Mobile game studios in Cyprus: 33 of them, and why
Cyprus has 33 mobile game studios for a population under a million, including Wargaming with roughly 3,900 staff. Most of them moved there, and most moved for tax. That calculation changed on 1 January 2026, when the corporate rate went from 12.5% to 15% as part of a wider reform.
Türkiye refunds half of what a software company or game studio spends on advertising, app store commissions and hosting when it sells to customers abroad, and up to 70% when those customers are in one of twenty target markets. It is paid in cash, against invoices you have already settled. Try it with your own numbers.
01Where are the 33 studios in Cyprus?
33 in total. 17 of them are in Limassol, which have their own directories, and the 16 listed underneath are everywhere else in Cyprus.
| City | Studios | People |
|---|---|---|
| Limassol | 17 | 2,202 |
| Studio | City | Founded | People |
|---|---|---|---|
| WargamingA prominent video game developer and publisher based in… | Nicosia | 1998 | 3900 |
| NextersAn international game development company based in Limassol, Cyprus, and operates as a key subsidiary of… | Larnaca | 2010 | 590 |
| Azur GamesAn international mobile game publisher and developer founded in 2017, with headquarters in Nicosia,… | Strovolos | 2017 | 460 |
| MURKAA leading global mobile gaming company, creating world-class social casino and casual experiences enjoyed by… | Agios Athanasios | 2009 | 340 |
| KefirA Russian game development studio and video game publisher founded in 2009. | 2009 | 260 | |
| AwemA mobile game developer and publisher based in Paphos, Cyprus, specializing in casual games. | Paphos | 2002 | 150 |
| AppQuantumAn international mobile free-to-play game publisher based in Limassol, Cyprus. | Mesa Geitonia | 2017 | 130 |
| HeroCraft Game Developer & PublisherAn international video game developer and publisher, established in 2002 and headquartered in Nicosia,… | 2002 | 91 | |
| PlaygendaryAn international mobile game developer and publisher founded in 2016 by Dmitriy Shelengovskiy. | Agios Tychon | 2016 | 71 |
| playducky.comWe are Playducky.com, the fastest hyper-casual publisher on market. | Nicosia | n/a | 42 |
| Guli Games LtdAn independent studio creating next-gen mobile games with standout visuals, rich storytelling, and deep… | Strovolos | 2020 | 41 |
| Jarvi GamesA mobile game development studio founded in 2021, based in Lakatamia or Nicosia, Cyprus, with teams in… | Lakatamia | 2021 | 36 |
| Towards Mars!Founded in October 2010 Towards Mars Limited is a Cyprus-based studio which helps brand rich gameplay experience… | Nicosia | 2010 | 17 |
| MAD PIXEL GAMES LTDYour ultimate game development partner, dedicated to bringing your vision to life. | n/a | 12 | |
| Multicastgames LLCWe are a small team that loves to make good games :) | Paphos | 2021 | 9 |
| ProGamesLabThis is a page of ProGamesLab company. Social and mobile games publishing and development | n/a | 3 |
Headcounts are third-party estimates and companies count staff differently. Apollo company data, exported 20 August 2026
02Why do studios base themselves in Cyprus?
What brought them
- A corporate rate that sat at 12.5% for two decades and is 15% from January 2026, still among the lowest in the European Union.
- An intellectual property regime that deducts 80% of qualifying profits, which takes the effective rate on game income to about 3%.
- EU membership, so a studio keeps European banking, European contracts and the right to hire across the union.
- A large Russian-speaking population, which is why so many of the studios that left Russia and Belarus after 2022 chose Limassol over Warsaw or Vilnius.
| Corporate income tax | 15% from 1 January 2026It was 12.5% until the end of 2025. The increase came in a reform package aligning Cyprus with the OECD global minimum tax.source |
|---|---|
| Intellectual property regime | 80% of qualifying IP profits are deducted, giving an effective rate near 3%source |
Seventeen of the 33 are in Limassol, a coastal city of about 250,000 people. That concentration is not an accident of climate. It started with a handful of studios moving for the tax rate, and then continued because everyone they wanted to hire was already there.
What Cyprus optimises is tax on profit already earned. For a studio with a hit, that is an excellent trade. For a studio still spending to find its audience, a low rate on a small profit is worth much less than getting half the marketing bill back, which is what the Turkish programme pays. The two are not mutually exclusive, and several groups run both.
What Türkiye would pay back on your spending
Türkiye runs a government programme that refunds part of what a software company or game studio spends on reaching customers abroad. It covers advertising, app store and platform commissions, and hosting. The refund is paid in cash against invoices the company has already settled, so it does not depend on the company making a profit. The standard rate is 50%, and it rises to 70% when the customers being targeted are in one of the twenty countries on the Turkish Ministry of Trade's target list.
Put your own yearly figures in below. The rates and the annual caps come from the same file as our full calculator, and the total updates as you type.
03Questions we get asked
Is Cyprus still worth it after the increase to 15%?
For a profitable studio, yes. The IP box does most of the work and it survived the reform. The headline change matters more to companies without qualifying IP income.
Why Limassol specifically?
It started with a few early movers and became self-reinforcing. Limassol now has the deepest hiring pool on the island for game development, so new arrivals go there by default.
Can a Cyprus company claim the Turkish incentives?
Not directly. The claims are made by a Turkish company that holds the contracts and pays the invoices. Plenty of groups keep a Cyprus holding structure and run the commercial side through Türkiye.
Why a consultancy keeps a studio directory
CyberScope Solutions is an Istanbul consultancy that manages Türkiye's IT export incentive claims for software companies and game studios. We track where studios are because the question we are asked most often is who else has done this, and a list is a better answer than an assurance.
- Every figure is sourced. Each number links to the page it came from and carries the date we last checked it.
- We do the filing. Claims run through DYS, the ministry's own system, and we handle the evidence pack, the deadlines and the follow-up questions.
- You find out early if it is not for you. The first call is thirty minutes and we will say plainly if your spend pattern does not suit the programme.
Turn that number into money
Send us the rough shape of your spend. You get back what it is worth, what setting it up involves, and how fast the first claim can go in. Companies already operating here treat this as routine, and the six month window means the clock is running on invoices you have already paid.
- A reply from a person within one working day
- No mailing list, no drip sequence
- Thirty minutes, and you keep the numbers either way
Got it.
We will read it properly and reply within a working day. If you would rather get it over with now, pick a time that suits you.
Book a 30 minute call04Where these numbers come from
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/cyprus/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/cyprus/corporate/tax-credits-and-incentives checked 2026-08-20
- Apollo company data, exported 20 August 2026 checked 2026-08-20