Circle Games Raises $25 Million as Tencent Backs the Mobile Puzzle Studio

Istanbul-based Circle Games has raised $25 million in a Series A round led by Tencent, bringing the mobile developer's total funding to $32.25 million. Existing investors including e2vc, BITKRAFT Ventures, APY Ventures and a16z Speedrun also participated. Circle plans to use the money to expand recently released Jelly Escape into additional markets, continue growing Sort Express and at least double its workforce while developing more mobile titles.

The funding is another reminder that mobile puzzle games remain attractive investment targets when studios can demonstrate repeatable user acquisition and monetisation rather than simply arrive with a charming prototype and several slides containing the phrase 'massive TAM'. Circle's strategy has emphasised data analysis and user experience around accessible puzzle mechanics, an approach that fits the increasingly industrialised casual-games market.

Tencent's participation is also notable because the Chinese giant already has extraordinary reach across mobile gaming. Twenty-five million dollars buys quite a lot of jelly, but more importantly it buys Circle Games the runway to discover whether one successful puzzle pipeline can become several.