Playdom acquires social dev Merscom
Aggressive acquisition plans sees Facebook, iPhone publisher purchase The Crazies dev
Merscom has become the latest social games developer to be added to the Playdom stable, as the company announced it had purchased the long-established studio for an undisclosed sum.
The studio was established more than 16 years ago and has since produced over 250 games, including branded titles for companies such as Paramount, NBC Universal and National Geographic.
Playdom said that is planned to leverage Merscom's expertise in working with IP owners as it moved to develop partnerships with powerful global brands.
The acquisition is the latest in a line of studio buy-ups for Playdom, following investment of $43 million last year. Other studios added to the Playdom stable since then have included Green Patch, Trippert Labs and Three Melons.
"We believe that brands matter and that over time, as the social gaming industry matures, games which incorporate content from popular culture and widely respected brands will garner larger market share than those without it," said John Pleasants, CEO of Playdom.
"Merscom has 16 years experience working with content owners and we intend to call on this experience as we move into this promising area of our industry."
"We are excited to join Playdom," added Kirk Owen, Merscom CEO. "Playdom understands the power of branded content and decentralised international game development where we've focused our efforts for many years. Merscom's team will thrive in Playdom's culture of respect for its employees and its great benefit programs. We can't wait to get started."
Merscom, which was founded by Kirk Owen and Lloyd Melnick, is based in North Carolina and employs a team of over 20 people.