“What cyber is to Israel, gaming is to Turkey”: Inside a $3.3 billion industry on the rise
Turkey’s gaming market is booming as young creatives and government incentives transform it into a global export powerhouse.
At the end of May, iGaming Today and IMARC Group published a comprehensive report on the gaming market in Turkey, positioning the country as a rising force in the global gaming industry. According to the data, Turkey’s gaming market is expected to generate revenues of $3.33 billion in 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 7–8% projected to continue at least until the end of the decade. The forecast for 2029 stands at $4.48 billion, nearly double the size of the market five years earlier.
Behind the numbers lies a rare economic and cultural story: a country where young professionals in their 20s and 30s, game designers, developers, and performance marketers, have transformed gaming from a niche pursuit into a major export industry. Istanbul has become a magnet for distributors, developers, and investors from around the world.
“What cyber is to Israel, gaming is to Turkey,” says Akin Babayigit, one of the industry’s most prominent investors and entrepreneurs.
Babayigit, a leading figure in the golden age of Turkish gaming, previously served as head of gaming at Facebook and as head of business development and growth at Skype and Activision Blizzard King.
Born in Turkey and raised there until age 16, Babayigit now lives in London. He helped shape the Turkish gaming ecosystem during his time at Peak Games, which was acquired in 2020 by U.S. mobile gaming giant Zynga for $1.8 billion. He later co-founded Tripledot Studios in London with Israelis Lior Shiff and Eyal Chameides, building one of Europe’s fastest-growing mobile gaming companies. Since 2024, Babayigit has led Arcadia Gaming Partners, a $100 million fund investing exclusively in early-stage mobile gaming startups.
According to Babayigit, only four countries have successfully “cracked the code” of gaming: China, Turkey, Vietnam, and Israel.
“They all have strong technology education, a young and dynamic population, and a business culture that understands that trial and error drives growth,” he says. “But Turkey has one more advantage, it’s a nation of storytellers. The combination of intuitive creativity and deep marketing know-how is what truly sets us apart.”
“Hollywood meets a hedge fund”
Babayigit describes the Turkish gaming industry’s economic model as one that blends artistic instinct with analytical precision.
“It’s almost as if Hollywood met a hedge fund,” he says. “There are visual artists and storytellers, but also analysts who measure every metric and understand data. While most countries choose one side, Turkey has managed to combine both.”
This model, he adds, was built deliberately.
“The Turkish government understood that gaming isn’t just entertainment, it’s an export. It generates foreign currency, jobs, and reputation for the country. That’s why it supports gaming entrepreneurs just as it does car or electronics manufacturers.”
Babayigit outlines the incentive system that has turned Turkey into one of the most developer-friendly countries in the world. Companies operating in state-recognized technology zones enjoy significant tax breaks, including exemptions or reductions on profits reinvested in R&D. The government also reimburses part of employers’ national insurance costs and subsidizes 60–70% of international marketing expenses for digital games, including social media campaigns.
Developers exporting games abroad receive partial refunds of platform fees charged by Apple’s App Store and Google Play, as well as discounts on rent and company registration in designated tech zones and salary support for new employees.
“This incentive system is almost unprecedented globally,” Babayigit says. “It allows young entrepreneurs to start a company within a week and begin operating internationally. Every six months, a new generation of studios is born here.”
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Hobby or national growth engine?
Barak Rabinowitz, managing partner at F2 Venture Capital, agrees.
“Gaming is the next opportunity Israeli high-tech could miss,” he says. “In Turkey, the government is investing millions, while in Israel we haven’t even created a dedicated track within the Innovation Authority. Where we could have been a powerhouse, we remain niche players.”
According to Rabinowitz, the difference between Turkey and Israel isn’t technological - it’s perceptual.
“In Turkey, gaming is viewed as a national growth engine. In Israel, it’s still seen as a hobby.”
Rabinowitz, a former CEO of Mytopia, sold to online gaming company 888 for $18 million, and founder of Amuso, co-founded F2 with Jonathan Saacks. The half-billion-dollar fund focuses on early-stage investments in gaming, insurtech, and legaltech.
“We believe in entrepreneurs with vision, even before the market recognizes the opportunity,” he says. “And in gaming, the opportunity is clear. It’s an industry driving the entire digital economy, from advertising to AI.”
The relationship between Babayigit and Rabinowitz began in 2007, when Babayigit was at Facebook and Rabinowitz was developing games for the platform. When Babayigit founded Arcadia, the two began collaborating. Arcadia’s first two Israeli investments, made jointly with F2, were in Sett, which develops AI tools for gaming, and another undisclosed company.
“There’s far more collaboration between the two countries than people realize,” Babayigit says. “I’ve worked with dozens of Israeli teams, and politics never entered the room. There’s mutual respect and a shared ability to move fast.”
Rabinowitz adds:
“Gaming is a field where creativity transcends politics. If Israel and Turkey continue to cooperate, they could become a regional hub for digital innovation, not only in gaming, but also in AI, advertising, and user experience.”
Babayigit is already looking ahead.
“I plan to make at least ten more investments in Israel this year,” he says. “I don’t focus on valuations, I focus on people. There’s a new generation of developers, product managers, and designers here who grew up at Playtika, Moon Active, and SuperPlay. They know what success looks like, and I want to be there when they build the next big thing.”
