UK-based developer Matchingham Games has received a Rising Star Award at Google’s App Summit in Dublin.

The award is a a major endorsement from Matchingham’s peers for the developer’s rise to prominence over the past few years. The studio has recently been on our radar for their acquisition of two IPs from Turkish studio Pow Games in an $11.7m deal, and has built a strong hybridcasual portfolio with their Braindom series and other quiz-based games. That’s on top of publishing games from approximately 20 studios around the world.

CEO of Matchingham, Fatih Haltas said, “This award is a testament to our team’s relentless commitment to creating engaging and high-quality games. It provides validation that we are on the right path to achieving our vision, and it motivates us to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the gaming industry. We are deeply grateful for this acknowledgment from Google, and it inspires us to maintain our momentum and deliver even more exciting and enjoyable gaming experiences to our users in the future.”

What do these awards mean?

Awards like this are more than just an endorsement, but serve to demonstrate to the wider business and gaming community that their winners have built solid foundations and that success if possible for smart companies during turbulent times. While there are a great many studios putting out a number of hybridcasual titles and seeing solid success, a Rising Star award from Google is a badge that Matchingham will wear with pride.

With their investment, publishing business and an existing portfolio of their own successful titles, Matchingham seem well-placed to take advantage of a turbulent market that has seen more established studios who overextended during Covid take big hits in layoffs.