80 Level Team did research to learn more about the game development industry in Turkey. This report defines some unique features and development directions of the local market and uncovers what is like doing business there.
Flagship projects of the region are mobile games. Some games on the Top 10 charts of the App Store came from Turkey (examples: Basketball Arena, Deep Clean Inc. 3D, Jelly Dye) and some industry’s big studios (Crytek and Voodoo) opened their offices in the country. The valuable and “ripe for the expansion” nature of the Turkish game development business becomes undeniable.
Even though Turkey is almost always considered part of the Middle East, the country is usually excluded from the group of countries in the region under the MENA identifier. However, the term MENAT explicitly includes Turkey. It’s interesting that Turkish developers interviewed for our research emphasized that the industry in their country is oriented toward Europe and they identify themselves as belonging to Europe more than to the Middle East or Asia.
Interviewees note that in some cases local Turkish developers do not have enough experience to create commercially successful and popular games. In search of missing knowledge, most of the developers turn to major foreign publishers like Voodoo, Rolic Games, Lion Games. Developers appreciate the advice and contribution of publishers to their companies’ success greatly.
Turkey is in a protracted financial crisis. The national currency weakened by 44% against the dollar in 2021 and fell another 27% percent in 2022. Economic trends have an impact on game development. The vast majority of developers are focused on making a profit in dollars/euros as more stable and safe currencies from foreign markets. Orientation to the domestic market is unprofitable.
Gamedev is an advanced industry with relatively high salaries in the country. For some, this job has become a ladder to the middle and upper classes. At the same time, due to the deteriorating standards of living in Turkey, many qualified specialists relocated abroad.
The Turkish banking system is highly regulated. Any mediator has to prepare their infrastructure in a certain manner and obtain a banking license. According to Turkish laws, payment providers should share all their data about payments/transactions that happened from/to Turkey if requested by the Turkish government. PayPal hasn't worked in Turkey since 2016, as well as many other payment providers. The most popular payment method in Turkey is a bank card.
Many payment methods like PayPal are illegal in Turkey. So, you should have a credit card to buy something including refilling Steam and making in-app purchases.
Turkey is a promising region for the growth of the game development industry. Taking into account local specifics, there could be found excellent partners, and opportunities for revenue increasing.