WePlay HUB

Gaming Accelerator in Europe, Central Asia and Turkey

WePlay HUB is a 3-Month Gaming Acceleration Program where gaming studios can explore and utilize the broad network of WePlay Ventures and get access to gaming industry experts, experienced founders, and investors.

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Key Takeaways

Remote and
English

Technical &
Business

Up to 300K
USD Investment

Program’s Process

We accept applications from Europe, Central Asia and Turkey to our acceleration program, which starts on the first day of each quarter. We invest in the most promising gaming studios that have successfully completed the acceleration program.

Application

We accept gaming studios showing potential that have a concrete strategy to launch their game globally. WePlay HUB empowers studios across Europe, Central Asia & Turkey; regardless of the platform. (Mobile, PC, Console, Web3, AR/VR) Think you’re a good fit? To speed up your growth, apply for WePlay Hub through this link.

  • Pre-seed stage
  • Core game developer studio
  • Minimum 4 members
  • Studios from Europe, Central Asia, Turkey

Evaluation

WePlay Hub collects applications from Turkey, Europe & Central Asia. We select gaming studios with global scalability potential for the program.

  • We will evaluate each applicant and contact those who have successfully passed our preliminary process.
  • We will organize a meeting with the gaming studios, in which gaming studios will pitch us their ideas through a presentation.

Gaming studios that have passed the pitch meeting successfully will be selected to join the acceleration program.

Acceleration

Gaming studios that are selected to join WePlay HUB will begin their acceleration process. WePlay Hub will transfer crucial technical and business know-how to the selected gaming studios through a 3-month program. The acceleration program will start on the first day of each quarter and will consist of weekly 1:1 meetings with our mentors.

Investment

Studios that demonstrate exponential growth and traction during WePlay HUB’s acceleration program will be considered for investment opportunities. Our ticket size is up to $ 300k and 15% of equity.

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Core Gains

1.Solid Foundations

  • Jumpstart your vision into a market-ready business with a tailor-made development roadmap, transforming your innovative ideas into a polished enterprise.

2. Monetization Mastery

  • Collaborate with us to pinpoint optimal monetization strategies tailored to your game’s platform and genre. We’ll also delve into pioneering monetization methods and craft a tactical plan to maximize revenue.

3.Technical Prowess

  • Benefit from comprehensive support in game conceptualization, prototyping, and polishing. Our technical mentors will equip you with essential tools and knowledge, ensuring you master the craft of successful game design.

4.Accelerating Traction

  • Develop a multifaceted strategy covering technical, business, and developmental milestones. Leveraging our extensive network and deep industry insights, we’ll position your game studio for noticeable market traction.

5.Network with Industry Leaders

  • Engage directly with influential figures in the gaming industry through exclusive events, talks, podcasts, and networking opportunities. Gain invaluable feedback, forge strategic partnerships, and elevate your game to new heights.

6.Focused Growth

  • Participate in targeted game testing sessions to evaluate key performance metrics and refine your publishing strategy. Our collaborative approach ensures your games not only reach the market but also resonate with audiences and achieve commercial success.

7.Investment Prep

  • Graduates from WePlay HUB will be thoroughly prepared for investment rounds, equipped with critical knowledge and all necessary documentation to confidently secure funding and propel your business forward.

What We Offer

Strategical Partnerships

Valuable
Know-How

In-House
Expertise

World-Class Mentors

Investment Opportunity

Core Gains

Impeccable Foundation

We will spend time together in order to ensure your ideas become a reality by creating a roadmap to a functioning and professional business.

Wheels in Motion

We will, in collaboration with you, determine the correct monetization techniques for your platform and genre. Furthermore, we will explore new monetization methods and most importantly create a strategical monetization plan.

Technical Excellence

We will support you in conceptualizing, prototyping, polishing and more. We will ensure the transfer of knowledge occurs at the right time. With our technical mentors, we will make sure that you will learn how to use the crucial tools in order to design a successful game.

Building Traction

We will create a roadmap for technical, business and development fields. Ensure that we stick to the plans and generate the maximum output. With our extensive reach and large portfolio, we have stored enough knowledge to acknowledge trends and build traction for a gaming studio.

Access to Keynote Players

We will organize events with key players of the gaming ecosystem, host talks, podcasts and networking events. Gaming studios will be able to participate and talk to prominent players and create partnerships with them. In extension also receive critical feedback regarding your game and ideas.

Scaling Up

We will host occasional discussions with you where we will test games and pinpoint which metrics are good or bad in their respective genres. In addition to that we will discuss the publishing strategy of the games. Together with the game studios we will ensure that games are published in the manner that credits and benefits the gaming studios the most.

Investment Ready

Those who have successfully graduated from WePlay Hub will have the key knowledge to know how you can move forward with your investment round. Our most important aim is to help you in you in encapsulating the necessary information. This means you will have every sheet, deck, and document to receive investment.

Our Roadmap

Introduction Meeting

Our first meeting with the team is to gather information, evaluate and assess the game studio. Every gaming studio that goes through this stage is added to the pipeline.

Due Diligence

Through our due diligence process we extend our research and create a pipeline for due diligence and document sharing.

Selection Meeting

We evaluate the gaming studio with all of its merits, our process from the introduction meeting continues and a decision is made in regard to progress the studio to the Starz platform.

WePlay Starz

Our platform gives access to gaming studios to further their reach, network and create potential partnerships with industry professionals.

Decision Meeting

WePlay team, through the gaming studios journey in the Starz Platform assesses and evaluates whether if an investment should be made. If positively concluded the investment process begins.

Business Curriculum

Finance

  • Financial Forecast
  • Budget Planning
  • Revenue Modeling
  • Company Valuation

Business Development

  • Partnership & Networking
  • Publisher Communications
  • Building Team
  • Business Modeling

Investment Management

  • Preparing Pitch Deck
  • Presentation Skills
  • Investor Relations
  • Preparing Documents for Investment Round

Strategy

  • Publishing Strategies
  • Growth Strategies
  • Investment Strategies
  • Exit Strategies

Technical Curriculum

Game Design

  • Game Designing
  • Level Designing
  • Narrative Designing
  • Documentation

Development

  • Prototyping
  • Game Engines
  • Game Mechanics
  • Softwares

Art

  • Concepting
  • Modelling & Designing
  • UI/UX Design
  • Visual Clarity

Marketing

  • Testing
  • Marketing Strategy
  • Monetization Strategy
  • Publishing Strategy

HUB Team

Dr. İsmail ERGEN

WePlay HUB
Advisor

Onur EREREN

WePlay HUB
Advisor

Can TANYELİ

WePlay HUB
Advisor

Efe ERDOĞAN

WePlay HUB
Advisor

Our Starz Mentors

Aykut Basturk

Unity
Regional Sales Lead

Haluk Akdogan

Freeplay
Lead Publishing Manager

Buğra Çetiner

Playsense Agency
Partnership Manager

Serkan Özay

Hero Concept
Founder

Selman Yalvaç

Yalvaç Hukuk
Founder

David Phillips

Elf Labs
CEO

Jayant Uppal

Newzoo
Game Dev. & Publishing

Yaraslau Kot

Sr. Game Developer
& Advisor

João Alegria Oliveira

EA Games
Game Product Manager

Julia Lebedeva

WN Media
Chife Operating Officer

Maryna Bondarenko

Miniclip
Business Developer

Maxim Babichev

Green Gray
CBDO

Jacqueline Liu

Women in Games
Ambassador

Olivier Gemayel

AWS
Principal Games VC BD Manager

Pavel Ignatov

Balancy
Co-Founder

Tunahan Oduncu

Social Peta
Business Development

Umut Ersaraç

AccelByte
Account Executive (EMEA)

Itay Dekel

Exon
Business Development Manager

Daisy (惠珊) Zhang

WN Media
Partner Relations Manager

Pierre de Conihout

Era 2140
Managing Director

Nathan Sölbrandt

Xsolla
Business Development Manager

Yuriy Krasilnikov

Earth Games
Chief Executive Officer, co-founder|Managing Director

Mateusz Bochenczak

Appsflyer
Account Executive

Ebru Bayram

Google 
Customer Engineer

Sabri Gurpinar

Google
Account Manager

Emrah METE

Google Cloud
Cloud Customer Engineer

Jakub Remiar

Game Masters
Mobile F2P Games Consultant

Pierre Moisan

CEIM
Senior Advisor

Tiziano Giardini

Quickload
Program Director

Ayşe Damla Pekgöz

Game Marketing & Business Development Consultant

Shivam Mishra

First Games

Product Designer/Manager

Michael Kopelovich

Major Gem
Monetization Manager

JULIA ILJUK

Balancy
Co-founder

TIM HORTON

Studio 444 & Inviox Studios
CEO

YIGIT ATAKAN

Adjust
Regional Partnerships Lead

FIKRI MERT KURUM

Skyloop Cloud
Co - Founder

JANI TORPPA

Geeklab
Co-Founder and COO

ZIAD TALGE

Yayy
CEO

EMİR UZUNOĞLU

Partner Development
Advisor at Microsoft

ELIZABETH KAMAROVA

Head of Growth
at Balancy

ILAYDA BAYARI

Country Manager
at Xsolla

ELIF HILAL UMUCU

Developer Relations Engineering
at Chainlink Labs

GEORGE WONG

Country Manager
at Sandbox

DİDEM KOSKOS GÜREL

Account Executive
at Amazon Web Service

GEORGE ELHABR

Business Development Manager
at AppAgent

ABDULLAH H.

Business Development at
Yandex for Apps

FARUK UZUN

Sales Manager at
Amazon Ads

KIRILL RAZUMOVSKIY

Founder at Playliner

MICHEAL MARTINEZ

Co-Founder
at FunCraft

KARL PONTUS

Co-Founder at
Video Game Insight

ROSS PURIASEV

CMO at
UGC Ninja

RENATA RAVILOVA

Head of PR & Community &
Advisor at UGC Ninja

ALEXEI CHEMENDA

CEO at Poolday.ai

JIM PURVES

VP Operations
at Heroic Labs

PHILLIP BLACK

Game
Economist

BEKIR DIRI

Business Development Manager
at Atlas Localization

TIMUR DEMIRKIRAN

CEO at
Metriqus

BELIZ ZORLI

Partner at
Zorlu Partners

MERİÇ ERYÜREK

Founder at
Gaming Istanbul

DANA SYDORENKO

CEO at
GameTree

CHRISTOPHER FARM

Lead Publisihing
Manager at Freeplay

JULIA ILJUK

Co-founder
at Balancy

AHMET YAŞAR

Partner at
Yaşar Law Office

Our HUB Portfolio

Batch 1

Batch 2

Batch 3

Batch 4

Batch 5

Our FAQ

Who is the program designed for?

We are looking for early-stage gaming studios with global scaling potential that have plans to launch their game globally. We enroll gaming studios which develop games for all platforms (Mobile, Console, PC and Web3) from European, Turkey and Central Asian countries into our hub.

What does the program offer?

WePlay Hub offers strategic partnerships, expertise, and investment opportunities to early-stage gaming studios with global scaling potential. Gaming Studios that are successful in their evaluation will be added onto WePlay Ecosystem which is our advisory and networking platform and WePlay Team will select gaming studios that have shown exponential success and traction during the process and evaluate them as investment opportunities will have the chance to receive an initial investment.

What topics are covered in the training sessions?

The training sessions cover a wide range of Business Curriculum and Technical Curriculum. In these sessions, there will be detailed content on finance, business development, investment management, strategy, game design, development, art and marketing, which will be needed by the studios and will contribute to their improvement.

What is the duration and target regions of the WePlay HUB Program?

The WePlay HUB Program is a 12-week intensive online experience designed to accelerate the growth of gaming studios in Europe, Central Asia, and Turkey. This program provides participants with an immersive journey that equips them with the necessary tools and knowledge to take their studios to the next level.

What support is available to program participants after graduating from the program?

WePlay HUB provides an acceleration program that supports emerging talent in the industry. Upon graduation, participants will gain access to WePlay’s international network of industry professionals and partner network. Successful graduates showing exceptional progress during the program will be considered for an investment.

Can we apply again if we are not accepted?

Yes. If you have significant updates since your last application in the months between applications, you are welcome to submit a new application.

How does WePlay HUB select teams for the program?

The studio must be a core game developer studio, pre-seed and seed stage, have at least 4 members in team, from the regions covered.

How much does WePlay Ventures invest?

Gaming Studios that are successful in their evaluation will be added onto WePlay Ecosystem which is our advisory and networking platform and will have the chance to receive an initial investment after pitch day. The investment will be up to 300K USD.

How often is the WePlay HUB program held?

The WePlay HUB program runs in 3-month cycles.

How does the application process work?

Once you submit your application, our team will review and reach out to the top applicants for an initial interview. Two-stage meetings are organized with the startups that are eligible for acceleration, including the technical team. After the approval of the technical team, the startups participate in the acceleration program for three months.