Turkish Mobile Game Studio Bigger Games Secures $25 Million

• Bigger Games raised $25M Series A led by Goodwater Capital to expand its flagship match-three puzzle game Kitchen Masters into global markets.

• Investors include Arcadia Gaming Partners, Index Ventures, and Play Ventures, with Coddy Johnson joining the board.

• The funding underscores continued investor interest in mobile puzzle games, a segment dominated by hits like Candy Crush Saga and Bejeweled.

Turkish mobile gaming studio Bigger Games has closed a $25 million Series A funding round led by Goodwater Capital, as the company prepares to expand its flagship puzzle game Kitchen Masters into international markets.

The financing round included participation from Arcadia Gaming Partners, Index Ventures, and Play Ventures. As part of the investment, former Activision president and current Goodwater Capital partner Coddy Johnson will join Bigger Games' board of directors.

The funding comes as the mobile gaming industry continues to attract significant investment, with match-three puzzle games representing one of the most enduring and profitable segments. Kitchen Masters, Bigger Games' primary revenue driver, operates in the same category as industry giants like King Digital Entertainment's Candy Crush Saga and PopCap Games' Bejeweled.

According to mobile analytics firm Sensor Tower, Kitchen Masters ranks as Bigger Games' most downloaded and highest-grossing title. The game has accumulated over 500,000 downloads on Google Play Store since its launch, the company said. The match-three format requires players to align three or more identical items, a gameplay mechanic that has proven consistently popular across demographics.

"Fun is a feeling, not a feature," said Hakan Ulvan, Bigger Games' chief executive and co-founder. "Bigger Games exists to create emotionally impactful experiences: games where every swipe, tap, and decision feels meaningful. We obsess over emotional flow, the small bursts of mastery, surprise, and joy that keep players engaged."

The company plans to prioritize Kitchen Masters' international expansion over the next 12 to 24 months, according to Akın Babayiğit, an investor at Arcadia Gaming Partners. The strategy includes collecting behavioral data from diverse markets to inform both current operations and future game development initiatives.

"Hakan and the Bigger team embody all the qualities that make the Turkish games ecosystem what it is today: Scary smart, super hungry, unwilling to settle or compromise, and incredibly creative and analytical," Babayiğit said in a statement.

Bigger Games was established in 2019 by Ulvan, Yagiz Akpek, and Erkan Gurel, all former executives at Peak Games, the Turkish mobile gaming company that Zynga Inc. acquired for $1.8 billion in 2020. The acquisition highlighted the growing prominence of Turkish developers in the global mobile gaming market.

Since its founding, Bigger Games has released several puzzle titles including Hollo Ball and Rope Rescue, which collectively have generated more than 75 million downloads across iOS and Android platforms. The portfolio demonstrates the company's focus on the puzzle gaming segment, which typically offers strong user retention and monetization potential.

The fresh capital will enable Bigger Games to expand its marketing capabilities and build a larger promotional team to support both the company's brand and its individual game titles. The investment reflects growing investor confidence in mobile gaming studios, particularly those with proven track records in high-engagement genres.

Turkey has emerged as a significant hub for mobile game development, with several studios achieving international success and attracting major acquisitions. The country's developers have particular expertise in puzzle and strategy games, categories that have shown resilience during economic uncertainty and continue to attract both players and advertising revenue.