In February of last year, Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the developer behind the wildly popular hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. Yet, according to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive, that deal is merely the opening act in a much larger growth narrative.
Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s ambition, set after the Plarium acquisition, 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, adding that organic expansion will be complemented by further acquisitions. The timeline she envisages is aggressive – roughly three to five years – but she noted that MTG has already proven its capacity to scale quickly, having tripled its size after a similar target was announced in 2021. The mobile gaming landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years.
What was once a high‑growth, double‑digit arena has settled into single‑digit growth, signalling a mature market where new entrants find it harder to carve out space. In this environment, growth increasingly means either capturing market share from rivals or absorbing them outright through acquisitions.
While buying companies can be straightforward, the real challenge lies in integrating them smoothly. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of acquisitions that resulted in studio closures because of cultural clashes, redundant processes, or mismatched technology stacks.
MTG, however, believes it has a roadmap to avoid those pitfalls. Prior to the Plarium deal, 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 organized into two “districts”: the Casual District and the Midcore District – the latter housing games that sit between pure casual experiences and more demanding hardcore titles.
The recent rebranding renamed these districts as Playsimple and Playamp respectively. Playsimple, named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip, now houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported games, while Playamp contains the majority of MTG’s portfolio, which relies on in‑app purchases (IAPs).
Redin emphasized that the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it reflects a broader ambition to build "one of the leading gaming villages." The term "village" is intentional, designed to foster a sense of community and belonging among developers. Retaining talent after an acquisition is a priority for MTG, as the company believes that the most exciting growth stories begin once the original founders and teams stay on board.
"People are one of our biggest assets," Redin said, "but you also need to create an environment where they can thrive. We buy companies because we want the founders and teams to stay, and the only way to make that happen is to give them a place they enjoy working in." A key pillar of MTG’s integration strategy is the standardisation of technology and tools across its studios. Since Redin took the helm in 2020, she has advocated for a unified tech backbone, but it was only after the Plarium acquisition that the group achieved sufficient scale to roll out this vision comprehensively.
The approach is nuanced: Playsimple’s tech stack will serve as a foundation for future casual‑district acquisitions, while the Midcore (Playamp) side will selectively adopt components of Plarium’s technology suite. Redin stressed that the company conducted a thorough internal assessment to determine where shared tools make sense and where bespoke solutions are required. Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data infrastructure are now being deployed across MTG, with additional features and functionality being added to enhance their utility.
The goal is to maximise the return on investment by giving all studios access to a robust, shared tech suite that can accelerate development and improve performance metrics. "We want to make sure we put our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck," Redin explained, noting that the Playamp division will be "supercharged" by this upgraded technology.
Artificial intelligence is another area where MTG is making significant strides. Generative AI tools have already been adopted by InnoGames, which uses them to produce content for Sunrise Village, and the company plans to broaden AI‑driven content creation across its portfolio. Redin described AI as a "significantly more powerful" tool than anything previously available, and she highlighted the ongoing industry‑wide conversation about how best to integrate AI into production pipelines without compromising creative integrity. The CEO outlined several practical AI applications: augmenting A/B testing, automating graphics generation, improving quality assurance, and streamlining code analysis.
Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium tech suite, allowing rapid diffusion of best practices. However, Redin cautioned against over‑reliance on AI, stating that human creativity remains essential and that AI should be viewed as a complementary accelerator rather than a replacement for talent. Revenue-wise, about 80 % of MTG’s earnings now come from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple. Redin expressed a desire to broaden both sides of the business.
She cited Snowprint as a recent acquisition and suggested that finding "five more Snowprints" worldwide would be ideal. On the casual front, she hinted at the possibility of adding a third district to the gaming village, one that would likely leverage the group’s core capabilities in marketing and data analytics. When asked about the future of mobile gaming titles, Redin noted that the top‑ten charts have remained remarkably stable, reinforcing MTG’s long‑standing belief in evergreen IPs. While Raid: Shadow Legends is expected to have many more profitable years, the company is also investing in new projects.
Plarium, for instance, is preparing to soft‑launch a new title early next year. Redin acknowledged the difficulty of creating hit games, referencing Supercell’s recent challenges with new releases, but argued that a pipeline of fresh titles is crucial for maintaining creative vitality and long‑term growth. Looking at the macro picture, Redin believes the market is still compelling despite its maturity. With roughly three billion gamers globally, there is ample opportunity, though the era of hyper‑growth is likely over.
She expects growth rates to hover between low‑single‑digit and mid‑single‑digit percentages, depending on data sources. To exceed those baseline figures, MTG will need to continue nurturing its strong evergreen franchises while also delivering new experiences to players.
In summary, MTG’s roadmap under Maria Redin’s leadership combines strategic acquisitions, thoughtful rebranding, technology standardisation, and AI‑enhanced development. By fostering a collaborative "gaming village" culture and balancing the proven profitability of evergreen titles with the creative risk of new releases, the company aims to double its size within the next few years and solidify its position as a leading force in the mobile gaming arena.