I wrote for Naavik about the surge of venture-backed startups chasing the next breakout hit in casual puzzle. Read the full article here.
Why I wrote about this
In the grand scheme of things it’s not a huge round or anything. However, Bigger Games is Hakan Ulvan’s company, and Hakan is a pretty cool guy, so I took the opportunity to write about it.
The gist of it
Casual puzzle represents roughly 10% of the mobile gaming market and generates over $6 billion annually in in-app purchase revenue (after platform fees). It is also dominated by heavyweight incumbents such as King (Candy Crush Saga), Playrix (Gardenscapes), Peak (Toon Blast), and AppLovin (Matchington Mansion). Breaking into this tier is exceptionally difficult.
Bigger Games is part of a broader wave of well-funded startups founded by veterans of these companies. Teams of ex-King, ex-Peak, and ex–Jam City talent have launched studios like Dream Games, Trailmix, Redemption Games, and Luau Games — collectively raising millions in early-stage funding. The pattern is clear: experienced puzzle operators are spinning out to build the next category leader.
However, success in casual puzzle requires more than polished gameplay. Scaling to the level of the incumbents demands not only a standout product but also a sophisticated user acquisition engine. With competitors willing to wait 12+ months for marketing payback, deep capital reserves are pretty much a prerequisite for serious competition.
Key takeaways
- Casual puzzle remains a massive ($6B+) and highly attractive market for investors.
- The genre is dominated by a small group of scaled incumbents with strong product and marketing capabilities.
- A wave of ex-corporate puzzle veterans has launched new studios backed by significant early funding.
- Winning requires both a top-tier game and a capital-intensive, data-driven marketing machine.
- Despite high barriers, fresh teams with proven track records could still disrupt the established leaders.