Indie Game Publisher Behind 'BOMBANANA!': "The Team Always Comes Before the Game

Supporting Young Developers via 'Future Heroes' — Evaluating Collaboration and Development Process Alongside First Title's Sales

Indie Game Publisher Behind 'BOMBANANA!': "The Team Always Comes Before the Game"

Byungho "Haao" Kim [email protected] Nov 7, 2026 Korean (한국어) KO Add us on

'BOMBANANA!', a co-op game where three players share different pieces of information to defuse bombs, sold over 1 million copies on Steam in its first ten days. That is according to figures released in September by publisher TARK Games. Partnering with developer Lefto Studio, TARK Games is a new PC and console indie game publisher founded in Istanbul, Türkiye, in 2025.

TARK Games also operates 'Future Heroes', a program that helps students and small teams launch their first commercial games. According to official details, it targets young creators aged 16 to 25 who are seriously pursuing game development. Offering seed funding, mentorship, and feedback, the program has already seen two teams complete their tracks, both of which are currently developing follow-up titles with TARK Games.

Inven conducted a written interview with TARK Games co-founder İlker Ergen. His philosophy, "For us, the team always comes before the game," means not judging a team's next project solely by their first game's sales. He explained that as long as the collaboration and production process went well, they remain open to a second project even if the initial title fell short of expectations.

His criteria for a "small success" tie directly into enabling the next title: recouping development costs, creating a game that a specific audience segment would recommend, and leaving the studio with the resources to start its next project. "For a game made at that scale, that's a good result," he noted.

This aligns with the growth envisioned for Future Heroes. "Seeing one team's growth open doors for the next team is one of the most rewarding parts of this program," said co-founder Ergen. The hope is that rookie teams can transition from their first title to their next game, creating opportunities for even more teams through that shared experience.

Could you introduce yourself and TARK Games to our readers in Korea? What inspired you and your co-founder to establish the company?

" I am İlker Ergen, co-founder of TARK Games. İbrahim Yıldırım and I established TARK Games in Istanbul in 2025 to address what we felt was missing in the indie game industry.

Small teams can create PC games that resonate globally, but they still need help securing development funds, testing games with players, and reaching the right audience. We wanted to build a publishing partner that navigates these decisions alongside developers while keeping studio ownership and game authority firmly with the founders. Though we started in Türkiye, we kept the global market in mind from day one.

To help readers understand the Turkish gaming industry, could you introduce some key companies and the main characteristics of the market?

" To understand Türkiye's mobile gaming industry, Peak and Dream Games are great starting points. These companies helped build a talent pool that knows how to develop, test, and operate games for a global audience.

On PC, titles like 'Supermarket Simulator' and 'Liar's Bar' showcase how diverse the indie games from local teams can be—with Lefto Studio's 'BOMBANANA!' being another prime example. Istanbul serves as the hub where studios and investors gather, and mobile remains the most established sector.

The shift I watch most closely is how the experience of rapid iteration and global-first thinking carries over into PC and console, where reaching players requires learning different approaches.

Among the games in the Future Heroes program, which one would you particularly like to introduce to Korean readers?

" I'd recommend 'Drive Together', developed by Otakumi Games and released on Steam under TARK Future Heroes. One player handles steering while another takes acceleration or braking. Even crossing a narrow bridge becomes a constant negotiation over who needs to do what and when.

It features a Parkour mode for up to 4 players and a Race mode for up to 8 players. The Steam version supports Korean UI, so you can easily try it out with friends.

What kind of support do teams receive when joining Future Heroes? Could you share any cases that led to commercial releases?

" Future Heroes provides students and small teams with seed funding, guidance, and feedback. The specific nature of the support depends on the build's state and the team.

Early on, we want to align on what experience the team aims to build and what needs to be learned from the next playable build. As release approaches, questions become more practical: Can a first-time user understand the core of the game just from the store page? Can friends drop into a session and play immediately without extra help?

Otakumi Games is a public example that went through this support all the way to launch. 'Drive Together' was released on Steam under the Future Heroes initiative on May 15.

What potential do you see in the design of 'BOMBANANA!'? What commercial challenges do games like this face?

" What stands out in Lefto Studio's design is how it immediately gives three friends a reason to communicate. Each player receives different information or communication methods, and the time limit forces them to act before fully understanding each other. The comedy stems directly from the players themselves.

Evaluating a game like this commercially, I would ask whether the same group wants to play another round even after the novelty of the first game wears off. Scheduling time for three friends to get together is no easy task; the game must make that shared time feel truly worth it.

Following a major hit, expectations for subsequent titles can soar. Beyond 'BOMBANANA!', what does a "small success" that TARK would support look like?

" 'BOMBANANA!' sold over 1 million copies on Steam in its first ten days. I view that as a demonstration of how far a clear, focused idea can reach.

When evaluating next games, I look at the realistically reachable audience, production costs, and how the team receives and resolves feedback. A small success can mean recouping development costs, delivering a game a specific audience wants to recommend to others, and leaving the studio with enough momentum to launch their next project. For a game created at that scale, that is a great outcome.

'Drive Together' splits vehicle controls among players. How do you draw the line between laughing at a friend's mistake and feeling frustrated by the controls?

" What I ask is whether players understand why the car went off track and can agree on what to try next time. If everyone knows who was on the brakes and discusses how to take the next turn, that chaos is something the game can leverage for fun.

Conversely, if players are still trying to figure out which input they control or whether the car even responded, that friction gets in the way of the fun. I want to see what first-time groups say and do after their first crash—and especially whether they want to try again.

First-time teams often have an overwhelming number of ideas. If scope needs to be cut, how do you evaluate what to keep and what to defer?

" First, I ask the team which moment in the prototype they most want players to tell their friends about. From there, we look at what must be in the game to make that moment happen reliably.

A second mode might sound appealing, but if it steals polish time needed for new players to enjoy the primary mode, I would defer it until after reaching subsequent milestones. The team needs to understand what each cut grants them and judge for themselves which trade-offs are worthwhile.

How do you think advancements in AI will change indie game development in Türkiye?

" Türkiye has a strong culture of rapid prototyping, so I expect AI's initial impact will be seen in how fast teams can explore ideas.

A small team might use AI to brainstorm variations, generate placeholder assets, or process large volumes of feedback. Regardless of the application, someone who recognizes what good results look like remains essential. If it goes into a commercial release, we expect the team to understand the rights involved and take responsibility for quality.

The larger opportunity lies in freeing small teams to spend more time testing and making creative decisions.

You mentioned respecting final decision-making power for developers. How do you resolve disagreements when TARK and a developer hold differing views?

" We do not touch game design; that is the developer's domain. Where opinions occasionally differ is in how to position the game in the market, how to run the launch, or how to handle marketing.

Drawing from our publishing experience, we explain why we believe a certain approach helps bring the game to the right audience. Developers bring their own understanding of their game and players. While we have started discussions with differing views, every conversation so far has led us to an approach both sides could agree on.

What factors determine whether you continue supporting a team whose first game fell short of expectations? What separates a case where failure is viewed as a learning experience from one where further support is difficult?

" For us, the team always comes before the game. There were several instances where we liked a game but passed because of concerns about working with the team, and in hindsight, those were the right calls.

When a team brings us a second project, their first game's sales are only part of the picture. We place far more weight on how well collaboration worked within the team and with us, how production was handled, and how time and budget were managed. We also look at whether both sides genuinely want to work together again.

Even if the first game underperformed, if the team worked well and both sides want to create something again, we are open to a second project. Without that collaborative foundation, no proposal—no matter how great—is likely to change our mind.

How do you hope developers who pass through Future Heroes will grow? Beyond financial hits, what outcomes do you want to see in a few years?

" Two teams have already graduated from Future Heroes and started developing games with TARK outside the program. Building a smaller game together gave us insight into how those teams collaborate, leading us to take on larger projects together.

The first showcase of that growth journey will be 'One Must Rule'. A title from another graduate team is also in development, though it has not been announced yet.

As these games release, developers hear about the program through word of mouth, at universities, and at game jams, bringing in more teams and stronger projects. In a few years, I hope this momentum continues steadily so more young creators get their first shot, with some going on to build their next titles with us. Seeing one team's growth open doors for the next team is one of the most rewarding parts of this program.

Originally written in Korean, this article was translated with AI assistance and edited by a native English-speaking editor. Every translation is reviewed by our editorial team before publication. [Read Original]

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• BOMBANANA

Byungho "Haao" Kim

[email protected]