In February of the previous year, the Swedish mobile entertainment conglomerate Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the developer behind the blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. That deal, while already sizable, appears to be merely the opening move in a broader expansion playbook, according to MTG’s president and chief executive, Maria Redin.
Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s ambition, set after the Plarium acquisition, is to double its overall scale once again. "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 attached to that ambition is aggressive: Redin expects the doubling to occur within a three‑to‑five‑year window.
She noted that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to grow quickly, pointing to a 2021 milestone when the group tripled its size. The mobile gaming market, once a rapidly expanding blue‑ocean sector delivering double‑digit growth, has now settled into single‑digit expansion as the space matures. With fewer low‑hanging fruit available, growth increasingly means taking market share from competitors—or absorbing them entirely through acquisitions.
Buying a studio is the easy half of the equation; the real challenge lies in integrating that studio smoothly into an existing corporate structure. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of poorly managed integrations that led to studio closures.
MTG believes it has a formula to avoid those pitfalls. Prior to the Plarium deal, the group already owned a portfolio of mobile studios, including InnoGames (known for Forge of Empires), Snowprint (Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus), Hutch (F1 Clash), Ninja Kiwi (Bloons TD 6), and Futureplay (Merge Gardens). These studios were previously split into two “districts”: a Casual District and a Midcore District—the latter covering games that sit between purely casual and hardcore experiences.
Following the acquisition, MTG rebranded these districts as Playsimple and Playamp. Playsimple, named after the India‑based studio behind WordTrip, aggregates free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles. Playamp houses the majority of MTG’s portfolio, focusing on games that generate revenue through in‑app purchases (IAPs).
The rebranding is more than cosmetic; it reflects a strategic intent to build what Redin calls “one of the leading gaming villages.” The phrasing is deliberate, aiming to foster a sense of community that encourages talent retention and smooth integration of newly acquired teams. "I always say gaming is the best marriage between creativity and data‑driven decisions. So people are for sure one of our biggest assets, but then you also need to make sure you create an environment for them to thrive in," Redin explained. She emphasized that MTG’s acquisition model is predicated on keeping founders and core teams on board after a deal closes, because the true growth story begins once those teams continue to scale their products under the MTG umbrella.
A parallel initiative underway since Redin took the helm in 2020 is the standardisation of technology and tools across the group. The Plarium purchase gave MTG the critical mass needed to roll out a unified tech stack at scale. However, Redin is careful to note that the needs of Playsimple and Playamp differ dramatically, so the two divisions receive tailored solutions.
"Playsimple and their tech stack is going to be the foundation for future companies we onboard in the Casual District. And for Midcore, we actually have chosen some of the Plarium tech suite to use group‑wide, but we're doing the rollout in a very selective way to make sure that the end game should always be better for all the companies," she said.
An internal audit identified where sharing tools made sense and where bespoke solutions were required. Among the shared assets is Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and its product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system, both of which are being enhanced with additional features.
Redin believes that bolstering these platforms will raise the overall output of all studios. "We want to make sure that we put our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck," she remarked, adding that the Playamp division will be "supercharged" by a robust, group‑wide tech suite.
Generative AI is another pillar of MTG’s modernization drive. InnoGames, for instance, has already 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 portfolio. Redin observes that AI is becoming embedded in production pipelines throughout the mobile sector. "I would say for most parties I speak to in the industry, we are all having similar discussions on how we are embracing new technology in our production chain," she said, noting that generative AI is "significantly more powerful than any other tool that we got access to before." The company’s AI strategy focuses on augmenting existing workflows rather than replacing them.
Applications include AI‑assisted A/B testing, automated graphics generation, quality assurance, and analytics. Successful AI solutions developed in one studio are being packaged into the Plarium tech suite and disseminated across the group, allowing rapid diffusion of best practices.
Redin cautioned against over‑hyping AI’s capabilities. While AI can accelerate development and fill capacity gaps, she believes human creativity remains irreplaceable. "I often get the question, is gaming AI going to be able to do everything you do?
And I actually don't think so. What is important is that our talent, our workforce has an amazing creativity.
That doesn't sit yet within AI," she said. Nevertheless, she warned that companies that ignore AI risk falling behind competitors who are leveraging the technology to ship games faster and at higher quality. In her view, AI acts as a catalyst that lets teams focus on the creative aspects while the machine handles repetitive or data‑intensive tasks.
Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue 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 the recent acquisition of Snowprint and expressed interest in replicating that success with additional studios of similar profile. On the casual side, she noted that Playsimple is currently a single studio but still contributes a meaningful share of earnings. Looking ahead, Redin hinted at the possibility of adding a third “district” to the gaming village, though the exact focus remains undefined. She suggested that any new district would likely build on MTG’s core strengths in marketing platforms and data analytics.
When asked about the future of mobile gaming titles, Redin observed that the top‑ten charts have remained remarkably stable over the years, reinforcing MTG’s long‑standing belief in evergreen IPs. While the company continues to invest in proven franchises like Raid, it also recognises the necessity of a fresh pipeline.
Plarium, for example, is preparing to soft‑launch a new title early next year. The broader industry context is sobering. Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen has warned that the Western mobile market is "coasting," noting that only two of the 22 games that have surpassed $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originated in the West.
Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, with projects such as Squad Busters being shuttered after a brief run. Redin acknowledges the difficulty of creating hit games at scale but insists that a commitment to new development is essential for preserving studio DNA, creativity, and passion. "If you stop investing in new games, you strip away a little bit of the DNA of the different studios," she said.
In summary, MTG is navigating a mature, competitive market by pursuing a dual strategy: double‑down on evergreen, high‑revenue titles while simultaneously expanding its studio base and embracing cutting‑edge technologies like AI. Redin believes the market remains compelling—three billion gamers worldwide provide a vast audience—but she cautions that future growth will likely be modest, ranging from low to mid single‑digit percentages.
To exceed that baseline, MTG plans to leverage both its established IPs and a steady flow of new games, supported by a unified tech infrastructure and a culture that values both data‑driven efficiency and human creativity.