In February of last year, the Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the wildly popular hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. That transaction, however, is only the opening move in a broader expansion plan, according to MTG’s president and chief executive officer, Maria Redin. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the group’s vision, set out shortly after the Plarium deal, is to double its overall size once more. "We set out the vision last year that post‑acquisition of Plarium we want to double yet again in size," she explained.
"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 this doubling within roughly three to five years. Redin noted that the company has already demonstrated the ability to scale quickly, having tripled its size after a similar ambition was announced in 2021. The mobile gaming sector, which a few years ago was expanding at double‑digit rates, has now settled into a single‑digit growth environment as the market matures. What was once a blue‑ocean of untapped opportunity has become increasingly competitive, forcing firms to either capture market share from rivals or absorb them outright.
While buying companies can be relatively straightforward, the real challenge lies in integrating those acquisitions without disrupting existing operations—a pitfall that has plagued many studios and led to closures. MTG entered the acquisition phase already owning a portfolio of successful 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 previously organized into two “districts”: the Casual District and the Midcore District, the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences. Following the Plarium purchase, the districts were rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp, respectively.
Playsimple, named after the India‑based WordTrip studio, focuses on free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp houses the majority of MTG’s portfolio, which relies on in‑app purchases (IAPs) for revenue. The rebranding goes beyond a simple name change.
Redin emphasized that MTG’s goal is to create "one of the leading gaming villages," a phrase chosen deliberately to evoke a sense of community and belonging. "It is supposed to create something that people want to be part of," she said, highlighting employee retention and cultural integration as top priorities. Redin believes that the marriage of creativity and data‑driven decision‑making is at the heart of successful game development. "People are one of our biggest assets, but you also need to make sure you create an environment for them to thrive in," she added.
The company’s acquisition strategy, therefore, includes a commitment to keep founders and core teams on board after a deal closes, allowing the newly acquired studios to continue their growth trajectory under the MTG umbrella. A key component of MTG’s post‑acquisition playbook is the standardisation of technology and tools across its studios. Redin explained that not every piece of software needs to be built from scratch for each studio; instead, a shared tech stack can accelerate development and reduce redundancy. This standardisation effort began when she became CEO in 2020, but the scale required to roll it out effectively only materialised after Plarium joined the group.
"We finally have the adequate scale to actually fully roll out the vision to reality," Redin said. She acknowledged the risks of forced standardisation, citing the well‑known difficulties EA faced when it mandated the Frostbite engine across its diverse studios, which caused significant friction for teams working on titles like Mass Effect. To avoid similar pitfalls, MTG treats the two districts separately.
The Playsimple division will use a common tech foundation for future casual acquisitions, while Playamp will selectively adopt parts of Plarium’s technology suite, applying it only where it adds clear value. "We’ve done a very thorough internal assessment on where it makes sense to collaborate and share technical tools, and where it doesn’t," Redin explained.
Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system are already being deployed across MTG, and the company is actively enhancing them with new features. The aim is to boost studio productivity and ensure that investments generate the highest possible return. "We want to make sure that we put our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck," Redin said, noting that the Playamp studios will benefit from an upgraded tech suite that builds on existing capabilities. Generative AI is another area where MTG is making rapid progress.
InnoGames, for example, has been using AI to generate all of the content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and is exploring broader AI‑driven content creation across its catalogue. Redin sees this as part of a wider industry trend: AI tools are being woven into every stage of game production, from A/B testing and graphic creation to quality assurance and analytics.
"Generative AI is significantly more powerful than any other tool we’ve had before," she said, adding that the challenge now is to find the right balance between automation and human creativity. MTG’s approach is to layer AI onto existing workflows rather than replace them.
Successful AI solutions developed in individual studios are being incorporated into the shared Plarium tech suite, allowing the entire group to benefit from breakthroughs quickly. Redin stressed the importance of flexibility: "We need to allow our different studios to try different things, as long as it fits into our overarching AI framework on the dos and don’ts. Then we share the learnings, and when one company develops something really good, we make sure we can very quickly roll that out on a broader scale." When asked whether AI has become a prerequisite for competing in the fast‑moving mobile market, Redin cautioned against viewing it as a silver bullet. "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. She believes that human creativity remains irreplaceable, but also that firms that ignore AI risk falling behind. "If we don’t embrace AI, we are going to be slower than our competitors," she said, noting that AI can help address capacity shortfalls in areas such as analysis, coding, art, and complex logic.
Revenue-wise, about 80 % of MTG’s income now stems from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple. Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the business. She cited Snowprint, acquired a few years ago, as a model: "If we could find five more Snowprints around the world, that would be fantastic." On the casual side, she noted that Playsimple currently consists of a single studio, yet still contributes a sizable share of revenue.
The leadership is also contemplating a third district that would sit alongside Playsimple and Playamp, potentially leveraging the group’s marketing platforms or data capabilities. Despite the evolving landscape, the composition of the mobile top‑ten remains remarkably stable.
"Every year we do the same analysis, and you realise that the top games remain very consistent," Redin observed, reaffirming MTG’s long‑standing belief in evergreen intellectual properties. While the company continues to invest heavily in established hits like Raid: Shadow Legends, it also recognises the necessity of a fresh pipeline. Plarium, for instance, is preparing to soft‑launch a new title early next year.
The broader industry context is sobering. Supercell’s CEO Ilkka Paananen has warned that the western mobile market is "coasting," with only two of the 22 titles that have surpassed $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originating from the West.
Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have faced setbacks, as illustrated by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters. Redin acknowledged these challenges, stating, "It’s hard to make a successful game and scale a game… but to not invest in new games would take away a little bit of the DNA of the different studios. That is how you retain creativity, passion, and drive." Looking ahead, Redin remains optimistic about the market’s long‑term prospects.
With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, she believes the sector is still compelling, even if hyper‑growth rates have given way to modest single‑digit expansion. "If you want to grow above and beyond that, you need to continue to invest in your strong evergreen IPs, but you also need to be able to bring new games to the market," she concluded.