Playdom has by far the most acquisitions so far this year among...

Playdom has by far the most acquisitions so far this year among all social gaming companies, today announcing it has bought established branded game developer Merscom for an undisclosed amount.

The company previously bought Argentinean Facebook game developer Three Melons, and invested $5 million in another developer from that country, MetroGames. Today's announcement suggests Playdom is getting serious about branded social games. The move could put it in more direct competition with other...