Griffin Gaming Partners, one of the world’s largest venture capital firms focused exclusively on the gaming sector, announced its backing of Super Banana Studios, a new casual game studio.
The studio is run by seasoned product and growth leaders Danil Moskovoy and Nikolay Ternovoy.
With decades of combined experience at companies like Zeptolab, Voodoo, Tripledot, Popcore, and Playrix, the founders are now channeling their expertise into a bold new venture aimed at expandingthe casual puzzle genre. The amount raised was not disclosed.
Super Banana’s thesis is clear: build fast, build smart, and build with purpose. The team is focused on overlooked yet high-potential segments of the casual market—like high retaining puzzles and hybridmonetization models—and is taking a player-first, data-driven approach to game development. With alean team, tight feedback loops, and a rigorous production framework, the studio plans to launchmultiple original titles per year and is currently hiring.
“Casual puzzle games are full of white space if you know where to look,” said Danil Moskovoy, CEO of Super Banana, in a statement. “We’ve seen what works, and more importantly, we’ve seen what hasn’t.This studio is our chance to take that knowledge and go deeper—not just launching games, but scalingones that can actually stick. We’ve launched and operated some of the biggest games out there and wecan do it again – but better.”
“With the best games, five-minute sessions turn into years of joy, so fun is our north star,” stated NikolayTernovoy, CPO of Super Banana, in a statement. “We’re out to erase the trade-off between retention andmonetization, delivering scalable puzzle experiences players return to long after the trends move on.”
Backing Super Banana from inception, Griffin saw not just a strong team, but a differentiated strategy.“Danil and Nikolay are operators in the truest sense,” said Ibrahim Hafeez, investor at Griffin GamingPartners, in a statement. “They know how to ship, how to scale, and how to spot underutilized mechanics with breakout potential. What they’re building with Super Banana is more than a studio… it’s a system for finding the next generation of casual hits.”
Super Banana is already prototyping its first batch of games, with a focus on sorting mechanics, hybridIAP/IAA economies, and market-validated concepts ready for reinvention. As the casual puzzle genrecontinues to evolve, Griffin and Super Banana are betting on a model that prioritizes player delight,operational rigor, and smart experimentation.
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