Turkish startup Spyke Games revealed it secured $55 million in a seed funding round to make casual mobile games. The funding round was led by Griffin Gaming Partners.
Spyke plans to use the money to focus on the launch and continuous development of its first game, Royal Riches, as well as to recruit top talent from Turkey’s flourishing technology and gaming industry.
“With two decades investing in gaming and entertainment, Griffin Gaming Partners provides Spyke with the best experience and connections in the industry resulting in significant growth opportunities. We’re inspired by Griffin’s confidence in our team and initial game as well as their willingness to jump in and help us take our venture to the next level,” Rina Onur Şirinoğlu, Spyke Games CEO, said in the company statement.
Spyke Games CEO Rina Onur Sirinoglu commented: “Spyke Games’ phenomenal team came together after working at companies like Peak Games, Zynga, and Riot Games where we identified significant opportunities emerging over the past 12 years in the social, mobile casual-games genre. We’re creating world-class games that connect and delight people, title-after-title. And we know we can achieve this through our company culture, relentless focus on quality, and inspiring, joyful, emotional experiences.”
Sirinoglu was previously with Peak Games, which Zynga bought for $1.8 billion in June 2020.
Apart from Şirinoğlu, Remi Onur COO, Barkin Basaran CPO, Fuat Coşkun CTO, and Mithat Madra CMO, serving as co-founders. Most of them are former staff of Peak Games and went on to join the team at Zynga Turkey after Zynga acquired peak.
Griffin Gaming Partners is a leading venture capital firm specializing in investments in the global gaming industry. Discord, Forte, Overwolf, AppLovin, and WinZO are among the businesses in which Griffin has invested.
“Spyke has the perfect combination of a deeply experienced team with proven success developing games and an unwavering focus on execution,” said Phil Sanderson, Griffin Gaming Partner’s managing director and member of board of directors at Spyke Games.
Turkey’s mobile gaming market and its blossoming tech sector are proving to be a bright spot in an otherwise dismal economic climate. Turkey has thousands of skilled young people, and mobile gaming allows them to reach a global audience.
In 2021, Turkey-based startups have raised a new high of $1.4 billion, and gaming firms have gathered more than $400 million in investment, according to Startups Watch.
In other news, another Turkish startup, Dream Games, has secured $255 million in a Series C funding round at a valuation of $2.75 billion.
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