Scopely will acquire a majority stake in the Istanbul-based studio behind "Pixel Flow!" in a multi-year, performance-based deal valuing the business in excess of $1 billion, according to an announcement this week. Financial terms of the stake itself were not disclosed.

The studio, founded only last year by CEO Kübra Gündoğan and CTO Emre Çelik, closed a seed financing round in 2025 before reaching a billion-dollar-plus exit valuation months later. "Pixel Flow!" has drawn more than 10 million players globally since launch and stands as the only casual game released in the last 12 months to break into the U.S. monthly top-20 grossing charts — the metric that matters most for mobile monetization at scale.

What does the deal change for investors and teams?

For seed backer Arcadia Gaming Partners, the turnaround is unusually fast. Managing Director Akin Babayigit said in a statement: "Having invested in the company just months ago, to exit at a billion-dollar-plus valuation is a phenomenal result." He added: "It's been a privilege to have a front row seat to the team's rapid growth and success and see them become the latest Turkish startup to reach unicorn-level status. We're extremely confident about their future growth potential as part of the Scopely ecosystem."

For Scopely, the acquisition extends a consolidation run that has kept the company at the top of the U.S. mobile gaming market and second globally. Previous moves include:

• The acquisition of Niantic's games business, bringing titles such as "Pokémon GO," "Monster Hunter Now" and "Pikmin Bloom" under Scopely's operations
• New licensing partnerships spanning IP from "Star Wars" to "Jurassic Park"

The performance-based, multi-year structure signals that Scopely is tying payout to sustained grossing-chart performance rather than paying the full valuation upfront — a mechanism founders negotiating similar deals should study closely.

Also this week: closures, layoffs and publishing deals

Sony Group Corp. will shut down PlayStation subsidiary Bluepoint Games next month, Bloomberg reported. The studio, founded in 2006 and known for high-end remakes including "Demon's Souls" and "Uncharted," will lose around 70 jobs. A spokesperson told Bloomberg the decision followed "a recent business review," adding: "Bluepoint Games is an incredibly talented team and their technical expertise has delivered exceptional experiences for the PlayStation community."

Wildlight Entertainment laid off "Highguard" staff less than a month after releasing its debut game. "Today we made an incredibly difficult decision to part ways with a number of our team members while keeping a core group of developers to continue innovating on and supporting the game," the studio said in a Feb. 11 statement. The upcoming "Highguard" update still ships later this week with the fortified Cloudreach airship-hangar base, the Lockpick raid tool for disabling doors and windows, the support-oriented Warden's Lockpick variant, an expanded seven-item weekly inventory for Trader Flynn, and the Moonbruin Mount and Iron Vigil Wayfighter cosmetic bundles.

On the publishing side, Lyrical Media's Lyrical Games signed a deal with British studio The Chinese Room to publish an unannounced title, providing full financing, production support and go-to-market planning "while preserving the studio's creative autonomy and IP ownership." Lyrical Games, led by veterans of Private Division, Humble Games and Devolver Digital, has already announced "Valor Mortis" from One More Level and "Erosion" from Plot Twist, both due in 2026, plus a partnership with Blackbird Interactive.

Wilson, meanwhile, released the "Backyard Baseball Collection" — gloves, Louisville Slugger bats, EvoShield protective gear and balls across four sports — targeting millennial parents who grew up with the games nearly 30 years ago.

Watch whether Scopely discloses performance milestones tied to the "Pixel Flow!" deal, and how Bluepoint's roughly 70 affected staff are redeployed as the shutdown completes next month.