KOCCA – Korea Game Forum 2026

KOCCA Türkiye – Korea Game Forum 2026! Together with KOCCA Türkiye (Korea Creative Content Agency) and Boğaziçi Ventures, we brought together industry representatives in Istanbul for the “Türkiye – Korea Game Forum 2026.” Hosted by Boğaziçi Ventures, the forum focused on collaboration opportunities between the Turkish and South Korean gaming ecosystems, investment perspectives, the esports ecosystem, the impact of artificial intelligence on the gaming industry, and the future of the sector.

The event, which was held with limited attendance and professionally recorded, will also be broadcast in South Korea through KOCCA Türkiye.

As part of the event;

• KOCCA Türkiye General Manager Young-sung Hwang,
• Boğaziçi Ventures CEO Barış Özistek,
• Gaming in Türkiye CEO and Joygame Select Co-Founder Ozan Aydemir,
• ESA Esports CEO Lale Ergin,
• Gaming Istanbul Board Member Cüneyt Devrim,
• and Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Project Director Ahmet Diler

joined the forum as speakers.

A Collaboration Between KOCCA Türkiye and Gaming in Türkiye

Throughout the forum sessions, we discussed the current scale of the Turkish gaming industry, the growth of the esports ecosystem, investment opportunities, community dynamics, and Türkiye’s strategic potential for global gaming companies.

During the event, Gaming in Türkiye CEO Ozan Aydemir stated that Türkiye is not only a country with a large player base, but also a market that has built a strong production and community culture. Aydemir commented: “Türkiye has a very strong gaming community. At the same time, it is a market with fast reactions, clear expectations, and its own unique dynamics. That’s why simply bringing a globally successful model into Türkiye is often not enough. Real success comes from brands that can adapt their product, communication, and community approach to the Turkish market.”

Commenting on the current state of Türkiye’s gaming industry and the strategic collaborations being developed with South Korea, our CEO Ozan Aydemir stated that Türkiye has become a highly digitalized country. Aydemir noted that approximately 45–50 million people in Türkiye play digital games, nearly 90% of the population is connected to the internet, and around 65 million people actively use social media. He also emphasized that the market size generated by these sectors in Türkiye has exceeded $1 billion, with a significant portion driven by mobile gaming. Highlighting that Türkiye is not only a consumer market but also a producing country, Aydemir stated that more than 1,300 local game companies continue to operate across mobile, PC, and hybrid platforms, while the ecosystem itself continues to grow stronger.

Aydemir also underlined that international gaming companies continue to invest in Türkiye and emphasized the opportunities this collaboration with KOCCA can create for Turkish developers: “South Korea is one of the global centers of the gaming industry in terms of both technology and production. I believe the best starting point is mutual knowledge sharing between both sides. We have many highly talented and successful game companies in our industry. As this exchange of knowledge grows, the number of companies expanding globally from Türkiye will also increase. At the same time, new employment opportunities will emerge between the two countries.”

Sharing his thoughts on the forum, Boğaziçi Ventures CEO Barış Özistek stated that they are focused on strengthening collaborations between Turkish startups and Asian markets, with South Korea being a strategic partner in this vision. Özistek also mentioned that, as part of their new AI-focused investment fund, they have established a partnership with one of South Korea’s leading startup accelerators: “We are bringing startups and investors from South Korea to Türkiye, while also helping Turkish startups connect with South Korea. We see ourselves as a bridge enabling two-way collaboration between both ecosystems.”

Özistek also stated that more than 50% of the global digital economy is driven by Asian markets, and emphasized their goal of accelerating collaborations between companies focusing on artificial intelligence, fintech, retail technologies, and gaming across both regions. Highlighting KOCCA’s active interest in Türkiye’s creative industries, Özistek noted that Türkiye has become one of the world’s leading ecosystems particularly in the mobile gaming sector in recent years.

Emphasizing the strategic importance of bringing Turkish and South Korean gaming companies together, Özistek continued: “Connecting Turkish game companies with South Korean stakeholders and building partnerships is extremely important. This collaboration can take many different forms — from Turkish games expanding into Asia to Korean games being published in regions such as Türkiye and the Middle East. When we talk about creative industries, we are not referring only to gaming. This also includes K-pop, media, films, and TV series. These are areas where both Türkiye and South Korea are very strong. Through these collaborations, our companies can reach brand value and opportunities that would otherwise be difficult to access. At the same time, South Korean companies can also gain access to the talent, resources, and opportunities available in this region.”

Özistek also highlighted the historical friendship and “brother country” relationship between Türkiye and South Korea, stating that both ecosystems can support each other and achieve a stronger position in the global market together.

KOCCA Türkiye General Manager Hwang stated that KOCCA is a non-profit public institution established under South Korean law to support industries such as publishing, gaming, music, animation, and fashion. Hwang described the Türkiye–Korea Game Forum as an important platform where the current state, future potential, and collaboration opportunities between the gaming industries of both countries were discussed. He also emphasized that KOCCA is pleased to collaborate with leading organizations in Türkiye such as Boğaziçi Ventures and Gaming in Türkiye within the scope of this initiative.

Speaking about KOCCA’s upcoming initiatives, KOCCA Türkiye General Manager Hwang stated that they will organize the “2026 Türkiye K-Content IP Biz Week” event between June 2 – 4. Hwang concluded his remarks by saying: “Sixteen content companies from South Korea will participate in the event, and we also expect many content companies from Türkiye to join. We believe this organization will create new collaboration and business development opportunities for content companies from both countries. In the coming years, we aim to further expand the cooperation and cultural exchange between Türkiye and South Korea in the content industry, and contribute together to the growth of the global content ecosystem.”

Throughout the forum, participants also emphasized the growing collaboration opportunities between Türkiye and South Korea, particularly in gaming, creative industries, technology, and investment. As Gaming in Türkiye | MENA | EU, we have been building bridges between Türkiye and the global gaming ecosystem for many years. With this forum, we aim to further strengthen industry knowledge sharing and create new collaboration opportunities between Türkiye and South Korea.

Our goal with this forum is not only to discuss industry data, but also to introduce the Turkish gaming ecosystem more closely and help pave the way for more concrete and sustainable partnerships between the two countries. The fact that the event was professionally recorded and will also be broadcast in South Korea through KOCCA Türkiye ensures that this dialogue extends beyond the attendees in Istanbul.

As Gaming in Türkiye | MENA | EU, we will continue to organize new events and initiatives that increase knowledge exchange between Türkiye and Korea, highlight emerging opportunities within the gaming industry, and contribute to building stronger bridges between both ecosystems.