Games at Turkiye's First Creative Economy Summit
Tugbek Olek moderated a panel at WN Conference Istanbul with founders from SuperGears Games and Agave Games. The discussion focused on how business logic, not creative preference, drives platform decisions.
3 min read
Ankara isn't where the Turkish games industry usually makes news. But the first Creative Economy Summit organised by TOBB's Creative Industries Council wasn't a games event. That's exactly why it mattered.
Two days, hundreds of B2G and B2B meetings, and for the first time, the economic weight of creative sectors placed formally on a stage with direct lines to policy. Not a panel at a games conference where everyone already agrees. A room where games had to make its case alongside film, advertising, and design, to people who don't necessarily know the difference between a publisher and a developer.
Setimedia Co-Founder Tugbek Olek was on a panel moderated by Mirgun Cabas, alongside FCB Artgroup founder Ozgur Saglam and Netflix's Pelin Mavili. The conversation covered how creative industries contribute to national economic development, what meaningful policy support actually requires, and why cross-sector collaboration produces more than any single government programme ever could. It was direct. At points uncomfortable. Better for it.
Representing games in that room is part of what TOGED exists to do. As the official association for game developers in Turkiye, having a clear and informed voice in economic policy conversations isn't optional. Other creative sectors have been doing this for decades. Games is still establishing its position, and that takes presence, consistency, and the willingness to argue the case in rooms that weren't built with the industry in mind.
TOBB Board Member Ibrahim Burkay closed the session with plaques for participants. Symbolic, yes. But the meetings running parallel to those formalities were not.
