Royal Match maker Dream Games levels up with $225 million raise, now valued at $2.75 billion

Istanbul’s Dream Games has raised $225 million in a Series C funding round. With this raise, the company’s valuation more than doubles within a six-month period, and now sits at $2.75 billion. In so much, this figure makes the Turkish firm one of the most valuable and well-funded private mobile gaming companies in the world. To date, the two-year-old gaming studio has raised $468 million.

Now I wouldn’t want to call Istanbul the gaming capital of the world, but um … if yesterday’s announcement of Spyke Games’ $55 million seed round and today’s $225 million in Dream Games is any indication, ummmm.

Arguably, the Godfather of this movement is Istanbul’s Peak Games (which was acquired by Zynga in July of last year), and the backstory of their incredible recruitment drive is now the stuff of legends.

Since this time, Peak has seen a number of successes, and employees. Some of which have graduated the ranks, and have gone on to start studios of their own. And some of Dream Games’ success should come as no surprise when looking under the hood, founder and CEO and co-founder Soner Aydemir, you guessed it, spent 6 years under the Peak banner, moving from marketing specialist to product owner to product director.

I’m willing to bet that if you’ve played any form of casual, mobile game in the past year, and an ad or two have come up, Dream’s Royal Match has been one of them. Heck, this author alone has been lured away from my beloved series of Crushing of Candy time fillers by Dream’s Pixar Animation Studios’-like graphics and familiar gameplay.

“Dream Games approaches gaming in a way that’s similar to how Pixar approaches filmmaking,” says co-founder and CEO Soner Aydemir. “We wanted to bring a holistic and inspiring spirit of excellence to the many thousands of details involved in the game design process, from art and engineering to the mechanisms that underpin the user experience. The result is a rich, beautiful gaming experience with enduring appeal.”

Dream Games’ $225 million Series C round was led by Series A round investor Index Ventures, with Makers Fund, IVP, BlackRock, Kora, and Balderton Capital also participating.

“The success and growth of Royal Match exceeded all of our expectations,” says Stephane Kurgan, the Index Ventures partner who led the investment, and former chief operating officer at King. “In eight months, Royal Match has become one of the most played mobile games of 2021. Dream Games has assembled one of the best teams in the industry, with a rare combination of creative talent, engineering expertise and relentless work ethic. They’ve already shifted the norms around what counts as excellence in mobile gaming, and we’re excited to see where they go next.”