YTU Yıldız Technopark implemented the Project

With the support of ISTKA, YTU Yıldız Technopark has implemented the largest-scale incubation center in the Istanbul region in the field of

mobile games and e-sports. With the 'GamesUP Project', which will continue for 18 months, it is aimed to bring the startups at the idea stage

to the market and to carry the startups at the product stage to global markets.

YTU Yıldız Technopark, which was established by Yıldız Technical University (YTU) in 2003, established the Acceleration and Incubation Center for Gaming and E-sports Vertical with the support of Istanbul Development Agency Entrepreneurship Financial Support Program. The GamesUP Program, implemented in partnership with the Information Commercialization Center and the Football Istanbul E-sports Club Association, will continue to work for 18 months.

Evaluating the GamesUP project at the meeting held at the Davutpaşa campus of Yıldız Technical University (YTU), YTU Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer Yılmaz said, “Our incubation center, which is the largest in the Istanbul region, will make significant contributions to the world of gaming and e-sports. By encouraging entrepreneurs with the potential to produce high value-added, innovative, advanced technology products and services, we will transfer the scientific knowledge of our university to innovative initiatives and ensure that new values ​​are produced. I sincerely believe that the products and brands that will emerge with the support we will provide to entrepreneurs within the scope of the program will be among the largest in the world in the global market.”

TECHNOPARKS ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THE GAME

YTU Yıldız Teknopark General Manager Orhan Tanışman stated that they aim to contribute to the national competitiveness by establishing an inspiring ecosystem that will lead to the emergence of domestic brands.

“YTU Yıldız Technopark has 330 R&D firms, 111 incubators and 8 It hosts more than a thousand qualified R&D and software personnel. With the GamesUP Project we have implemented, we are expanding this scope to include the world of games and e-sports. While the pandemic process negatively affected many sectors, it increased the number of players and the amount of money spent on the game, thus increasing the growth rate of the game industry. At this point, the game ecosystem is at the forefront of the rapidly growing sectors with the presence of creative young entrepreneurs who can catch the change trend. Technoparks, which host multi-disciplinary structures that turn inspiration into experience, are also at the center of this ecosystem. Especially young startups quickly consumed the game and gamification tools with the dynamism of the university, and brought the e-sports world to the technopark culture. We will watch the Turkish e-sports school and game ecosystem more enjoyable now, hosted by technoparks.”

Also sharing the figures and examples of success for the game ecosystem, Tanışman said, “While the game industry had a market size of 91 billion dollars a year five years ago, it has reached an astonishing 160 billion dollars market size in 2020. To put that number in perspective, it makes the gaming market more than twice as large as the global recorded music industry (about $19 billion) and the worldwide movie box office revenues (about $43 billion) combined. Founded by Sidar Şahin in 2010, Peak Games made its first big break with one of the game studios; He did it when he sold it to international gaming company Zynga for $100 million. Afterwards, it became the first unicorn company in Turkey by making an exit of 1.8 billion dollars in 2020. Following this, Gram Games.

"OUR TARGET IS GAME CLUSTER IN ISTANBUL"

YTU Yıldız Technopark Deputy General Manager İsa Turgut İnci gave the following information about the operation of the program:

“We will carry out all our activities within the scope of the GamesUP project at YTU Yıldız Teknopark Davutpaşa Campus with the contribution of expert trainers, mentors and consultants. Applications to the program www.gamesup.com.tr We continue to collect. The activities of our center will be in two different tracks: acceleration and incubation. In our acceleration program; developed products in the mobile game and e-sports vertical; however, we will provide consultancy and mentoring support to entrepreneurs who have not yet brought it to the market or only to the Turkish market, on marketing, investor and access to finance, branding and institutionalization, user experience design, finance and law. Thus, we will contribute to the commercialization of their products in global markets. In our incubation center, training in the fields of product market compliance validation, gamification, SEO and digital marketing, access to finance, accounting, law and game publishing required for entrepreneurs with ideas in mobile games and e-sports to develop and market their products, We will provide mentoring and consultancy support and support them to present their products to the market. In the continuation of our project, we plan to implement the Game Cluster structure that will operate throughout Istanbul. In parallel with the acceleration and incubation lanes, we will organize Investor-Entrepreneur Meeting Events throughout the project, and we will organize workshops and workshops on the vertical of gaming and e-sports entrepreneurship.”