German online game publisher Bigpoint has been testing its Merc Elite modern-combat multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game in recent weeks, and it has high hopes that it will become a flagship game that could turn around the company’s fortunes.
Khaled Helioui and Kess Koolen.
The MOBA title is one of 50 online games operated by Bigpoint, but it is an example of the company’s new focus on high-quality games under the leadership of new CEO Khaled Helioui. In an interview, Helioui said the game is an attempt to make a game like the popular League of Legends free-to-play online game that has become a huge blockbuster worldwide. But it is in a new genre that has very little resemblance to other titles, Helioui said. Bigpoint has worked on the title for the past two years.
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Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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