Metacore taps ex-Rovio CTO Petri Hyökyranta and King's Daniel Lindkvist to lead tech efforts

• Hyökyranta will lead the company’s games technology, bringing experience from Rovio and Small Giant Games.
• Lindkvist joins as head of engineering to guide Merge Mansion’s growth as a live service title.
• Metacore says stronger tech foundations are key to reclaiming leadership in the fast-evolving casual and merge-2 market.

Merge Mansion developer Metacore has appointed former Rovio executive Petri Hyökyranta as CTO and ex-King Candy Crush Soda Saga technical director Daniel Lindkvist as head of engineering.

The company said both hires bring industry and technical experience to support Metacore’s long-term strategy, tech evolution, and future scaling efforts following the success of Merge Mansion.

Before joining Metacore, Hyökyranta held key roles at Rovio as CTO and chief information officer at Small Giant Games. He will now lead Metacore's games technology efforts. 

With more than a decade of engineering experience, Lindkvist has held multiple key roles at King, including serving as principal engineer and senior technical director. He will now support Merge Mansion's live game operations.

Strategic moves 

As the casual and merge-2 genre evolves quickly, Metacore said it aims to reclaim its leading position by investing in stronger technology and leadership to drive the growth of Merge Mansion and future titles.

"Technology is an enabler for successful mobile games. For us it’s not just a delivery mechanism, but a strategic asset," said Petri Hyökyranta. "That’s why building common tools and scalable tech foundations will be one of my key focus areas. 

"Joining Metacore has been a genuinely great experience. I’m looking forward to working with everyone, with a clear drive toward our shared goals."

Daniel Lindkvist commented: “I’m really excited to start helping the organisation steer our tech, product, and ways of working as our business and games evolve. It’s clear that company culture is important here, and Metacoreans really live by their values." 

Metacore CEO Mika Tammenkoski also commented: “Petri’s experience in building and scaling industry-leading games is exceptional. His arrival strengthens our ability to develop and operate high-performing titles. With the level of ambition we have as a company, Petri is exactly the tech leader who can help us get there."