Two years strong: How Metacore’s Berlin hub powers our business

When I started working at Metacore, our Berlin office was a small team with a bold idea and a lot of ambition. We were a handful of people in a market new to the company, trying to figure out how we could meaningfully contribute to the success of a hit game being developed hundreds of miles away.

Fast forward to today, and that early bet we made has paid off. As we celebrate the Berlin office turning two this month, we’re now more than 25 colleagues: a thriving, talented group that plays a central role in Merge Mansion and Metacore’s growth (with a well-known soft spot for poké bowls). It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, but it has always been a genuinely rewarding and exciting journey. This post is about how that adventure has unfolded and what we’ve learned along the way.

Building with cross-functional teams

Originally, I wanted to join Metacore because I was excited about the chance to help build something from scratch. Not just a team, but a culture and way of working. Before embarking on this journey I had spent years in production and leadership roles in the game industry, but the idea of being part of starting a brand new studio, with all the chaos, potential and freedom that comes with it… It turned out to be impossible to resist!

At Metacore, each team is cross-functional, bringing together roles like designers, engineers, artists, producers, analysts. In other words, all the expertise needed to actually build. In my opinion, this setup is one of the best things about working here: if you have an idea and can make a good case for it, there is a very good chance you’ll also get to bring it to life.

From the very beginning, it was clear that our Berlin hub was not going to be just a “support office.” The ambition was always for the team to take real ownership, drive initiatives, and be fully accountable for their impact. Today, that vision is a reality. Our Berlin-based teams lead several key areas of Merge Mansion’s development, playing an integral role in shaping both the game and the player experience. From in-game events and core gameplay systems to player experience, live operations, and content, the Berlin team helps define what Merge Mansion becomes next.

Berlin – Helsinki: How it works in practice

People often ask, “So how does having two sites actually work?”

Honestly, it works surprisingly well – I guess we picked up a thing or two during the pandemic about remote collaboration. Over time, we’ve found a rhythm where Helsinki and Berlin work so closely together that it genuinely feels like one big hybrid office. We just happen to have better coffee and slightly better weather!

Our teams are distributed across both locations, which means we are in constant sync, from shared goals and direction to shared Slack emojis and memes. Regular visits, open communication, and clearly aligned ownership ensure that what we build feels consistent, no matter where it’s built from.

And don’t get me wrong, we’ve certainly had our fair share of hiccups. We’ve learned how to set up operations from scratch, figure out hiring in a new market, align smoothly with our colleagues in Helsinki – even just secure enough meeting rooms for everyone who needed one. It’s a list, and we’re still adding to it. But throughout all of that, one thing has remained constant: the collective drive to build something meaningful together. That shared ambition has grounded us through every iteration, every challenge, and every win, big and small.

But here’s the thing: I truly believe that having multiple locations has actually made us stronger. It has pushed us to clarify what matters most, document our thinking more thoughtfully, optimize our processes, and be intentional about our culture. When you can’t rely on proximity, you learn to rely on trust. That’s what I call a core value in action.

Making Metacore’s mark in Berlin

Berlin has a special kind of energy: creative, slightly chaotic, and full of possibility. It’s an energy that fits Metacore perfectly. Here, we’ve built an environment where every voice matters, where feedback flows openly, and where personal growth is encouraged and expected.

We’ve also started to contribute to the local games industry in our very own way. Through our event series, Core Talks, we’ve opened up conversations with the wider Berlin game development community, sharing insights, exchanging ideas, and connecting with other game makers who are just as passionate about their craft as we are. It has become a space for honest dialogue about the realities of building and running games, and a way for us to learn from others as much as we share our own experiences.

So, we’re not only focused on growing Metacore, but also on giving back to the community that welcomed us. Being part of Berlin’s games ecosystem feels like an essential part of who we are becoming as a team.

What’s next?

Looking back, I’m really proud of what we’ve built. Merge Mansion has reached over 60 million players around the world and over $760M in lifetime revenue. There’s still plenty of room for the Mansionverse to grow in new and unexpected ways.

Berlin has been an important part of that journey for the past two years, learning what it takes to contribute to a large-scale, long-running live game. It’s a hub where you can take the lead, grow in your role, and see your impact directly reflected in a game loved by millions of players.

And we’re definitely not done yet. The coming years will be about continuing to grow together, thoughtfully and intentionally, while holding on to the same curiosity and drive that got us here in the first place.

So if you’re thinking about joining us, here’s my honest pitch: come if you enjoy tackling problems that no one has solved yet, want to work with people who genuinely care, and appreciate the quirks that come with building and scaling a world-class game that will entertain millions for years to come.

Blagoja “Bane” Milevski is a Production Lead at Metacore with 18 years of experience in the game industry. He has worked across all platforms, from mobile to console, and holds extensive experience in multiple genres and game styles.