A new venture capital firm, Firstpoint VC, has launched with the goal of investing €50 million in AI-driven gaming and entertainment startup companies, focusing on emerging markets such as Türkiye, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Central Asia.
The fund is led by Burak Yılmaz and Mike Fischer, who together have a wealth of investment executive experience and have held senior roles across WePlay Ventures, Square Enix, Epic Games, Amazon, Bandai Namco, SEGA and Microsoft.
“Over the past decade, Türkiye’s gaming sector has shown that globally relevant companies can be built with limited capital. Today, we see similar structural dynamics taking shape in other rising markets across Europe and Asia, particularly in countries such as Poland and Vietnam,” Yilmaz said in a press release. “By bringing together our team’s regional investment experience, deep operating knowledge across global gaming companies and a broad partner network spanning the region, we aim to support the next generation of standout companies from the earliest stage.”
The global gaming and entertainment sectors are expected to grow to a whopping value of $1 trillion within the next five years, with AI rapidly reshaping how products are built, representing greater opportunities for investment.
Firstpoint VC’s €50 million will be earmarked for investments in gaming and entertainment startups in a market that is increasingly influenced by AI. Firstpoint’s investment plan is to replicate a model seen in Türkiye’s gaming ecosystem and apply a similar model across other rising markets in Europe and Asia.
In recent years, Türkiye’s gaming ecosystem has produced three success stories in the form of Peak Games, Dream Games and Loom Games, achieving success faster than many other sectors. As a market, Central Asia is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for digital investment, driven by its strong talent base and strategic position.
AI is still a controversial topic in game development, with the CEOs at companies like Take-Two Interactive and Hooded Horse publicly expressing their concern about the use of generative AI in gaming products. While the investment marks a major shift in emerging markets, the use of AI in game development still has a long way to go before it can become an accepted norm in the industry.
“AI is opening a new chapter for gaming and entertainment. In this next phase, the companies that stand out will not be those that use AI simply as a tool, but those that place it at the center of product development, growth, and user reach,” Fischer said in a press release. “One of Firstpoint’s greatest strengths is its ability to combine that category focus with a strong regional network across Türkiye and other high-potential markets in Europe and Asia. That puts us in a strong position to identify exceptional founders early.”