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‑collecting title Raid: Shadow Legends. That deal, however, is only the opening move in a broader expansion playbook, according to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the vision set out after the Plarium acquisition is to double the group’s scale 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 timetable is aggressive: the target is to achieve the size‑doubling within roughly three to five years. Redin noted that MTG has already proven its capacity to grow quickly – the company tripled its size after a similar ambition was announced in 2021.
The mobile market, once a blue‑ocean of double‑digit expansion, has now settled into single‑digit growth, signalling a mature sector where new market share must be taken from competitors or by absorbing them outright. While buying studios is relatively straightforward, the real challenge lies in integrating them smoothly. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of acquisitions that led to studio closures because of poor integration. MTG entered the Plarium deal already owning 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 entities were previously split into two “districts”: a Casual District and a Midcore District – the latter covering games that sit between pure casual and hardcore experiences. The districts have since been rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp. Playsimple, named after the India‑based WordTrip studio, houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp contains the bulk of MTG’s portfolio, focused on in‑app‑purchase (IAP) driven games.
Redin emphasized that the restructuring goes far beyond a cosmetic rename. Her goal is to forge “one of the leading gaming villages,” a term she says is deliberately inviting. “It is supposed to create something that people want to be part of,” she noted, underscoring the importance of employee retention and cultural cohesion after a wave of acquisitions.
“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.” A key pillar of the integration strategy is the standardisation of technology and tools across the group. Redin has pursued this agenda since becoming CEO in 2020, but she says the scale provided by the Plarium purchase finally allowed MTG to roll it out fully.
The plan is not to force a one‑size‑fits‑all solution; instead, MTG tailors the tech stack to the needs of each district. Playsimple’s toolkit will serve as the foundation for future casual acquisitions, whereas the Midcore side will adopt selected components of Plarium’s technology suite, deployed selectively after a rigorous internal assessment of where collaboration makes sense.
Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system have already been rolled out across MTG, with additional features being added to enhance functionality. Redin believes that a unified tech backbone will boost studio productivity and deliver “the biggest bang for our buck.” The ambition is to super‑charge Playamp studios with a shared suite that elevates existing capabilities while allowing each team to retain its creative DNA. Generative AI is another transformative force within MTG.
InnoGames, for example, has been using AI‑generated content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and is looking to expand AI‑driven creation across its portfolio. Redin observes that AI is being woven into many production pipelines – from A/B testing and graphics generation to quality assurance. Successful AI tools from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium‑derived tech suite, creating a feedback loop where innovations can be rapidly disseminated across the group.
When asked whether AI will eventually replace human creators, Redin cautioned against such deterministic thinking. “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 said.
“What is important is that our talent has amazing creativity, and that doesn’t sit yet within AI.” Nevertheless, she stressed that ignoring AI would leave MTG lagging behind competitors. “If we don’t embrace AI, we are going to be slower than what our competitors are.
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 comes from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple. Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the business. She cited Snowprint as a model – “if we could find five more Snowprints around the world, that would be fantastic” – and hinted at the possibility of adding a third district to the gaming village, likely centred around core capabilities such as marketing platforms or data analytics. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes evergreen IPs remain the cornerstone of MTG’s strategy.
The top‑ten mobile games list changes little year over year, and titles like Raid: Shadow Legends have many more years of revenue potential. At the same time, she acknowledges the necessity of a fresh pipeline. Plarium is preparing a new title for a soft launch early next year, and MTG continues to scout for novel concepts to keep the creative engine humming.
Industry observers warn that the western mobile sector is “coasting,” with only two of the 22 games that have topped $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originating from the West. Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, as illustrated by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters.
Redin agrees that building a hit game is difficult, but she argues that abandoning new‑game development would erode the creative DNA of the studios. “Investing in new games is how you retain creativity, passion, and drive,” she said.
Looking ahead, Redin paints a realistic picture of growth. The market now delivers low‑single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit expansion, far below the hyper‑growth era of the past. Yet with three billion gamers worldwide, the opportunity remains compelling.
“If you want to grow above and beyond that, you need to continue to invest in your strong evergreen IPs, but then you also need to be able to bring new games to the market,” she concluded. In summary, MTG’s roadmap under Maria Redin’s leadership combines aggressive acquisition, thoughtful integration, technology standardisation, AI‑enhanced production, and a balanced focus on both proven evergreen titles and fresh game development. The aim is to double the company’s size within the next few years while cultivating a cohesive "gaming village" that attracts talent, leverages shared tools, and sustains long‑term growth in a competitive, maturing mobile landscape.