Rollic CEO: From Hyper-Casual to Hybrid Success (Part 1)

Rollic Games was founded in 2018 and acquired by Zynga in 2020. In just a few years, the Istanbul-based studio went from a hyper-casual powerhouse to a hybrid-casual operator whose revenue is now primarily driven by in-app purchases (70–80%)—with ads still serving broad audiences who prefer them. What looks like a business-model shift is, in Rollic’s words, a product consequence: “we didn’t aim to go hybrid; it happened as we made better games.”

From Hyper-Casual to Hybrid Casual

Rollic’s early catalog read like a global top-charts montage: Go Knots, Picker 3D, Tangle Master 3D, High Heels. During the IDFA privacy shift, when user-acquisition economics punished many hyper-casual portfolios, Rollic doubled down on fun-first design and built systems for months-long retention instead of week-long spikes. As loops deepened and players stuck around, IAP began to out-earn IAA organically—proof that engagement, not deck-slides, is the real monetization lever.

Importantly, leadership remained hands-on players. CEO Burak Vardal stresses that the entire leadership team are core gamers. That bias shows up everywhere: in how prototypes are scoped, in what gets tested, in the insistence that “content volume doesn’t create fun—core mechanics do.” When a prototype hits, Rollic scales content after it proves retention.

A Short Timeline

• 2018: Rollic is founded in Istanbul; early hits establish the label in hyper-casual charts.
• 2020: Zynga acquires 80% of Rollic; the pipeline accelerates, including Tangle Master 3D, Hair Challenge, High Heels.
• 2022+: As part of the Take-Two family, Rollic starts operating deeper loops and evolving toward hybrid casual while keeping its super-fast prototyping DNA.

The notable change is not a wall-to-wall “live-ops everything” mandate, but a calibrated expansion: keep the fast idea engine, add the retention spine, and only extend systems when the fun signal is unambiguous.

Inside Turkey’s Booming Mobile Ecosystem

Turkey has quietly become one of the world’s best talent hubs for casual and puzzle games. Studios like Peak and Dream Games dominate match-3; Rollic carved a complementary niche in hyper-casual and hybrid. Several factors consistently show up in founder interviews:

• Creative density in Istanbul—a broad base of designers and artists who grew up on both PC/console and mobile.
• Marketing muscle—years of experience with CPI-driven campaigns and a cultural comfort with rapid iteration.
• Global networks—early and frequent exposure to international publishing pipelines.

This combination makes Turkey a perfect testbed for Rollic’s model: quickly try many ideas, learn fast, and scale the few that sustain retention beyond the tutorial glow.For more on Turkey’s fast-growing gaming market, see Newzoo’s latest industry insights.

The 1,000-Kill Rule: A Culture of Fast Truth

Rollic reportedly kills 1,000+ prototypes per year, with roughly ~40 graduating to soft-launch. That ratio sounds brutal until you consider the upside: teams stay light, the roadmap remains uncluttered, and the studio’s attention is monopolized by the highest-signal concepts. A typical micro-loop looks like this:

For context, see Take-Two Interactive’s announcement on Zynga acquiring Rollic, which details how the studio fits into a larger portfolio strategy.

1) Prototype to answer the one question

Build just enough to test the core mechanic. No elaborate cosmetics, no week-long FTUE; one playable loop that surfaces the mechanic’s promise (or lack of it). “Pretty” is a trap here.

2) Gate with hard metrics

Rollic is public about using retention gates early. The headline anecdote: Hair Challenge shipped to test with just three levels and still posted around 56% D1. The takeaway isn’t the number; it’s the principle—if the loop is fun, players replay, even when content is thin.

3) Cut instantly when it misses

“No debates. No delays.” Cutting ideas quickly is a talent-respecting act: it keeps teams on work that can actually win, and it stops the slow bleed of sunk-cost thinking.

4) Scale only after the signal

When the core disproves boredom across day-1/3/7, then—and only then—do systems expand: soft currency sinks, compulsion loops, themed events, cosmetic ladders, and live-ops rhythms.

Case Studies: Why These Games Hit

High Heels — Frictionless Spectacle

High Heels pairs a readable control fantasy (collect, grow, strut) with frequent micro-payoffs: visual height feedback, obstacle variance, and short-loop suspense bursts. It’s a masterclass in “1-gesture, 1-emotion” design. The lesson: make the fantasy legible from the first swipe, then make the stage a toy box for that fantasy.

Fill the Fridge — Tetris for Everyday Objects

Fill the Fridge succeeds because it borrows from the ancestral brain-tickle of packing puzzles and adds household relatability. Items have shape and “feel,” and the perfect-fit moment scratches a compulsion itch. Depth comes from subtler ordering challenges and the satisfaction of a fully “photo-ready” fridge.

Twisted Tangle — Knot, Reveal, Repeat

At its heart, Twisted Tangle is about visual disentanglement. The mechanic is easy to learn but supports a surprising difficulty curve through line count, crossing density, and color contrast. It proves that even minimalist puzzles can support session-lengthening mastery with careful pacing.

Screw Jam — A Deeper Loop Without Losing Speed

Screw Jam shows Rollic’s hybrid instincts: the tactile “unscrew & assemble” loop anchors the game, while progression scaffolds—tools, constraints, and goal states—create mid-term reasons to return. Monetization fits the loop (tools, boosts, cosmetics) rather than fighting it.

Rollic’s Product Principles (Distilled)

• Mechanic before make-up: core loop signal > surface polish.
• One emotion per gesture: every swipe should map to a specific, predictable payoff.
• Scale through clarity: only expand systems that amplify the core feeling, not distract from it.
• Use events as seasoning: live-ops accelerate a good loop; they don’t rescue a weak one.
• Cut faster than you staff: protect team attention; the roadmap is a garden, not a warehouse.

Hybrid Casual as an Outcome, Not a Slogan

Rollic’s shift toward hybrid monetization (IAP + IAA) came from retention first. When players stick for months, spending follows—with ads remaining a complementary path for users who prefer watching to paying. The design consequence is a more thoughtful economy:

• Clear sinks (cosmetics, unlocks, limited-time offers) that don’t break fair play.
• Session arcs (daily beats, weekly themes) that feel like invitations, not chores.
• Difficulty ramps that keep the skill ceiling above the cosmetic ceiling.

Culture: Players in Charge

Rollic’s office famously includes a playroom and even a “hit gong.” These aren’t vanity perks; they’re cultural reinforcement. The team plays widely, borrows shamelessly from genres outside mobile, and treats “ships” as experiments, not capital-E Events. That lightness is why prototypes can die by lunch without derailing morale.

From Publisher to Studio Investor

Rollic is evolving from a classic publisher into a studio-network investor: fewer partners, deeper craft alignment, and complementary founder skill sets. The model—akin to Take-Two’s portfolio—favours strong creative centers over a crowded slate. For teams, that means more support on the loops that matter; for players, it means fewer, better games.

For Founders: A Practical Starting List

• Play five games outside your genre and steal one loop each.
• Prototype a toy first, not a game. If the toy isn’t fun, the game won’t be either.
• Gate with hard metrics and a kill switch. If it misses, don’t “polish”—pivot.
• Design for month 3 on day 1: where will the joy come from after novelty fades?
• Use ads to broaden, not to bandage. If ads “fix” your retention, the loop is wrong.

🎥 Exclusive CEO Interview

Watch Burak Vardal discuss Rollic's shift from hyper-casual to hybrid and the studio's journey toward sustainable growth.