Udo Games

Udo Games, founded in 2013 by Gökhan Gökduman, Servan Güçlü, and Türker Karahan, has established itself as a significant player in the mobile gaming industry. The company's journey began at the ODTÜ Teknokent ATOM incubation center, a hub for game development in Turkey. This environment provided the fertile ground for the founders, who transitioned from developing games as a hobby to creating a formal business entity. Their initial focus was on creating their own intellectual property, but they strategically pivoted to developing hyper-casual games, a segment known for its rapid development cycles and broad appeal.

The company's business model centers on the development and publishing of mobile games, primarily within the hyper-casual and casual genres. Revenue is generated through in-app advertising and in-app purchases, a standard monetization strategy in the free-to-play mobile market. Udo Games serves a global audience of mobile gamers, developing titles that are designed for easy pick-up-and-play mechanics. The firm operates in the highly competitive but lucrative global mobile gaming market, leveraging its expertise in creating engaging and marketable content.

A pivotal moment in Udo Games' history was the acquisition of a 50% stake by Turkish gaming giant Peak Games in 2019, which was later fully acquired by Zynga. This partnership provided substantial resources and strategic support. Following this, in a significant strategic move, the original founders, alongside new partner Andaç Altak, bought back the company shares in 2021, regaining full ownership and control. This buyback signaled a renewed focus on their independent vision for growth, which included expanding their game portfolio and exploring new publishing opportunities. In 2023, Udo Games secured a $4.2 million investment from WePlay Ventures, further validating its strategy and providing capital for scaling its operations, particularly in game publishing.

The company's portfolio includes a diverse range of games, with notable titles such as Goons.io, Blob Runner 3D, and Cube Surfer. Their development strategy emphasizes creating dozens of prototypes to identify potential hits, a common practice in the hyper-casual space. Beyond developing its own titles, Udo Games has expanded into publishing, supporting other game studios by leveraging its experience in marketing, monetization, and navigating the app ecosystems. This dual approach of in-house development and third-party publishing positions the company to capitalize on a wider array of opportunities within the mobile gaming landscape.

Keywords: mobile gaming, hyper-casual games, casual games, game development, game publishing, free-to-play, in-app advertising, venture capital, Turkey, ODTÜ Teknokent