Swedish developer PocApp Studios has turned its hand to the merge genre, soft launching AlchiMerge in a few select countries. The game is currently available in Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam, with more to follow.

PocApp Studios is a fairly new developer from Sweden that has created a fairly unique universe that focuses more on animals than humans in the past, with a generous heap of puns adorning the writing. The company was formed by a group of students in 2014 and has won numerous awards since, such as the Skövde Academic Game Awards, one of Sweden’s most prestigious awards for young developers, and the Applovin Indie Dev Prize.

AlchiMerge is set in the same universe as PocApps' two previous games, Castle Cats and Dungeon Dogs, in the world of Anima. Previously, the two countries of Catania and Lupinia were secluded from each other, however, after an event dubbed the Great Tremor a Rift Storm appeared in the middle of the great ocean. Dimensional rifts formed through magical thunder and brought forth a new archipelago to the world, the Vortex Isles. Also brought along for the ride was a new race, Humans.

The gameplay, as the name suggests, centres around the popular merge mechanic. Players open their own Alchemy Shop and must grow and gather ingredients, which are then used to craft and sell magical items to customers of all three races. Alongside the sales aspect, there is also the opportunity to decorate the shop, which will in turn maximize customer satisfaction and increase profit. Everyone likes a shiny shop.

Characters from the two previous games in the story will also pop up in AlchiMerge along with a host of new ones to interact with. Players can complete quests from these heroes, which will reveal the unique stories of the characters and the world of Anima itself. There is also the opportunity to join forces with other shop owners to create thriving cities, and possibly form a powerful alliance between the three races.

AlchiMerge will be free to play on Android on iOS when it releases later this year, and the list of soft launch countries will keep being updated until this time and announced on the game's website.