Mika Games Raises $10M to Fund Tests Mobile Studios Struggle to Run

Mobile game studios face a frustrating funding trap: financiers want proof that players will stick around, yet gathering that proof costs money many small teams do not have. On October 21, 2026, Mika Games announced a $10 million funding round led by Flint Capital to address that gap. Its approach helps fund tests mobile studios struggle to run, supporting game development and paid user acquisition ahead of larger advertising campaigns.

The funding trap behind mobile UA tests

Soft launches let developers test games with limited audiences before wider release. They track retention, spending, and player acquisition costs. But promising early results do not necessarily persuade marketing financiers that a game can scale profitably across larger markets.

GamesBeat reports that specialist financiers typically require several months of campaign history, $300,000-$500,000 in prior marketing spending, and predictable payback periods. Young game development teams often need financing to run those campaigns. The proof required to obtain funding becomes expensive to produce.

Meanwhile, advertising competition intensifies the challenge. AppsFlyer reported $25 billion in global gaming user acquisition spending in 2025, alongside a 20% increase in ad impressions. That crowded market makes it harder for smaller developers to reach enough players to test whether their games can grow.

Global gaming user acquisition spend reached $25 billion in 2025… a number of new titles in the US top 1,000 by downloads fell from about 200 in 2020 to just over 100 in 2024, and games more than two years old generated over 80% of revenue in most genres. Early marketing capital can therefore influence which games players ever get to discover. Our aim is to give new titles enough runway to reach players.

Nick Katselapov,

Inside Mika Games’ early UA financing model

That is where Mika’s model differs. Founded in 2023 by Wargaming cofounder Nick Katselapov, the investment company takes equity stakes in studios before their acquisition economics are proven. Equity supports teams and production, while a separate financing pool pays for larger marketing tests. Results on retention, monetization, and payback can then inform decisions about further financing.

The model is already being used across a portfolio that grew from three to five studios in 2026. Mika says Guli Games’ farming adventure Legendale has reached more than three million players, while Agonalea Games’ tower defense title Punko has topped 500,000 downloads. New additions include Bulberry Studio, developer of Wargard, and LevelApp, behind Merge Dale and Sea Bloom. Those audience figures show reach, not confirmed profitability.

Flint Capital argues that spreading investment across genres and releasing funding in stages can limit exposure to individual failures. Still, user acquisition testing remains uncertain: a campaign that works with one audience may perform differently at scale. Mika’s approach gives smaller studios a way to gather more reliable evidence, not a guarantee that every game will succeed.

The opportunity for emerging mobile games

The stakes extend beyond Mika’s portfolio. Sensor Tower found that the figure of new titles in the US top 1,000 games by downloads fell from more than 200 in 2020 to just over 100 in 2024. Genre shifts partly explain that decline, yet the figures still point to a tougher fight for visibility.

For teams competing alongside the latest game releases, early funding could improve visibility. Among gaming industry innovations, Mika’s model addresses a financial barrier rather than a technical one. As gaming trends favor retention and repeat engagement, success will depend on whether those experiments lead to lasting audiences, not merely downloads.