A new VC focusing on gaming in Turkey shows that the industry there continues to gain popularity

Turkey has gained a well-deserved fame as a veritable hotbed of mobile gaming startups, which has led to the emergence of VCs dedicated to the sector. The latest addition to this coterie is Laton Ventures, a new gaming-focused VC fund that has raised a $35 million fund. Founding partner – and Solo GP – Görkem Türk says his goal is to construct a bridge between the Turkish gaming ecosystem and the remainder of the world by investing at pre- and seed stages. The fund is legally domiciled in the Netherlands.

As an emerging market with a young population, Turks have devoured mobile games as fast as they will be produced, leading to the creation of over 740 gaming startups. Over 48% of Turkey’s 86 million individuals are under 30 years old, and over 92% of web users play games in Turkey compared to the global average of 82%.

Indeed, between 2018 and 2022, Turkish startups in the gaming industry lifted up financing in excess of $1 billion.

It have to be admitted that Laton has some competition. At least they at the moment are 25 VC funds that invest in video game startups based in Turkey. That said, most invest in other tech sectors as well.

Türk, a former gaming and startup manager at Google, explained to me in a phone interview that Laton plans to differentiate itself by emphasizing operational consulting for its portfolio corporations.

“We position ourselves as a bridge between the Turkish gaming ecosystem, which is prospering, and the international gaming ecosystem. Second, we’ll double operational support in areas comparable to user acquisition, game design, cohort evaluation, development, and so on. We are supported by over 20 former founders. That’s what really sets us apart,” he said.

Over the past six months, the fund has already invested in five corporations: two in Turkey, two in Europe and one in the US, and plans to leverage its network of experienced industry advisors.

For this purpose, Latona’s LPs include, amongst others: Mehmet Ecevit, co-founder of Gram Games; Mert Gür, founding father of Loop Games; Mert Can Kurum, founding father of Ruby Games; Fırat İleri, Managing Partner of Hummingbird Ventures; Nevzat Aydın, founding father of Yemeksepeti and Eric Kress, founding father of Gossamer.