Casual gaming could get disrupted by social design

Turkish mobile games studio Magic Games has raised more than $5 million in seed funding led by Makers Fund, with participation by Firat Ileri, and Hummingbird Ventures. Founded by former Peak Games leaders Cagri Ozturk, Ruya Celikcan, and Mert Kasar, and joined by senior industry leaders Murat Ozcelik, Anil Sert, and Orhan Tuc, the team draws from deep experience creating top-grossing mobile puzzle games including Toy Blast, Toon Blast, and Star Blast. Magic Games will use the funds to grow the team, hiring artists and developers in Istanbul and soon for a second office in Europe.

Magic Games raises over $5 million in a seed round led by Makers Fund to disrupt casual games through social design

"Our company builds around the belief that social interactions are the key to deepening and enriching our shared gameplay experience. We believe that in-game communities can transform the way that our users play with and against each other, creating friendly camaraderie out of competition. Social features are integral to our development cycle as we work to build multiplayer games that anyone can enjoy," said Cagri Ozturk, CEO and co-founder, of Magic Games.

“We were immediately drawn to Magic Games’ ambition of creating match-3 puzzle games that blend community features with multiplayer elements. Cagri and his team have built world-class games in this genre before, and we think the casual games market is going to love the fresh perspective that they’re bringing to this next chapter," said Curtis Urbanowicz, Makers Fund lead on the deal.