In February of last year, Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the developer behind the blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. That transaction, while already sizable, appears to be only the opening move in a broader expansion plan, according to MTG’s president and chief executive, Maria Redin. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the group’s ambition, set after the Plarium deal, is to double its overall scale once more. "We set out the vision last year that post‑acquisition of Plarium we want to double yet again in size," she said.
"And yes, we want to fuel and continue to drive organic growth, but in order to do that, we will need to do more acquisitions." The timeline she outlined is aggressive: MTG aims to achieve the doubling within roughly three to five years. The company has already demonstrated the ability to meet bold targets—Redin recalled that a similar ambition launched in 2021 resulted in the firm tripling its size. The mobile gaming sector, once characterized by double‑digit growth rates, has now settled into a single‑digit expansion rhythm, reflecting a market that is rapidly maturing.
What used to be a blue‑ocean landscape has turned decidedly red, meaning that future growth will likely come from capturing competitors’ market share or, more directly, by acquiring those competitors outright. While buying studios is the easier half of the equation, integrating them successfully is notoriously difficult. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of acquisitions that resulted in studio closures due to poor integration.
MTG, however, believes it has a clear roadmap. Before the Plarium purchase, the group already owned a portfolio of mobile studios, including InnoGames (creator of Forge of Empires), Snowprint (Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus), Hutch (F1 Clash), Ninja Kiwi (Bloons TD 6), and Futureplay (Merge Gardens). These studios were originally split into two “districts”: a Casual District and a Midcore District—the latter covering games that sit between pure casual and hardcore experiences. Following the acquisition, the districts were rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp respectively.
Playsimple, named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip, aggregates free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp houses the majority of MTG’s revenue‑generating games that rely on in‑app purchases. Redin emphasized that the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it is part of a larger cultural project to build "one of the leading gaming villages." The term "village" is deliberately chosen to evoke a sense of community and belonging, aiming to improve employee retention and foster smoother integration of newly acquired teams. "I always say gaming is the best marriage between creativity and data‑driven decisions," Redin explained. "People are one of our biggest assets, but you also need to create an environment for them to thrive in.
We buy our companies, which also means that we want the founders and the teams to stay on board post‑acquisition, because that’s when the true exciting story should start and you continue to scale the businesses. The only way you can make sure they stay is if you create an environment which they enjoy." A key pillar of the integration strategy is the standardisation of technology and tools across the MTG ecosystem.
Redin noted that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; a shared foundation can accelerate development and reduce overhead. This standardisation drive began when she took the helm in 2020, but the scale achieved after adding Plarium finally allowed the vision to be rolled out at group level. She acknowledged past industry missteps—such as Electronic Arts’ forced adoption of the Frostbite engine, which caused friction for studios working on titles like Mass Effect—but stressed that MTG is taking a more nuanced approach.
The tech needs of Playsimple differ markedly from those of Playamp, so the two divisions are being equipped with separate, purpose‑built stacks. For the Midcore (Playamp) side, MTG has selected several components from Plarium’s existing technology suite and is deploying them selectively after a thorough internal assessment of where shared tools make sense. "Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and PDP data platform are being used across MTG, and we are adding features and functionality to them," Redin said. The goal is to boost productivity across all studios while ensuring that each receives the right level of support.
"We want to make sure that we put our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck," she added, noting that the group already houses a wealth of talented game makers. Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another area where MTG is investing heavily. InnoGames, for example, has been using AI to generate content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and plans to broaden AI‑driven creation across its catalogue. Redin observed that AI is becoming embedded throughout the production pipeline in mobile gaming, from A/B testing and graphic generation to quality assurance and analytics.
"Generative AI is significantly more powerful than any other tool that we got access to before," she said, adding that the challenge lies in striking the right balance—knowing when to adapt workflows and when to keep proven processes unchanged. The company’s AI strategy is deliberately modular: successful AI solutions from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium tech suite and then made available to other studios under a shared framework of dos and don’ts.
This approach allows rapid dissemination of best practices while preserving each studio’s autonomy to experiment within agreed boundaries. When asked whether AI will eventually replace human creativity, Redin was cautious. "I often get the question, is gaming AI going to be able to do everything you do? And I actually don't think so," she replied.
"What is important is that our talent, our workforce has an amazing creativity. That doesn't sit yet within AI. However, if we don't embrace AI, we are going to be slower than our competitors.
AI can super‑charge everything we do while we keep the creativity, innovation, and vision of our team." Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue now stems from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by the casual side, which currently consists of a single studio—Playsimple. Redin expressed a desire to expand both sides: "We bought Snowprint a couple of years back, and if we could find five more Snowprints around the world, that would be fantastic. On the casual side we would like to add more scale." She also hinted at the possibility of a third district within the gaming village, though its exact focus remains under discussion.
Any new district would likely build on the core capabilities already established—marketing platforms or data infrastructure. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes the top‑ten mobile games list remains relatively static, underscoring the importance of evergreen IPs. "Our thesis from day one has been that we believe in evergreen IPs," she said, citing Raid: Shadow Legends as an example of a title with many more years ahead. Nevertheless, she stressed that a pipeline of new games is essential for long‑term vitality.
MTG is already preparing a new Plarium title slated for a soft launch early next year, and Redin acknowledged the difficulty of launching fresh hits in a crowded field. She referenced Supercell’s observation that the Western mobile market is "coasting," noting that only two of the 22 mobile games that have surpassed $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originated in the West. In summary, Redin’s vision for MTG blends aggressive acquisition, thoughtful integration, technology standardisation, and AI‑enhanced development with a continued focus on both proven evergreen franchises and the cultivation of new experiences. She remains confident that, even in a market that has shifted from hyper‑growth to modest single‑digit expansion, there is still ample room for growth if the company balances investment in its existing strong IPs with the disciplined rollout of innovative new titles.