In February of last year, Swedish mobile entertainment conglomerate Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a high‑profile purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends, for roughly $620 million. While that transaction alone was headline‑making, it appears only to be the opening move in a broader, long‑term playbook. "We set out the vision last year that, following the Plarium acquisition, we want to double the company again," MTG president and chief executive Maria Redin told GamesIndustry.biz.
"We’ll keep driving organic growth, but to do that we’ll need to make additional strategic acquisitions." Redin’s timetable for that doubling is bold: she aims to achieve it within a three‑to‑five‑year horizon. The Swedish group already has a track record of rapid scaling; Redin notes that a similar ambition set in 2021 resulted in a tripling of the business. The mobile gaming sector, once characterized by double‑digit expansion, has now settled into single‑digit growth as the market matures.
What was once a blue ocean of untapped users has turned a deep shade of red, meaning that future growth will likely come from capturing market share from rivals or, more dramatically, by absorbing them. Acquiring companies is the easy part; integrating them is where many firms stumble.
The industry is littered with cautionary tales of poorly managed mergers that end in studio closures. MTG, however, believes it has a roadmap for smooth integration.
Before buying Plarium, MTG already owned a portfolio of mobile developers, 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 grouped into two “districts”: the Casual District and the Midcore District—the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences. These districts have now been rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp, respectively. Playsimple, named after the India‑based WordTrip studio, houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles.
Playamp contains the bulk of MTG’s portfolio, focusing on games that generate revenue through in‑app purchases (IAPs). The rebranding is more than cosmetic. Redin says the goal is to forge "one of the leading gaming villages," a term chosen to evoke a sense of community and belonging.
The emphasis is on retaining talent and fostering a culture where newly acquired teams feel motivated to stay. "People are one of our biggest assets," Redin explains.
"We want founders and their teams to remain post‑acquisition, because that’s when the real story of scaling begins. The only way to make that happen is to create an environment they enjoy." Behind the scenes, MTG has been standardising technology and tools across its studios.
Redin notes that not every solution needs to be built from scratch for each studio, and the Plarium deal gave MTG the scale needed to roll out a unified tech vision. This approach echoes past attempts by other publishers—EA’s push for the Frostbite engine, for example, caused significant friction for teams working on titles like Mass Effect. MTG is careful to treat the two districts separately, recognising that Playsimple’s tech stack differs from Playamp’s needs. "Playsimple’s stack will become the foundation for future casual acquisitions," Redin says.
"For Midcore, we’ve selected parts of Plarium’s technology to deploy group‑wide, but we’re doing it selectively to ensure the end result benefits every studio. We’ve conducted a thorough internal assessment to decide where collaboration makes sense and where it doesn’t." Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system are already being leveraged across MTG, with additional features and functionality being added to enhance their utility. The aim is to maximise impact with the least waste of resources. "We have amazing game makers across the group, and with Playamp we want to super‑charge them with a tech suite that elevates everything they already do," Redin asserts.
Generative AI is another pillar of MTG’s modernization. InnoGames, for instance, has been using AI‑generated assets for its mobile title Sunrise Village and plans to broaden AI‑driven content creation across its portfolio. Redin observes that AI is becoming embedded in production pipelines throughout the mobile sector. "Generative AI is far more powerful than any tool we’ve had before," she says, noting the industry‑wide discussions about balancing AI adoption with creative integrity.
The company is focusing on adding AI layers to existing workflows—A/B testing, graphics creation, quality assurance, and more. Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium tech suite, allowing rapid dissemination of best practices.
"We let studios experiment within our overarching AI framework, then share learnings and roll out the most effective tools company‑wide," Redin explains. When asked whether AI is now a prerequisite for competing in the mobile market, Redin cautions against hyperbole. "I don’t think AI will replace human creativity," she says.
"Our talent’s imagination is still the core driver. But if we ignore AI, we risk falling behind competitors who are leveraging it to accelerate development and improve player experiences." Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue now comes from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple. Redin is eager to expand both sides of the business. "We bought Snowprint a few years ago; finding five more studios like Snowprint would be fantastic," she says.
On the casual side, she envisions adding more scale, even contemplating a third district that would build on the company’s existing marketing and data capabilities. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes the top‑ten mobile games remain remarkably stable year after year.
MTG’s strategy therefore leans heavily on evergreen IPs—titles that can generate revenue for many years. Raid: Shadow Legends, for example, still has a long runway ahead, but the company also recognises the necessity of a fresh pipeline. Plarium is preparing to soft‑launch a new title early next year, underscoring the commitment to new development.
Industry observers warn that the western mobile market is “coasting.” Only two of the 22 games that have surpassed $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originated from the west, and even giants like Supercell have struggled to launch successful new IPs. Redin acknowledges these challenges: "It’s hard to make a hit and scale it, but abandoning new‑game investment would strip studios of their creative DNA." Looking ahead, Redin sees growth potential despite the shift from hyper‑growth to modest single‑digit expansion. With three billion gamers worldwide, the market remains compelling, even as it competes for attention with streaming services and social media. "If you want to outpace the low‑single‑digit baseline, you must double‑down on strong evergreen IPs and continue feeding the pipeline with fresh titles," she concludes.