$30 Million Series A Raised For Cell Gaming Studio

Cypher Games, a cellular gaming studio centered on innovation in informal and social gameplay, introduced the closing of a $30 million Series A funding spherical led by The Raine Group and Play Ventures. The oversubscribed spherical included participation from MIT, E2VC, and Huuuge Founder Anton Gauffin’s Big Bets, alongside present backers together with Discord CEO Humam Sakhnini, King Founder Riccardo Zacconi, and Tripledot Co-Founder Akin Babayigit.

The financing follows Cypher’s $10 million seed spherical in September 2024. It will speed up the U.S. launch of the corporate’s debut title, Match Squad, a hybrid match-3 and dice-based cellular sport that blends two of the preferred mechanics in informal gaming. The firm plans to make use of the contemporary capital to scale operations, broaden its group, and start early growth on its second sport throughout the subsequent two years.

Cypher Games, headquartered in Istanbul, has quickly constructed a repute as one in every of Turkey’s most promising artistic studios. Match Squad introduces a novel “luck-battle” dynamic to conventional puzzle gameplay by merging skill-based development with social and city-building components. The firm’s imaginative and prescient facilities on redefining the emotional and social expertise of informal cellular gaming, aiming to create extra interactive and community-driven play.

The funding additionally underscores the rising investor curiosity in Turkey’s fast-evolving gaming ecosystem. Led by Co-Founder and CEO Anil Simsek, Cypher continues to draw top-tier design and engineering expertise from the area whereas securing international partnerships with industry-leading traders and artistic collaborators.

With early efficiency metrics already displaying robust participant engagement and best-in-class retention charges, Match Squad is poised to compete on the prime of the worldwide informal gaming charts upon its upcoming U.S. launch.

KEY QUOTES:

“We’re thrilled to close this Series A fundraising with the support of such a strong investor group. Our mission is to pursue innovation and deliver it with top-tier storytelling and premium production quality, at the fastest possible pace. This new funding provides the liquidity necessary to execute on that vision as we bring our game to market.”

“There are many great game companies and titles in the market that we admire and respect as game producers. But every year, players expect something new. They look for innovation and meaningful differences. Match Squad offers the perfect intersection of luck and skill in the core loop – something we believe is missing in today’s mobile games.”

“We are bringing the true social core of luck-battle games to match-3 by combining them with city-building metagames. We don’t aim to differentiate for the sake of being different. We operate in pursuit of the perfect feeling, bringing all players under one roof and expanding the potential player base. We won’t stop until we achieve it.”

Anil Simsek, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Cypher Games

“We’re pleased to deepen our partnership with Anil and the Cypher team as they continue to push the boundaries of the match-3 genre with their innovative integration of the dice mechanic. They have continued to attract the best talent in Turkey which is evident in the beautiful game design and best in class gameplay in Match Squad. We look forward to supporting the execution of the team’s innovative strategy as Cypher continues to shape the future of the casual gaming ecosystem.”

John Salter, Co-Founder and Partner, The Raine Group

“Cypher has one of the strongest art and design visions in the world. The team invests heavily in experience and emotional design, actively seeking out the best talent in Turkey. We were the first to back Cypher, a young, world-class team that has quickly evolved into a true global design and art powerhouse. With Match Squad, they are set to redefine the match-3 genre, and early metrics already show incredible player engagement along with the best-in-class early to mid-term retention.”

Harri Manninen, Founding Partner, Play Ventures