Turkish Social Game Company Peak Games Secures $5M VC

Peak Games -- one of the largest social gaming companies in Turkey -- has secured a round of $5 million in funding, the company said Wednesday. The Series-A round was led by European early-stage investor Earlybird Venture, and will be used "to execute on aggressive growth plans" by Peak, as it continues to create localized, culturally sensitive games for untapped markets. "The success Peak Games has had to date proves that the next big game genres on Facebook will offer culturally-relevant content and deliver a fully localized experience," said Earlybird partner Jason Whitmire. "We believe that this investment will support the company as it taps the rapidly-growing social gaming potential in emerging markets." "With social media use exploding in markets such as Turkey, Brazil and the wider MENA region, we believe that the next big Facebook games will come from an emerging market," added Peak CEO and founder Sidar Sahin. "Thanks to this investment from Earlybird, Peak is well positioned to lead this second wave of social gaming growth." Peak Games is one of the few social gaming companies targeting the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which has an estimated population of over 381 million people. In fact, the company "arguably already owns those markets," said Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter in a statement.