Last week, WN Istanbul’26 took place in Istanbul — the tenth anniversary Turkish event for game developers and publishers organized by WN Media Group. Here’s what happened at the event.
Feedback
In total, 510 representatives from various companies attended WN Istanbul’26. The event featured employees from PlaySide Studios, Rovio Entertainment, Rollic Games, ByteDance, Nutaku, Firstpoint VC, Finz Games, and many other organizations.
The guests of WN Istanbul’26 were pleased with the event.
WN Istanbul was a great opportunity for Lorien Accelerator and our founders. We showcased our portfolio, supported five additional game studios, and saw them connect with investors, publishers, platform holders, and industry leaders. The event also gave us the chance to contribute through roundtables, panel discussions, and the Indie Pitch jury. WN continues to be one of those rare events that truly brings the games ecosystem together, and we’re always proud to be part of it.
Founding Partner & CEO of Lorien Accelerator
WN Istanbul was a great experience. We made many valuable new connections, and the Indie Pitch was a real highlight. The Radisson was an excellent venue, especially with the convenience of going straight from the conference to the party, while also being close to the city center. The networking party was fantastic as well—everything was very well organized, and we really enjoyed the event.
Head of Business Development at HeroCraft
WN Istanbul was two inspiring days of insightful conversations, new connections, and meaningful exchanges with professionals from across the gaming industry. Meeting developers, publishers, investors, and other industry experts provided fresh perspectives and new ideas. Many thanks to the WN team for bringing the community together in such a well-organized event.
Business Development Specialist at Oyun Sektörü Etkinlikleri
WN Istanbul was a great event with valuable talks, meaningful meetings, and plenty of spontaneous conversations that turned into great opportunities. Thanks to the WN Events team for another well-organized conference in Istanbul.
Co-founder & CEO of Holyday Studios
WN Istanbul was a highly valuable experience for us. As an early-stage mobile game studio, we had the opportunity to showcase Brick City Wars, connect with publishers, investors, and industry experts, and receive direct feedback from the global games market. The quality of the meetings helped us better understand partner expectations, define the next steps for the project, and open the door to future collaborations.
CEO and CTOC of Nora Games
Program
WN Istanbul’26 spanned two days — June 18 and 19. This year, the event placed a significant emphasis on networking. Traditional lectures gave way to group work and roundtable discussions, allowing participants to deeply engage in topics of interest.
Some discussions drew particular attention. For instance:
- The roundtable “From Copilot to Co-author: Generative AI in Modern Game Production.” It was supported by ByteDance, with Bora Özkut, a solutions architect in the field of generative artificial intelligence at BytePlus, serving as the moderator;
- The roundtable “Harnessing Desires: Engagement, Spending Predictability, and Compliance in Adult Game Development.” It was led by Andrey Postnikov, a senior business development specialist at Nutaku. Sponsored by Passion Panda Publishing;
- The Q&A session “Stylized AA/Indie Games vs. Major Franchises,” during which PlaySide Studios’ VP of Business Development, Ozgur Ozalp, answered questions about working on the black-and-white cartoon shooter MOUSE: P.I. For Hire;
- The panel discussion “Scaling Mobile Games in 2026: Creativity, Brand, and Community as Growth Drivers,” featuring Chris Lefevre from ByteBrew, Jane Anderson from Rollic Games, Isil Eralp from Rovio Entertainment, and Abdus Samad from Finz Games.
The event also featured other activities. For example, a private event session with GameXCap took place successfully, along with a Happy Hour, prize drawings, a poolside networking dinner supported by Green Code, an exhibition of games from independent developers, and an indie pitch. Let’s focus a bit more on the latter two.
Showcase
The developer exhibition — showcase — featured 48 teams. Attendees could meet and talk with them, and play most of the projects they presented.
The majority of games at the showcase (83%) are being developed for PC. Many teams (52%) also plan to release their games on mobile devices. The share of games being prepared for consoles was 35%. Note that some exhibition participants are working on multi-platform titles, hence the total percentage exceeds 100.
In terms of engines, Unity remains the most popular, with a 60% share. Unreal Engine takes second place with 32%.
Indie Pitch
Recall that an indie pitch is a separate presentation during which independent developers showcase their games to experts. Jury members provide detailed feedback on each project and share valuable advice.
This year, the jury included representatives from ByteDance, Lorien Accelerator, Tark Games Publishing, Herocraft, Devotion Interactive, Gaming Istanbul, Games for Change Türkiye, Gaming in Turkey, and the Bahçeşehir University Game Incubation Center.
In total, five projects were reviewed during the indie pitch in Istanbul.
H.A.I.N: Heir of the Ancient Immortal Necromancer by Hellva Games
A cooperative horror thriller designed for teams of up to four players. In the story, the heroes of H.A.I.N must find mysterious artifacts and complete a ritual, resulting in one of them becoming the necromancer’s heir.
Chop Chop: Together by Dango Dynamics
Another cooperative game, but with a positive and chaotic twist. In Chop Chop: Together, gamers take on various professions (from chef to medieval blacksmith) and carry out absurd tasks.
CloudPaws by Mad Forge Games
An adventure about animal traders traveling on an airship. Players explore the world of the Cloud Archipelago, grow vegetables on farms, trade, and engage in many other exciting activities.
Little Woody by Prism Realm
A quest with an unusual 2D visual style reminiscent of book illustrations. The game’s protagonist is a sentient log embarking on a journey to learn more about its origins.
The Purge Revenant by OG Games Entertainment
A survival horror about a mountaineer whose wife went missing during a climb. To find her, he must venture into five dark dimensions, fight enemies, and locate fragments of a powerful artifact that will help unravel the mystery.
Sponsors of WN Istanbul’26 included Xsolla, Yandex Games, Yandex Advertising Network, ByteDance, Salary.cab, Malpa Games, Verve Group, RoasUp, Brightika, ReklamUp, Rock Rim, PubScale, CloudPayments, AdCounty, Jungle Technology, and others.
Below are some photos from the recent event.
