Mobile juggernaut Supercell has picked up a 51 percent stake in Badland creator Frogmind for a reported $7.8 million.

Writing on the Frogmind website, studio CEO and co-founder Johannes Vuorinen described the move as a "long-term partnership," and said it will help the company realize its free-to-play ambitions. 

The studio currently has three freemium titles in development, and it seems the Clash of Clans creator took a keen interest in all of them. 

"[Supercell] liked our new upcoming games and the teams behind them, and we have the utmost respect for them and their gameplay, production values and elegance in solving difficult design challenges," wrote Vuorinen.

"With Supercell’s backing, we can think much more long term and be more ambitious with our games than ever."

Frogmind will remain operationally independent, and will retain the ability to publish its own titles and choose which projects to pursue. 

On paper, it's a similar deal to the one Supercell struck up with Chinese internet giant Tencent, with the main benefits being financial and creative security. 

"We’ll be able to focus fully onto our games, worry less about finances and continue being an awesome place to work for our employees," added the CEO. 

"Supercell also understands our culture and the way we make games. It’s actually very similar to theirs, having small talented independent teams with no middle management."