The mobile game studios based in San Francisco
San Francisco holds 9 of the 68 American mobile studios in this directory, the largest single city cluster in the United States, led by PLAYSTUDIOS at about 550 people. It is the most expensive place on this list to run a team, and American studios get less public support than almost any country here.
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 San Francisco?
Sorted by size, largest first. Tap the Founded or People columns to sort.
| Studio | Founded | People |
|---|---|---|
| PLAYSTUDIOSA global developer and publisher of free-to-play casual games, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. | 2011 | 550 |
| Magic TavernWhere bards, mystics, and wizards join forces to create enchanting worlds and stories. | n/a | 120 |
| Lion Studios, a Tripledot StudioA mobile gaming publishing studio under Tripledot Studios, focusing on fun and easy-to-play puzzle and… | 2018 | 68 |
| Live Play Mobile Inc.A mobile entertainment company based in San Francisco, California, specializing in social… | 2019 | 67 |
| LatitudeA game development company based in Dover, Delaware, founded by Nick Walton. | 2020 | 30 |
| Originator Inc.An educational technology company focused on early childhood… | 2013 | 21 |
| FunCraftA mobile gaming company based in San Francisco, focusing on classic turn-based casual games. | 2019 | 21 |
| Metamoki Inc.An independent game studio based in San Francisco, California, founded in 2009. | 2009 | 11 |
| Last Day Of WorkA Computer Games company located in San Francisco, California, United States. | n/a | 5 |
Headcounts are third-party estimates and companies count staff differently. Apollo company data, exported 20 August 2026
02Why do studios base themselves in San Francisco?
What keeps them there
- Proximity to capital. Almost every large mobile fund and strategic buyer is within an hour of the city.
- Platform proximity. Apple, Google and Meta all run developer relations from the Bay Area.
- The highest revenue per player of any market, at home rather than abroad.
- Density of senior operators, which is what keeps salaries at the level they are.
| Federal corporate income tax | 21%source |
|---|---|
| State corporate income tax | Generally 1% to 10%, and some states charge noneCharged on top of the federal rate, so the combined figure depends on where the company operates.source |
San Francisco costs more per engineer than anywhere else in this directory and returns the least public support. There is a federal research credit and a patchwork of state incentives, and nothing else.
Section 174 makes it worse for software specifically, because development costs have to be spread over five years rather than deducted when incurred, and fifteen years if the work is done abroad. A studio spending heavily on engineering shows more taxable income than it has cash.
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 the research credit worth claiming?
Yes where the work qualifies, but it reaches technical uncertainty rather than ordinary development, and Section 174 has taken back more than the credit gives for many software companies.
Do any states help games specifically?
A few run digital media credits, Georgia and Louisiana among them. California is not one of them.
Why do studios stay despite the cost?
Capital and platform access, mostly. Both are real advantages and neither reduces what it costs to buy an install.
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/united-states/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income checked 2026-08-20
- Apollo company data, exported 20 August 2026 checked 2026-08-20