Founded in 2010 by Luke Keighran and based in Manchester, United Kingdom, Merge Games specializes in publishing indie games digitally and physically. The company is well-known for its 'Signature Edition' physical releases of popular indie titles. In 2021, Merge Games was acquired by Maximum Games, which later became part of Maximum Entertainment.
The publisher established its market presence by bringing prominent independent titles to retail and digital platforms. Early distribution partnerships included the physical release of the retro-styled horror-adventure
The Count Lucanor (2016) and the challenging platformer
Super Meat Boy (2016). During this period, the company also handled the six-degree-of-freedom shooter
Sublevel Zero Redux (2016).
In 2017, the publisher expanded its portfolio with the open-world adventure
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles (2017), which received both a standard release and a specialized
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles [Signature Edition] (2017) package featuring physical collectables. That same year, they published the physics-based platformer
Unbox: Newbie's Adventure (2017). Additionally, the company facilitated the console adaptation of the survival city-builder
Frostpunk: Console Edition (2011), broadening the reach of complex PC titles to television screens. Through these diverse partnerships, the publisher bridged the gap between digital-only indie developers and traditional retail markets.