Circle Games Raises $25M Series A From Tencent

Istanbul-based mobile gaming studio Circle Games has successfully closed a $25 million Series A funding round, with global gaming giant Tencent taking the lead. This significant investment underscores the rapid ascent of the young company, which has achieved an eight-figure annualized revenue run rate with its debut title, 'Sort Express,' less than a year after its initial seed funding. The round also saw participation from existing investors BITKRAFT Ventures, e2vc, and APY Ventures, alongside new backer a16z.

The swift progress of Circle Games is particularly noteworthy in the highly competitive mobile gaming sector. With a lean team of just 28 individuals, the studio has demonstrated an impressive ability to develop and scale a hit title. This rapid market penetration contrasts sharply with the typical multi-year development cycles and larger team sizes often required to reach similar revenue milestones in the industry. The company's strategic focus on combining creative excellence with data-driven product development appears to be a key differentiator.

BITKRAFT Ventures, which led the seed round in early 2025, highlighted the exceptional product instincts and execution capabilities of the Circle Games team. Their initial investment was predicated on the strong engagement metrics observed even in early, untargeted campaigns for 'Sort Express.' The studio's co-founder and CEO, Göktürk Balıkcı, emphasized the importance of partners who deeply understand the gaming ecosystem, noting that the BITKRAFT team felt like a natural extension of their own vision.

The success of Circle Games is situated within the context of Turkey's emergence as a global powerhouse for mobile game development. The region has consistently produced internationally successful studios, including Peak Games (acquired by Zynga for $1.8 billion), Dream Games (creators of the hit 'Royal Match'), and Gram Games and Rollic (acquired by global publishers). This vibrant ecosystem benefits from experienced founders, a strong engineering talent pool, government support, and a favorable cost structure, enabling studios to iterate and innovate more efficiently than their Western counterparts. This has attracted significant attention and investment from major players like Zynga and Scopely.

Circle Games' founding team brings a wealth of experience from these leading Turkish studios. Co-founders Göktürk Balıkcı, Mustafa Özdemir, Mehmet Ay, and Arda Özarslan have a decade-long history of collaboration, having worked together at companies like Gram Games, Good Job Games, and Dream Games. Their prior experience in areas such as new game development, gameplay design, growth marketing, and engineering, including work on playable ad technology at Playable Factory, has equipped them with a comprehensive understanding of the entire game development and user acquisition lifecycle.

The studio's commitment to quality is evident in their iterative approach to game development. They reportedly abandoned an earlier concept that did not meet their high standards, reflecting a philosophy where "details are the product." This meticulous attention to every aspect of the player experience, from haptics to level design, has contributed to 'Sort Express' achieving day-30 retention rates that rival top performers in the highly contested puzzle genre. Furthermore, Circle Games integrated marketing and creative testing into their development process from the outset, a strategic move that has clearly paid dividends.