Supercell completes full acquisition of Merge Mansion maker Metacore

Supercell has completed its acquisition of Metacore, taking 100% ownership of the Finnish studio and its flagship title, Merge Mansion. The two companies confirmed the deal's close on October 19. Financial terms remain undisclosed.

Metacell broke the news on LinkedIn with a direct statement: "We can finally share that the Supercell acquisition of Metacore and Merge Mansion has been closed. Merge Mansion will transition to be part of Supercell's game portfolio, and Metacore is now 100% owned by Supercell."

The close lands roughly three weeks later than planned. Supercell had earlier indicated the transaction would complete at the end of September, after the company signed the deal and began preparing the studio's integration.

What does this change for Metacore's team?

The Metacore games team has joined Supercell outright. In its LinkedIn post, the studio wrote: "As of today our talented game team has officially started their journey as Supercellians! Supported by their Supercell peers, the Merge Mansion team will continue to develop the game back to its chart-topping spot and keep entertaining the players."

Supercell confirmed the move in its own brief message: "Today the Merge Mansion team has moved in. Welcome welcome, new colleagues."

The team's mandate is specific: return Merge Mansion, a casual merge-2 puzzle game with a narrative-driven progression loop, to the top of the mobile charts. The phrasing signals the game has slipped from its peak positions and that Supercell views live-ops investment, backed by its publishing and marketing infrastructure, as the path back.

For players, nothing changes immediately. The same developers remain on the title.

A deal months in the making

Supercell first announced its intention to acquire the remainder of Metacore in May. Supercell was already the studio's largest shareholder before the buyout, so the transaction converts an existing minority-majority relationship into full ownership.

The announcement in May carried a harder operational consequence. Metacore said at the time it would cut up to 160 roles in Finland as part of a restructuring effort. That figure frames the acquisition's context: Supercell is buying a leaner studio, not the headcount it carried at its peak.

The sequence of events, in brief:

• May: Supercell announces plans to acquire the remainder of Metacore; up to 160 Finnish roles face cuts in a parallel restructuring.
• Later in the year: Supercell signs the deal and begins integration planning.
• End of September: Original expected close date.
• October 19: Supercell confirms the deal has closed and Metacore is 100% owned.

Why Supercell wants Merge Mansion

The acquisition logic is straightforward. Supercell, majority-owned by Tencent, has a portfolio built on long-running live titles such as Clash of Clans, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars. Merge Mansion gives it an established casual property with a proven monetization base and recognizable brand, built around merge mechanics and a mystery narrative that has driven strong advertising creative.

Buying the rest of a studio it already controlled reduces risk. Supercell knew the asset, the team and the game's performance before committing.

What does this change for the wider market? It extends a pattern of consolidation among mobile publishers, where larger operators absorb mid-sized studios struggling with user-acquisition costs and chart pressure, then apply their live-ops and marketing scale to revive flagging titles.

For Helsinki's development community, the deal consolidates another independent studio under a larger banner, following the May restructuring that already reduced local headcount.

The next signal worth watching is Merge Mansion's chart trajectory under Supercell's ownership, alongside any early changes the new owner makes to the game's live-ops cadence or monetization design. Nearby, PGC Nordics runs October 20-21 in Finland with more than 1,500 professionals attending, a venue where follow-up detail on the integration may surface.