80 Level Team did research to learn more about the game development industry in Turkey. This report defines some unique features and development directions of the local market and uncovers what is like doing business there.
Game industry in Turkey is a little different from the Middle East one since it mostly follows the European (especially French) business model. Turkey looks like France in terms of mobile gamedev. Turkish small studios are focused on ad monetization models. Many companies publish their games through Voodoo. As for PC games, it’s a little different, the country tries to make its own unique way.
The most important part is a good publishing base. A publisher that we can trust and be sure that it will give our game a decent chance of success. The publisher will cover the parts of expertise we lack.
The currency exchange from the USD to the Turkish Lira is complicated. If you are looking for senior developers and they know what is going on with the economy, they would ask for a bigger wage in the Turkish currency. It’s way easier for foreign companies to find senior staff since they pay in dollars or euros. If you are a Turkish company working with Turkish workers, the salary expenditure will be higher.