Let's talk
Publishers, investors, brands and telcos: pour yourself a glass and pick a track. We reply to every message.
Who we are
A game studio in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and the games department of Tornet, a telecom aggregation and digital solutions company. Three developers, three artists and one manager who designs and codes. Tornet backs the studio, so we can focus on making good games.
(opens in a new tab) Why “Istikan”?
The istikan is the small tulip-shaped tea glass you find in every home, office and bazaar in Iraq and Kurdistan. Chai is how a conversation starts here, how a guest is welcomed and how a long day gets a little shorter.
A popular story says the name comes from British officers, who called it the “East Tea Can”. True or not, we like it: a small thing from here that travelled the world. That is what we want our games to be.
How we work
Seven people, organised as three pods of two, each a developer and an artist, plus one manager who designs and codes across all of them. A pod takes an idea from prototype to store in 3–6 months.
What we believe
Games that feel good in your hands: warm colours, satisfying taps and little moments that make you smile.
Bazaars, chai, grill houses and the stories around them. We make games about the places we know, for players everywhere.
Small teams, clear scope, real deadlines. Idea to store in 3–6 months, then we keep listening and updating.
Every game starts with a place you can almost smell. Erbil’s citadel, Baghdad’s streets, a Kurdish grill at night.
Take Tikka & Kebab and our Steam games to China and beyond. We keep the IP; the deal is open.
Funded by Tornet, not by runway. We want partners to help us grow faster.
Games built to order for mobile, Steam, web and carrier channels.
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