Finnish game studio Metacore, known as Everywear Games up until today, has announced a couple more things in addition to its rebranding: €25 million in financing and the launch of discovery puzzle game Merge Mansion. The financing consists of a €15 million equity investment and a €10 million credit line from Supercell to fuel the game’s global release. The Helsinki-based startup began in 2015 as a smartwatch gaming studio, creating games specifically for the Apple Watch, and raised €5 million from Supercell two years ago. From there the team moved on to mobile games.
Now the new name reflects the company’s focus on metagame development. Now the new name reflects the company’s focus on metagame development. “Metagame” refers to the outside strategies players apply to a particular game in order to play it best. As a game itself evolves, through new releases or updates, so does the metagame; this keeps gamers interested. So 'metagame' studio developers aim to stimulate that layer of the gaming experience.
“Most companies will start with the core loop or gameplay mechanic. Our approach is to lead with the metagame – the core elements and experiences of a game that make a player jump back in over and over again,” says CEO and co-founder Mika Tammenkoski.
Early data suggests that their metagame-driven approach is working: Merge Mansion’s player loyalty levels have been “extremely promising”, with a 30-day retention rate of 24 percent among beta testers.
“These metrics are very impressive, the kind we see when we have a hit game on our hands,” Supercell’s Developer Relations Lead Jaakko Harlas explains. With the new financing, Metacore hopes to bring Merge Mansion to the masses, while continuing to explore and develop new metagames. To power their global expansion, the Nordic startup will grow its 15-strong team with at least 10 new hires across functions, including marketing, game design and back-end development.
Photo: Co-founders Mika Tammenkoski (CEO) and Aki Järvilehto (COO)
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