Helsinki-based Supercell, a game development company for tablets and smartphones, announced that it has acquired a majority stake in London-based online games developer Trailmix.
Supercell will also invest $60M (approximately €55.9M) in the London-based company, consisting of debt and an equity financing round. The funds will help Trailmix hypercharge the growth of its free-to-play merge puzzle game ‘Love & Pies’.
Love & Pies, which was released eight months ago, gives players “a story full of delight, intrigue, romance and drama.” According to Trainmix, it has crafted a world that players can emotionally invest in, “with something to laugh at, villains to rail against, and protagonists to identify with.”
About Trailmix
Founded in 2017 by Carolin Krenzer and Tristan Clark, Trailmix was created out of the belief that mobile games can have a positive impact on people’s lives. The two London-based founders are mobile gaming veterans and have a combined experience of 20 years in the industry.
In 2012, they helped to set up King’s London studio and created the puzzle game ‘Farm Heroes Saga’ — one of the first major free-to-play puzzle games to land on mobile phones. The company says, “We’re combining great storytelling with the best in free-to-play mobile.”
In February, 2018, Trailmix raised its Seed round of $4.2M from Supercell.
With a team of 30 people, the company will continue to operate independently, a model which has worked well for Supercell and its affiliated companies.
Co-founder Carolin Krenzer told PocketGamer.biz, “The relationship with Supercell has been one of mutual respect and mutual learning over the last few years. There is so much knowledge exchange between Supercell and its investee companies – they have built such an incredible portfolio of companies and we’re looking forward to continuing working very closely with all of them.”
Everything about Supercell
Founded in 2010 by Ilkka Paananen, Lassi Leppinen, Mikko Kodisoja, Niko Derome, Petri Styrman, and Visa Forsten. Supercell is a game development company. It was established with the idea of giving game developers and teams the independence to decide what kinds of games they make and how they choose to make them.
The company says, “We believe games have the power to bring people around the world together and closer to each other. We work to create new, innovative, memorable experiences no one has played before. This is why we try to design games that excite wide and diverse player communities as well as to expand the audience for otherwise smaller “niche” game concepts.”
The company’s debut game was the browser game Gunshine.net, and after its release in 2011, Supercell started developing games for mobile devices. Since its inception, it has brought five games to the global market – Brawl Stars, Clash Royale, Boom Beach, Clash of Clans and Hay Day.
