Starberry Games

Starberry Games GmbH is a mobile game development studio headquartered in Berlin, Germany, that focuses on the free-to-play casual games market. The company was established in 2017, initially under the name Chatterbox Games, by co-founders Antti Hattara and Samir Hadi. Hattara, the CEO, brings extensive experience to the venture, having worked in the gaming industry since 2003 at companies like Digital Chocolate and Wooga, where he was Head of Studio. This background in product management and studio leadership, which started with creating games for Nokia phones while studying at Helsinki University of Technology, has shaped the company's direction. The co-founders met during their time at Wooga and decided to establish their studio in Berlin, recognizing the city's potential for attracting global talent.

The studio's business model is centered on developing free-to-play games for Android and iOS devices, generating revenue through in-app purchases and advertisements. Starberry Games aims to identify market opportunities by blending established game mechanics with fresh ideas to create engaging titles for a broad audience. The company's initial strategy involved developing games for emerging platforms like instant messengers, with their first project being a mini-golf game. However, the team pivoted to the idle games genre, a decision influenced by co-founder Samir Hadi's experience in that category. This shift led to the development of their debut title, "Idle Coffee Corp.," which has accumulated over 8 million downloads. This success was followed by "Merge Mayor," a title self-published in April 2021 that has since grossed over $25 million from more than 6 million downloads.

Starberry Games has secured significant funding to support its growth. The company raised a total of $1.5 million over two seed rounds, with the first in February 2018 and a subsequent round of $1.1 million in April 2020 led by byFounders and Play Ventures. By the end of 2021, the company had successfully raised a €5 million Series A round, a milestone attributed to the strong performance metrics of "Merge Mayor". The studio has received accolades for its work, including the 'Best Indie Developer' award at the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards in 2020. The team has grown to 21 employees representing 16 nationalities.

Keywords: mobile game development, free-to-play, casual games, in-app purchases, idle games, merge games, Starberry Games, Antti Hattara, Samir Hadi, Idle Coffee Corp, Merge Mayor, Berlin gaming startup, venture capital, Play Ventures, byFounders, mobile gaming studio, iOS games, Android games, simulation games, game analytics