Earlybird Invests $5m in Peak Games

BERLIN, HAMBURG and MUNICH, Germany, May 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Peak Games, the flourishing emerging markets social gaming company, today announced a $5 million Series-A investment to foster continued growth in some of the fastest-growing markets in the world including Turkey and MENA (Middle East North Africa). The round is led by Earlybird Venture Capital, one of Europe's most successful, early-stage technology investors. The funding will enable Peak Games to execute on aggressive growth plans as the company solidifies its position as a global player in the expanding market for social games. Part of Peak Games' success has been driven by how the company reaches underserved markets with localized and culturally-specific games that employ strong engagement and monetization strategies.

"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 Jason Whitmire, partner at Earlybird Venture Capital. "We believe that this investment will support the company as it taps the rapidly-growing social gaming potential in emerging markets."

"We've driven phenomenal growth due to our understanding of what players want, reflecting the culture and tastes that make high growth regions like Turkey and MENA unique," said Sidar Sahin, chief executive officer and founder of Peak Games. "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. Thanks to this investment from Earlybird, Peak is well positioned to lead this second wave of social gaming growth."

"Peak Games demonstrates that the social gaming market is truly a global one," said Michael Pachter, analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities. "Companies like Zynga and Nexon dominate in their markets because they fundamentally understand their customers and know how to create culturally-relevant content. I think Peak Games has done the same thing for Turkey and MENA and arguably already owns those markets."

Peak Games, which was founded by Sidar Sahin, one of Turkey and the Middle East's most prolific entrepreneurs and most respected gaming experts, counts some of the most successful entrepreneurs amongst its management team. Launched in October 2010, Peak Games has quickly established itself as the leading social gaming company in Turkey and MENA, catapulting to the position of 10th largest social gaming company globally by number of daily active users (DAU) (source: AppData.) Much of this rapid rise is due to Peak's focus on games based on traditional Turkish and Arabic card and board games, as well as localized content showing a strong understanding of its audience.

About Earlybird

Earlybird Venture Capital is one of the most successful European venture investors. Currently, Earlybird manages EUR430 million in assets for an international investor base. Earlybird invests in innovative, fast-growing technology enabled services companies with outstanding management teams and high growth potential in international markets. Earlybird's portfolio currently includes 27 companies and a number of market-leading consumer Internet and media firms such as CrowdPark, Madvertise, Mikini, Peak Games, Scoreloop and Simfy. Since its inception, Earlybird has invested in over 70 companies that have sparked some of the most significant innovations in business and technology. In addition to several successful trade sales, Earlybird has led six companies to an IPO at four different European exchanges (Interhyp, Tipp24, Wilex, Esmertec, entelos, and NoemaLife).

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About Peak Games

Peak Games creates engaging and culturally-relevant social games aimed at players in emerging markets such as Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa. With more than 10M active players drawn from one of the world's the fastest growing social gaming markets, Peak Games already ranks as one of the 10 largest social gaming companies globally. Through its mixture of original IP, including Okey - the most popular game in Turkey, Okey Plus and Ikon Kiz (FabGirl), and licensed games such as Komsu Ciftlik, Peak Games' mission is to continue to use its unrivaled expertise to create and publish social games that fit the unique interests and cultures of emerging markets. Peak Games was founded in October of 2010 by one of Turkey's leading entrepreneurs, Sidar Sahin. The company is backed by investment from Earlybird Venture Capital and Hummingbird Ventures.

Engage with us here: Web site (http://www.peakgames.net/); Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/peakgames); Twitter (http://twitter.com/peakgames/)

    MEDIA CONTACT Earlybird

    Daniela von Wedel
    Earlybird Venture Capital
    Van- der- Smissen Str. 3
    22767 Hamburg Germany
    Phone: +49-40-4329410
    [email protected]

    MEDIA CONTACT Peak Games

    Nicole DeMeo
    [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
    +1-415-533-2599
    John Ozimek
    [email protected]

SOURCE Earlybird Venture Capital