The mobile game studios based in Hamburg
Hamburg holds 5 of the 21 German mobile studios in this directory, led by InnoGames at about 410 people and Goodgame Studios at 230. It is the operating end of the German industry, where Berlin is the international end.
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.
01Which game studios are based in Hamburg?
Sorted by size, largest first. Tap the Founded or People columns to sort.
| Studio | Founded | People |
|---|---|---|
| InnoGamesA prominent video game developer and publisher based in Hamburg, Germany. | 2007 | 410 |
| Goodgame StudiosA prominent German developer and publisher of free-to-play online video games, established in June… | 2009 | 230 |
| SundayA mobile game developer and publisher based in Hamburg, Germany. | 2019 | 57 |
| Playa GamesA prominent German developer and publisher of casual strategy browser-based and mobile games, based… | 2009 | 51 |
| XYRALITY GmbHA video game developer and publisher based in Hamburg, Germany, founded in 2011. | 2011 | 44 |
Headcounts are third-party estimates and companies count staff differently. Apollo company data, exported 20 August 2026
02Why do studios base themselves in Hamburg?
What keeps them there
- Twenty years of free-to-play operating experience concentrated in two large employers and the people who left them.
- Lower costs than Berlin for both salaries and space, with a smaller but more senior talent pool.
- The federal research allowance and the games programme apply the same as anywhere in Germany.
- Proximity to Northern Europe, which matters for studios hiring across Scandinavia.
| Combined corporate income tax | 29.8%Trade tax is set by the municipality, so the exact figure varies by city.source |
|---|
Hamburg trained a large share of Germany's free-to-play operators. InnoGames and Goodgame have been running live games from the city for close to two decades, and the people they trained founded most of what surrounds them.
The German support routes reach development. The marketing budget those live games run on is paid from profit already taxed at close to thirty percent, which is the highest combined rate in this directory.
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
Hamburg or Berlin?
Hamburg for experienced live-operations people, Berlin for international hiring and anything close to publishing.
Is Hamburg cheaper than Berlin?
Modestly, on both salaries and space, though the gap has narrowed and the talent pool is smaller.
Does the federal games fund reach live operations?
It is aimed at prototype and production. Running and marketing a live game sits outside it.
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://taxfoundation.org/data/all/eu/corporate-income-tax-rates-europe/ checked 2026-08-20
- Apollo company data, exported 20 August 2026 checked 2026-08-20