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European Gaming meets Gökçe Nur Oguz, CEO and Co-Founder of Playable Factory

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Q: Tell us about how & why you came to found Playable Factory?

Over four years ago – when we founded the company – gaming was booming and it still is today. All our friends were working in the sector and we wanted to, too. We were new to it all. Monetization, LTV, CPI… sounded like another language to us but gradually we learnt from our friends and tapped into the scene. As we grew our understanding, we realised playable ads played an important role. If done well, they can add to the experience of gaming. But good ones were frustratingly hard to find. So, along with my co-founders, Berat and Omer, we started making them ourselves and the rest is history.

Q: What were you doing before that/what led to it?

After university, I completed a PhD in Fluid Dynamics, a subdiscipline within physics and engineering. There were a few gamification projects, like building games for people to play that would simultaneously have a background programme running to solve an operational problem. This part had me captivated. Outside of academia, I was always gaming and would gamify everything I did. Not just computer games, but card games, board games etc… So it felt natural to me to do something I enjoyed.

Q: Describe Playable Factory & Gearbox in a nutshell?

Playable Factory is a company that focuses on the creative needs of digital advertisers. The focus is mostly on playable ads and recently on video ads for gaming clients specifically. Our secret (or not so secret) weapon is Gearbox, an online editing and iterating platform for creatives. This is split into two: Gearbox Playable, create your own tailor made playable ads (create, iterate, download and repeat) and Gearbox Video, a tool that allows users to record gameplays easily and create/edit/tweak to their heart’s desire. You can generate hundreds of videos in an automated process with one click.

Q: What kind of support can a gaming developer (or brand marketer) expect from your
platform?

Gearbox is made for people who want to monetize their games. It’s a one-stop shop for advertising and promotional videos. No prior coding knowledge is needed so anyone can use it, which hasn’t really been done to this extent before – with full, fast-response, technical support. It’s like having the full agency experience on one platform. For developers, we provide them with market insights around playable ads, guiding them to the right concept in
a speedy manner. They can get creative with graphic filters, text to speech options, banners… and any feature that improves the performance of the playables or video ads.

Q: Who are your clients?

We work with top mobile game publishers: Zynga, Playtika, Dream, Voodoo, Lion Studios, Gram Games and lots more. Apps publishers like Funimate, Trendyol and Gopuff. And brands include Hasbro, LEGO, Unilever and L’Oréal.

Q: What is unique about the Turkish mobile market/why has it become known as the Silicon
valley of the mobile gaming market?

Turkey’s become a global mobile gaming hub. It’s amazing to watch it take off. Some of the best publishers and developers in the world are based here. I think it’s got a lot to do with the ability for rapid development. You’ll find teams of 4-5 young people making a steady stream of mobile games that they send out into the market. Thanks to home-grown success stories, the eyes of investors have turned towards us. But it’s also down to the culture here. Gaming is hugely popular in Turkey and you can feel the passion and drive among people in the
scene here. Local and global economic forces make international expansion lucrative and it feeds back into making the industry making it even bigger and better – and long may it continue.

Q: Have you always been passionate about gaming? When did you first get into it?

I’ve always liked games: console, board games, mobile games… For me, it’s cracking the puzzle that gets me hooked on a game. In my childhood, my younger sister and I were always inventing our own games. Now, business-wise, my co-founder Berat and I, enjoy gaming together and playing board games in our downtime. We actually got the licence for the hugely popular party game Codenames from Czech Games. Since then, we’ve published two more board games together. This was before we entered mobile gaming.

Q: What’s your favourite mobile game?

It has to be 2048. I like puzzles and numbers 🙂

Q: What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve overcome in your career to date? And greatest
success?

Without a doubt: building a company from scratch on a technology that we learned all by ourselves, with no training. I didn’t know how to build playable ads, I didn’t know anything about HTML5 gaming and coding so finding a good developer and establishing a business was the biggest challenge.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to start-ups in the gaming industry?

I never truly understood the importance of a team before I started working in gaming. PhDs involve mostly working solo and it misses the team spirit. The pressure is high because the success of your work is always dependent on you, and you alone. The gaming industry is totally different. Success reflects on the team who built the game. I wish I’d known that before joining the industry. So, my advice would be to evaluate your team, and believe in them because that’s the only way to reach success. If you don’t like the people you work with, it’s often much harder for you to fulfil your full potential. When your motivations align with your team’s, you can combine forces and focus to get the success you deserve.

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South Africa’s Top Gamers Crowned at 2025 MTN SHIFT Gaming Grand Finals at Canal Walk

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Massive wins, standout talent and a showdown wrapped up five months of fierce competition across the country.

After months of qualifiers and regional heats at eight Hyprop malls across South Africa, the MTN SHIFT Gaming Experience reached its electrifying conclusion at Canal Walk Shopping Centre. With hundreds of spectators and players packing the gaming arena, the national finals brought the heat and crowned South Africa’s best in EAFC 25™, Beat Saber, Call of Duty and more.

In the EAFC National Final, Hamza Moosa (17) from Sandton, proved why he’s one of the country’s most exciting young talents. A professional esports player for Goliath Gaming, Moosa outplayed the competition to take top honours. A familiar name on the international stage, he recently represented South Africa at the Esports World Cup qualifier in Saudi Arabia. Hamza left the MTN SHIFT Gaming national finals with prize money of R25000.

Beat Saber fans saw a fast-paced, high-score battle won by Michael Prange (17) from Pretoria and Garsfontein High School. Ranked #2 nationally, Prange is also a two-time Beat Saber World Cup competitor and has helped shape South Africa’s competitive VR rhythm community through coaching, mentorship, and global participation. As the 2025 MTN SHIFT Gaming Beat Saber national champion, Michael won a Gaming PC valued at R50000.

In the schools division, Ridhaa April, 15, from Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs, took the EAFC title. A prodigious talent who’s been competing since the age of 12, Ridhaa plays professionally for Goliath Gaming and already holds multiple top finishes, including 1st place at the 2025 ASL.

In the Rocket League school tournament, Curro took top spot, followed by Edgemead High in second place.

Meanwhile, Call of Duty Mobile closed out the finals with serious intensity as returning champions Nixuh held onto their title. The dominant team of Magicz (Raees Ismail), Adnaan (Adnaan Bhamjee), Raz (Rahil Bux) and Enigma (Jameen Essa) walked away with a R30 000 cash prize.

“The atmosphere at this year’s finals was absolutely electric,” said Vanessa Herbst, Marketing Manager at Canal Walk Shopping Centre. “The level of skill on display was unreal, and the crowd brought their energy every day. The bar has been set very high for the 2026 edition.”

The MTN SHIFT Gaming Experience is South Africa’s biggest mall-based gaming tournament, played over five months across Gauteng and the Western Cape. Regional heats were hosted at Rosebank Mall, Clearwater Mall, The Glen, Woodlands, Table Bay Mall, Somerset Mall and Capegate Shopping Centre, with the final week of competition culminating at Canal Walk. The tournament drew thousands of players across all skill levels, offering more than R250 000 in prizes and a platform to compete in front of live audiences.

“The SHIFT Gaming Experience is about bringing high-level competition into public spaces and giving players of all ages the opportunity to compete, connect and grow,” said Christie Stanbridge, Brand and Campaigns Marketing Manager at Hyprop. “From pros representing South Africa on global stages to young players discovering their potential, far more than being entertaining, this year highlighted gaming as a space for learning, discipline and community.”

With the 2025 tournament wrapped, planning is already underway for an even bigger return in 2026.

The post South Africa’s Top Gamers Crowned at 2025 MTN SHIFT Gaming Grand Finals at Canal Walk appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Bonus Bag feature

TaDa Gaming Delivers Highway Thrills in Chicken Dash

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Award-winning TaDa has taken a favourite joke and transformed it into an immersive and humorous crash release. Simple mechanics, personalised risk management controls and a max win of 20,659.1x are enhanced with slick graphics and a fearless chicken.

And with an expanding bonus bag that fell off the back of a lorry, it’s easy to see why this chicken is so determined to get to the other side.

Players begin by setting their preferred gameplay parameters. Three levels of Easy, Normal and Hard will dictate the level length or number of tiles the bird has to cross and the level max multiplier value.

Strong clear colours and polished visuals set the scene for the determined chicken to make it across the motorway. Beginning on the grass verge, players click to send the bird across the lanes one multiplier tile at a time against the oncoming traffic.

Each safe step will see a safety barrier land to protect the chicken but one false move and it’s game over and back to the grass verge.

Keeping players on high alert, the Chicken Dash feature can randomly trigger multiple times in a game. The appearance and squawking of the rooster starts the bonus feature which protects the chicken from traffic throughout and allows it to pass over two or three tiles in one go.

A Bonus Bag feature can also randomly trigger. Players must land the chicken on the tile where the bag dropped to collect the prize. And the higher the risk level, the higher the prize.

A clear UI and straightforward gameplay mean players can focus on getting the chicken across the road in one piece – and hopefully with the bonus prize – while enjoying Chicken Dash’s crisp graphics and sly details in this high volatility and amusing game.

Sean Liu, Director of Product Management at TaDa Gaming, said: “Chicken Dash is a hugely entertaining crash game that will have players laughing out loud. The cartoon graphics add to the experiential play and we promise no chickens were hurt in making of this game.”

The post TaDa Gaming Delivers Highway Thrills in Chicken Dash appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Cash Rain Event

TaDa Gaming Releases Cash Stack

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TaDa Gaming, a leading provider of innovative casino content, is redefining fast-play entertainment with the release of Cash Stack, an adrenaline-pumping crash game that puts timing, control and strategy directly in the player’s hands. With a max multiplier of 100x, Cash Stack delivers rapid gameplay, instant decisions and nonstop engagement.

Built for players who love simplicity and control, Cash Stack starts at a 1.01x multiplier, with the tension rising as players manually tap DROP to increase their payout potential. Every decision carries risk — one mistimed move and the round ends instantly. For those who dare, the game can soar up to 100x before the stack collapses.

The twist comes with the Cash Rain Event, a random in-game boost that can multiply winnings by 0.1x to 10x. Players must hit CASH OUT before the round ends to claim the bonus value, adding a thrilling layer of timing and anticipation. The result is a fast, skill-driven experience that rewards quick reactions and nerve.

Cash Stack embodies TaDa Gaming’s next step in the evolution of crash games — sleek visuals, simple mechanics and an emphasis on player control over automatic outcomes.

Sean Liu, Director of Product Management at TaDa Gaming, said: “Cash Stack takes the essence of crash gameplay and turns it into a true test of timing and instinct. Every round is a balance between greed and precision — do you cash out early or chase the big win? We’ve designed it to be fast, flexible, and highly engaging for players who want to feel in control.”

The post TaDa Gaming Releases Cash Stack appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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