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Mobile games

7 articles

The Playground Productions logo beside a workbench of hand carved wooden toys and game design notebooks Studio stories
· 7 min read

How Playground Productions brought Backyard Sports back

Lindsay Barnett tracked down the rights to a dead 1990s game franchise, relaunched six titles, and has a new Backyard Baseball and an animated special.

Studio stories
The ActFirst Games logo beside a carved stone relief of an armoured knight on a castle wall Studio stories
· 6 min read

How ActFirst Games went from a Thunderful exit to a new RPG

Kristian Andersson sold Early Morning Studio to Thunderful for SEK 80 million in 2021. In 2024 he started again in Stockholm with a new RPG.

Studio stories
A busy technology expo hall with crowds walking between the stands Money back on marketing and UA
· 3 min read

App store commissions: claiming back part of Apple and Google's 30%

Platform commissions on overseas sales are reimbursed at 50% under Article 22, up to 10 products a year. What the caps allow, how a deduction from your payout is evidenced, and why this claim needs no setup.

Money back on marketing and UA
A man using a smartphone at a sunlit outdoor cafe table For your kind of company
· 4 min read

Türkiye's IT export incentives for mobile game studios

UA spend, store commissions, hosting and live-ops staff are the items that matter for a mobile studio. What each pays, with a worked example for a $3M/yr studio.

For your kind of company
A glass office tower seen from street level against a bright sky Türkiye's games industry
· 3 min read

Why one American publisher bought three Istanbul studios

Gram Games in 2018, Peak in 2020, Rollic later the same year. Zynga spent well over two billion dollars in one city in under three years. What it was actually buying.

Türkiye's games industry
Five people walking out of a glass office building into bright sunlight, seen from behind Türkiye's games industry
· 4 min read

Dream Games: five people, one game, five billion dollars

Founded in 2019 by five ex-Peak employees. One puzzle game, launched in 2021, that went from nothing to a $5 billion company. The clearest example of what user acquisition spending can do.

Türkiye's games industry
Six colleagues gathered around a single monitor in a bright office, seen from behind Türkiye's games industry
· 3 min read

Peak Games: the $1.8 billion exit that changed Turkish gaming

Ten years, one pivot, two puzzle games and 12 million daily players. How a hundred people in Istanbul built the first Turkish company to sell for over a billion dollars, and what it would be worth under today's rules.

Türkiye's games industry