Video game developer Scopely has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Istanbul-based mobile game studio Loom Games, Scopely has informed the market.

The deal valued the enterprise in excess of $1bn through a multi-year and performance-based structure, according to Pocketgamer.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Herguner Bilgen Ucer served as legal counsel to Scopely while Aream & Co. served as financial advisor to Loom and Kumkumoglu Cin Ozkan Ozdogan Solak Avukatlik Ortakligi (KECOS) along with Fenwick & West LLP served as legal counsel.

Fast and furious

It was in August 2025 that CEO Kubra Gundogan and CTO Emre Celik launched Loom. They each took a 50% stake in the company.

Loom currently employs 20 developers. Gundogan and Celik will continue to lead the studio from Istanbul following the takeover.

In September 2025, Loom launched its first mobile game “Pixel Flow!”. It is a hybrid casual puzzle experience. So far, more than 10mn people have played the game globally. It has millions of daily active users.

In December, Loom closed a seed financing round that attracted investments from Arcadia Gaming Partners and Istanbul-based e2vc. Arcadia acquired a 0.05% stake and e2vc took a 5% stake, while Gundogan and Celik obtained equal 47.7% stakes. The deal valued the enterprise at $36mn.

Unicorn in less than a year

In February, Loom became a unicorn. The current shareholding structure is not available. The latest filing with the trade registry gazette suggests that e2vc’s share declined to 2.5% on February 6.

Media reports suggest that Arcadia exited.

“It’s been a privilege to have a front row seat to Kubra and Emre’s rapid growth and see their team become the latest Turkish startup to reach unicorn-level status,” Akin Babayigit, a founder in Arcadia, was quoted as saying in Scopely’s press release.

Turkey’s eighth

So far, Turkey has seen the emergence of two decacorns along with six unicorns.

Peak Games, launched in 2010, became the country’s first unicorn after it was acquired by Zynga (Nasdaq/ZNGA) in 2020.

E-commerce platform Trendyol, launched in 2010 and acquired by China's Alibaba (New York/BABA; Hong Kong/9988) in 2018, became the country’s first decacorn in 2021.

Getir, a rapid groceries delivery app-based service launched in 2015, became a unicorn in 2021 and a decacorn in 2022.

E-commerce platform Hepsiburada (Nasdaq/HEPS), launched in 2000, became a unicorn in 2021.

Dream Games, launched in 2019, became a unicorn in 2022.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based martech (marketing platform) Insider Growth Management Platform, launched in 2012, became a unicorn in 2022.

Istanbul-based fintech Papara, launched in 2015, claimed in 2023 that it became a unicorn.

Saudi unit

Los Angeles-based Scopely, launched in 2011, was in 2023 acquired by Riyadh-based Savvy Games Group, which was launched in 2021 by the Public Investment Fund (PIF, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund).