Mobile game studios in the United States: who is where
The United States has the largest and most scattered mobile games industry in this directory: 68 studios, from Chess.com and Jam City down to teams of twenty. San Francisco and New York hold the biggest clusters, but plenty sit in Austin, Seattle and Salt Lake City, and the tax bill depends heavily on which state that is.
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 68 studios in the United States?
68 in total. 15 of them are in San Francisco and New York, which have their own directories, and the 53 listed underneath are everywhere else in the United States.
| City | Studios | People |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 9 | 893 |
| New York | 6 | 317 |
| Studio | City | Founded | People |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chess.comThe largest online chess platform in the world, serving over 268.6 million members as of July 2026. | Orem | 2005 | 1100 |
| Jam CityA prominent American mobile entertainment company that develops and publishes engaging video games. | Culver City | 2009 | 700 |
| Crazy Maple StudioA prominent internet content creation and distribution company founded in 2017 and headquartered… | Sunnyvale | 2016 | 420 |
| Age of LearningA prominent education technology company based in Glendale, California. | Glendale | 2007 | 400 |
| High 5 GamesA leading independent casino games provider, specializing in high-quality… | Mahwah | 1995 | 290 |
| SuperchargeA digital product innovation agency founded in 2010, based in Budapest, Hungary. | Amsterdam | 2010 | 260 |
| DoubleDown InteractiveA prominent global developer and publisher of digital games, focusing on social… | Seattle | 2010 | 260 |
| MobilityWareA mobile gaming company based in Irvine, California, known for its classic card and puzzle games. | Irvine | 1990 | 230 |
| tinyBuild GAMESAn American video game publisher and developer founded in 2011. | Bellevue | 2011 | 200 |
| ZiMADAn American mobile game developer and publisher founded in 2009, with headquarters in Hollywood, Florida. | Hollywood | 2009 | 200 |
| 505 GamesAn Italian video game publisher based in Milan, established in 2006 as a subsidiary of Digital Bros. | Calabasas | 2006 | 170 |
| KooappsA mobile gaming studio and publisher known for its impressive portfolio, which has achieved over 1 billion… | Bellevue | 2008 | 160 |
| FreePlayOur games are played by millions. Don't miss the chance to become a member of our hyper-casual family. | Miami | 2020 | 140 |
| HitappsHitapps started as a mobile game developer in 2020 and now focuses on Puzzle games. | Lewes | 2020 | 120 |
| Unico StudioA mobile game development studio based in Silicon Valley, founded in 2018. | Palo Alto | 2018 | 110 |
| Dire Wolf DigitalAn independent game studio and publisher based in Denver, Colorado, specializing in the… | Denver | 2010 | 97 |
| PeopleFunA mobile game developer based in Richardson, Texas, founded in 2011. | Richardson | 2011 | 97 |
| InnerslothAn independent game studio based in Redmond, Washington, founded in 2015 by Marcus Bromander and Forest… | Redmond | 2015 | 78 |
| WildWorksA prominent American game development studio based in Salt Lake City, Utah, specializing in interactive… | Salt Lake City | 2003 | 76 |
| HypGames, Inc.A mobile sports game developer based in Longwood, Florida, founded in 2016 by a team with over 25… | Longwood | 2016 | 66 |
| Highcore GamesWe are Highcore Games, open minded, talented and highly experienced team. | Miami Beach | 2016 | 65 |
| Burlingame StudiosA game development company based in Burlingame, California, founded in 2021 by a team of industry… | Hillsborough | 2010 | 57 |
| PlayQA mobile gaming and technology company based in Santa Monica, California, founded in 2007 by Joseph Aigboboh… | Santa Monica | 2007 | 56 |
| Storm8A prominent mobile game developer and publisher, focusing on social games for iOS and Android platforms. | San Mateo | 2009 | 43 |
| Boddle LearningAn educational technology company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that focuses on gamified, AI-driven… | Tulsa | 2018 | 35 |
| TOP APP GAMESA game development studio based in Cyprus, with a team of 71 professionals working across five… | Fort Lauderdale | n/a | 34 |
| Starfall Education FoundationA nonprofit organization based in Boulder, Colorado, dedicated to providing free and… | Boulder | 2002 | 34 |
| Pixelberry StudiosA mobile game development company based in Mountain View, California, founded in 2012. | Mountain View | 2012 | 30 |
| Candywriter, LLCCandywriter is a mobile games developer and publisher located in Miami Beach, Florida. | Miami Beach | 2006 | 29 |
| Big Fish Games (BFG Entertainment Inc.)BFG Entertainment Inc. is a company based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in the development, publishing, and… | Seattle | 2025 | 28 |
| Pixite IncA software development company based in San Diego, California, founded in 2009. | San Diego | 2009 | 28 |
| TapBlazeA mobile game development studio based in Los Angeles, California, founded in September 2012 by Anthony Lai… | Los Angeles | 2012 | 26 |
| Tech Tree Games LLC | Houston | n/a | 24 |
| Concrete SoftwareA mobile game development and publishing company founded in 2003 and based in Edina,… | Edina | 2003 | 21 |
| Super Free Games | Concord | 2011 | 17 |
| Haiku GamesAn independent game development studio founded in 2013, known for creating story-driven puzzle adventure… | Stanford | 2013 | 11 |
| PRESCHOOL PREP COMPANY LLC | Danville | n/a | 9 |
| CrowdstarA global leader in mobile and social gaming developing entertainment for women. | Burlingame | 2008 | 8 |
| Kids Games LLCFor the Love of the Game Kids Games LLC is a leader in publishing diverse mobile games for players of all ages. | Hudson | 2015 | 8 |
| Euphoric Brothers Ltd. | Ontario | n/a | 8 |
| ConcernedApeThe company founded by Eric Barone, the sole creator and lead developer of the popular open-ended… | Seattle | 2016 | 7 |
| Big Duck GamesAn indie mobile game studio, focused on creating quality casual games, and especially puzzle games. | Coral Gables | 2012 | 6 |
| Vector UnitAn independent video game development studio based in San Rafael, California. | San Rafael | 2008 | 6 |
| Closing Theory StudiosA mobile games studio dedicated to creating engaging mobile titles. | Manchaca | n/a | 4 |
| Limebolt | n/a | 3 | |
| IntellijoyOn a mission to thrill kids as they learn preschool fundamentals, Intellijoy is best known on the iTunes App Store and… | Skokie | 2010 | 3 |
| RosiMosiHundreds of teacher-designed, educational games for kids in Preschool, Kindergarten, and 1st - 6th Grade. | Kansas City | n/a | 3 |
| NimbleBit LLCNimbleBit makes tiny games with big worlds. | Solana Beach | n/a | 3 |
| Flipline StudiosWelcome to Flipline Studios, home of Free Games like Papa's Cupcakeria and Papa's Hot Doggeria! | Cleveland | n/a | 2 |
| JindobluWe are a creative studio dedicated to crafting apps filled with fun and engaging mini-games! | 2019 | 1 | |
| Auxbrain | Saratoga | n/a | n/a |
| ZenLife Games | Sacramento | n/a | n/a |
| Playground ProductionsA family entertainment company founded in 2022 by Lindsay Barnett, which owns the Backyard… | 2022 | n/a |
Headcounts are third-party estimates and companies count staff differently. Apollo company data, exported 20 August 2026
02Why do studios base themselves in the United States?
What keeps them there
- The home market is also the highest paying one. American players spend more per install than anywhere else, so a studio can build a business without ever localising.
- Capital. Almost every large mobile fund and strategic buyer is American, and proximity to them still matters when raising.
- Platform proximity. Apple, Google and Meta all run their developer relations out of California, and the studios that get early access tend to be the ones nearby.
- State choice does real work. Incorporating in Delaware or operating from a no-income-tax state changes the bill more than most founders expect.
| Federal corporate income tax | 21%source |
|---|---|
| State corporate income tax | Generally 1% to 10%, and some states charge noneIt is charged on top of the federal rate, so the combined figure depends on where the company sits and where it operates.source |
American studios carry the highest cost base in this directory and earn the highest revenue per player, which mostly cancels out. What does not cancel out is user acquisition. A US studio buying US installs pays the most expensive traffic in the world and gets nothing back from any level of government.
That is the gap the Turkish programme fills. A studio that runs its marketing, hosting and platform relationships through a Turkish company gets half of that spend back in cash, and up to seventy percent when the players it is buying are in one of the twenty countries on Türkiye's target list. The United States is on that list.
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
Does the US have anything like a games tax credit?
Not federally. The R&D credit reaches some engineering work if it meets the technical uncertainty test, and a handful of states run digital media credits, Georgia and Louisiana among them. None of them touch marketing spend.
Which state is cheapest for a small studio?
It depends more on where your people live than on the incorporation choice. Delaware incorporation is standard for fundraising reasons, but you still pay tax where you operate.
Can a US company use the Turkish programme?
Through a Turkish company, yes. The US entity stays where it is. A Turkish company is set up to hold the contracts and pay the invoices being claimed, and it needs real people doing real work.
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