Istanbul’s Grand Games Secures $70m Series B Investment
May 11, 2026 - 9:16 am
Grand Games Oyun ve Yazılım, an Istanbul-based mobile gaming studio behind titles like Magic Sort and Car Match, has raised $70m in a Series B funding round led by Balderton Capital’s Growth Fund. This investment follows on from their previous Series A round in January 2025.
Bek Ventures, Laton Ventures, and angel investor Mert Gür also participated in the latest round, bringing Grand Games' total funding to $103m.
The studio's rapid growth since its founding in early 2024 is notable. Magic Sort, their debut title, entered Apple’s top-selling casual games charts within six months of release. Their second game, Car Match, followed shortly after. By the time of the Series A round, these two games generated combined gross app revenue exceeding $4m per month.
This Series B funding suggests continued strong performance, although Grand Games has not yet released updated figures.
The investment comes amidst a wave of positive mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Turkey's gaming market over the past six months. Notable deals include:
- Scopely acquiring Loom Games at a $1bn-plus valuation
- CVC investing in Dream Games at around a $5bn valuation
- Zynga’s $1.8bn acquisition of Peak Games in 2020, which sparked the Istanbul gaming scene
These deals reflect investor confidence in Turkey's burgeoning mobile game industry, fueled by:
- A deep pool of technical and creative talent centered around Peak alumni
- Lower production costs compared to Western Europe
- A supportive regulatory environment for gaming companies
The Turkish government has further supported the industry with a new incentive program offering half-covered mobile game development costs. Bloomberg credits this initiative as a factor attracting investment into Grand Games. The funding will be allocated towards hiring, developing new titles, and user acquisition.