Grand Games, a rising star in the gaming world, kicked off 2025 with one of the largest Series A investment rounds ever completed in Turkiye.

The $30 million round was led by Balderton, the investor behind Dream Games, and Bek Ventures (formerly Earlybird Digital East Fund), the backer of Peak Games. Both investors have a history of supporting unicorns in Turkiye. Grand Games’ pre-seed investor, Laton Ventures, along with angel investor Mert Gür, also participated in this milestone round.

A Historic Collaboration of Industry Leaders

Founded in 2024 by Bekir Batuhan Çelebi, Mehmet Çalım, and Mustafa Fırtına, Grand Games achieved a first in Turkiye by securing its Series A round within a year of its pre-seed funding, completed in February.

This round brought together two of the gaming industry’s most prominent investors. Balderton and Bek Ventures, the forces behind Dream Games and Peak Games, respectively, united to support Grand Games’ vision of innovation and growth.

Grand Games distinguishes itself with a unique studio-based working model, where independent teams take full responsibility for individual games. Rather than pursuing trends, the company focuses on untapped areas of gaming, aiming to create groundbreaking genres.

Rapid Growth and Outstanding Achievements

Co-Founder and CEO Bekir Batuhan Çelebi highlighted the studio’s impressive accomplishments:

"We developed two casual games in 10 months with a team of only 14 people. Magic Sort! and Car Match have reached the top 1% in player retention and revenue generation metrics, earning over $1 million in monthly revenue. We completed one of the largest investment rounds in Turkiye in our first year. We owe this extraordinary success to our team culture and strategy."

A Vision for the Future

With the new investment, Grand Games plans to expand its operations by creating additional studios and launching new games globally. CEO Çelebi outlined the company’s long-term vision:

"With two successful games in different genres, we’ve laid the foundation for our vision to create a multi-studio entertainment center focused on emotional engagement rather than specific mechanics. This investment will enable us to build studios that pioneer new game genres and publish our games worldwide."

Support from Industry Leaders

Balderton’s Partner, Suranga Chandratillake, praised Grand Games’ achievements:

"Istanbul is home to some of the most successful game studios in the world. Grand Games stands out in this ecosystem with its strong team culture and vision to create new types of world-class casual games. The culture they have built and the two successful games they have released in as little as a year clearly demonstrate their talent and determination. With their passion for games and boundless ambition, we are excited to work with the Grand Games team."

Oğuzhan Özer from Bek Ventures also expressed confidence in Grand Games:

"While investing in Turkiye’s rapidly growing gaming ecosystem, we have been highly selective, as we are in every sector. Grand Games became our first gaming investment after Peak Games, and their performance since our seed-stage investment has reinforced our confidence in them. It is a pleasure to continue supporting them on this journey."

Laton Ventures Founder Görkem Türk added:

"We are delighted with the success of Grand Games, one of our first investments. As we emphasized our belief in its strategy during the pre-seed round, we believe Grand Games is on its way to becoming the next unicorn of Turkiye. This Series A round, completed at unprecedented speed, combined with the rare metrics they have achieved, underscores their potential."

Building a Team for the Future

Grand Games plans to grow its team by attracting talented and passionate individuals who share their vision. CEO Çelebi emphasized the significance of the company’s rapid growth:

"Our goal is to create another unicorn from Turkiye by developing new game genres. We invite everyone who shares our passion to join Grand Games and help us reshape the mobile gaming world." Source: adapted from an article by Mobidictum