Grand Games funding hits $103M as micro-studio model drives 6x valuation jump
Summary
Grand Games closed a $70M Series B led by Balderton Capital, bringing total funding to $103M
Valuation rose ~6x in just over a year for the Istanbul-based hybrid casual studio founded in 2024
Five autonomous micro-studios with ~75 employees shipped two US iOS chart-toppers and 50M+ downloads
"The people building the games are at the centre of everything we do"
01
$70M Series B at a 6x step-up on 14 months of operations
Lead investor: Balderton Capital
Existing backers Bek Ventures and Laton Ventures participated
Angel participant: Mert Gür, mobile gaming entrepreneur
Total Grand Games funding now stands at $103M
Funds earmarked for marketing scale, hiring, and upcoming game launches
02
Five autonomous teams, 75 people, two chart-toppers
Each internal studio retains ownership over product direction and decisions
Magic Sort and Block Out both topped the US iOS download charts
50M+ worldwide downloads in under two years of operation
Structure enables parallel bets across multiple hybrid casual concepts
US chart leadership at sub-100 headcount justified the 6x step-up to Balderton
03
Turkish talent pipeline is the structural advantage
"Türkiye has produced some of the best mobile gaming talent in the world, and we wanted to create an environment where that talent has real ownership"
Founding team are former Zen Match developers - a talent recycling flywheel, not a one-off hire
Turkey offers competitive developer costs with a proven hybrid casual track record
The micro-studio model is designed to retain top Turkish mobile talent inside one entity
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