Cheer Games raises $4.5m pre-seed to build puzzle franchises
| Date | Type | Companies Involved | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2026 | investment | $4.5m |
- Cheer Games was founded by former AppLovin Lion Studios leaders behind the hit puzzle game Hexa Sort.
- The company currently operates with an 11-person team and is actively hiring global talent.
- Play Ventures and a group of strategic angel investors also participated in the round.
Barcelona-based mobile studio Cheer Games has raised $4.5 million in a pre-seed funding round to support development of its upcoming puzzle titles.
Cheer said it will also use the capital to hire new global talent and expand its Barcelona headquarters as it aims to build durable franchises rather than short-term hits.
Founded by a team of former senior leaders at AppLovin’s Lion Studios, Cheer is led by CEO Emre Gercel, CPO Berkay Ozturk, CTO Ertan Ünver and CMO Kutay Koralturk. The studio is currently made up of an 11-person team.
The pre-seed round was led by Makers Fund with participation from Play Ventures and a strategic group of angel investors.
Building together
Cheer said the founding team’s experience working together across product design, engineering, growth and business development gives it a strong foundation to build long-lasting game franchises and scalable intellectual property.
"When I look across the table at Berkay, Kutay, and Ertan, I see the people who built the games our industry measures itself against and who chose to bet on what comes next," said Cheer Games CEO Emre Gercel.
He added: “That collective experience is not something you find twice. We started Cheer because we believed we could build something more durable than the industry's short-term thinking allows for.
“To build games that become franchises and studios that become institutions. Barcelona gives us the global stage, our Turkish roots give us the hunger, and this team gives me complete confidence that we'll deliver."
Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona takes place June 15th - 16th.