optimus Game Studio
• Oxyun
• Pango Games
• Passion Punch Studio
• Peak Games
• phoca.io
• Playabit (Owned by Brazilian company Wildlife Studios.)
• Playtrick
• Quok Games
• Revel Games
• Ricci Game
• Roar Games Studio
• Rooster Games
• Rootcraft Game Technologies
• Sarge Games
• Screaming Parrots
• Scroll Next
• SNG Studios
• Spyke Games (Same as Spike Games)
• Stak Games
• Statue Games
• SuperMesh Games
• Tenet Games
• Teos Game Studio
• tiplay studio
• Umay Games & Studios
• Uniqcorn Games
• Vacuum Games
• Virtual Projects (HQ. Puzzlers.)<small></small>
• Whoops Games
• Zerosum Games
• Zinky Games

Co-Development Services

• ForceNCode (Games, apps, websites)
• Kyoso Interactive (Online games)
• Oyun Teknolojileri ve Yazılım (Games, interactive apps, apps, websites)<small></small>

Defunct video game developers

• Dark Zone Game Studio (Founded 2016. Defunct 2022.)
• Future Dreams (Est. 1990?)
• Locus Design (Est. 1990–1993)
• Ollric Games (Inactive 2021–2022. Mobile games.)

Video game publishers of Turkey

• Catoptric Games
• Digi Game Startup Studio (Support startups)
• Game Factory (Support startups)
• gamigo (German HQ. Ex-Aeria Games GmbH in 2006-2023. Online games.) <small>()</small>
• Next in Game
• Pera Games (Support startups & teams)
• Youcan Games (Support startups & teams)

Publisher & developer firms

• 2MEDYA (Core & mobile games)
• 5Deniz Publishing (Mainly distributor)
• Alictus (Mobile games)
• AIx2 Games
• Antique Cat Productions
• Apphic Games (Primarily mobile games)
• Babil Studios (Mobile games. Not the same as the Jordan company 'Babil Games'.)
• Backpack Games (Mobile games)
• Biotech Gameworks
• Blackburne Games
• Cheesecake Dev
• Clock Wizard Games
• Core Engage Yazılım A.Ş.
• Cultic Games
• Curve Animation Studio (Animation & online games)
• Cyperk Software
• DBK Games (aka. 'Burak Dabak')
• DochiGames
• Dumbbell Games (Core & mobile games)
• Elos Games And Arts (US HQ)
• Erik Games (Games; Unreal Engine assets)<small></small>
• GameDeus
• Good Job Games Bilişim Yazılım ve Pazarlama A.Ş. (Mobile games)
• Good Mood Games
• Happy Game Company (Mobile games)
• Hero Concept
• HurryCat Studios
• Inspector Studios (Primarily mobile games)
• Kodobur Game And Software Technologies (Aka. Kodobur Games)
• LIGHTWORKER GAMES
• LootCopter Game Studio (Mobile games)
• Lucid11 Interactive (Also co-dev: mobile games & apps, VR)
• MildMania (Mobile/online games)
• MYM Games Studios
• No Ceiling Games (Also co-dev)
• Nokta Games
• Pendulum Interactive
• Phew Phew Games
• Playin Bilişim Teknolojileri ve Yazılım Ticaret A.Ş. (Mobile & ad games; online platform)<small></small>
• Playstige Interactive (Ex-'Ator Neba' in 2019)
• Proximity Games
• Pxindie
• Redhorizon Teknoloji A.Ş. (aka. Red Horizon. VR.)
• Rollic Games (Mobile, casual games)
• Ruby Game Studio (Mobile games)
• SinginGiant
• Stratera Games
• SuperGears (Mobile games)
• Tale Era Interactive
• Tekden Studio
• The Pack Studios
• Udo Games (Mobile games)
• Valentware Games LTD
• Vawraek Technology Inc. (Online games)
• Warlock Arts Ltd (Core & mobile games)
• World of Poly Games
• Woziva
• Xeirel Software (Online games. C#, video editing, VFX.)

Online games portal/distribution

• EPIN Ödeme ve Ä°letişim Teknolojileri A.Ş. (Distribution)
• eTail.Market (From "5Deniz Ltd")
• Ä°temSatış
• Ä°temPazar
• Kabasakal Online
• Klasgame.Com
• MGM Bilgi Teknolojileri A.Ş
• Oyunfor
• Gamesultan.com.tr
• RWAZONE (Adult interactive games & visual stories)
• Vatangame.com (Distribution)
• YeşilyurtGame (Distribution)

Defunct video game publishers

• PulseTense Games (Founded 2011. Morphed into Playstige Interactive in 2019.)
• Rocwise Entertainment (Publisher & dev. Founded 2016. Defunct 2021. Owned by Armoya Interaktif Yayincilik A.S.)

References