In February of the previous year, Sweden’s mobile entertainment leader Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the wildly popular hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. According to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive, that deal was only the opening move in a broader plan to reshape the company’s future.
Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the vision set out after the Plarium acquisition is to double the size of MTG once more, targeting a two‑fold increase in revenue and studio count within roughly three to five years. She emphasized that organic growth remains a priority, but that scaling will require a series of additional purchases. The ambition is not new – MTG aimed for a similar leap in 2021 and, as Redin noted, the group actually tripled its size during that earlier wave. 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 become a crowded, highly competitive arena where gaining market share often means acquiring rivals or absorbing their assets. While buying companies is relatively straightforward, the real challenge lies in integrating them smoothly. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of acquisitions that resulted in studio closures due to poor post‑deal integration. MTG entered the Plarium deal already overseeing a portfolio of established mobile developers, including InnoGames (known for Forge of Empires), Snowprint (creator of Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus), Hutch (F1 Clash), Ninja Kiwi (Bloons TD 6) and Futureplay (Merge Gardens).
Historically these studios were split into two operational “districts”: a Casual District for lighter, ad‑supported games and a Midcore District for titles that sit between casual and hardcore, typically monetised through in‑app purchases (IAPs). Following the acquisition, the districts were rebranded as Playsimple – named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip – and Playamp, respectively. Playsimple now houses the ad‑driven free‑to‑play portfolio, while Playamp contains the IAP‑focused games that represent the bulk of MTG’s earnings.
Redin says the renaming is more than cosmetic; it reflects a strategic aim to build “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term village is intended to convey a sense of community that encourages staff to stay and collaborate, a crucial factor when a company is rapidly adding new studios. "Gaming is the perfect marriage of creativity and data‑driven decision‑making," Redin explained. "People are our greatest asset, but they only thrive in an environment that respects and supports them.
When we acquire a studio we want the founders and their teams to remain, because that’s when the real story begins – scaling the business together. The only way to keep them is to create a workplace they enjoy." A parallel effort underway since Redin took the helm in 2020 is the standardisation of technology across MTG’s diverse portfolio.
The goal is to avoid reinventing the wheel for each studio while still allowing flexibility for the differing needs of casual and midcore games. Redin noted that Plarium’s scale finally gave MTG the critical mass needed to roll out a unified tech vision. She cited the pitfalls of other companies – such as Electronic Arts’ forced adoption of the Frostbite engine, which caused significant friction – and stressed that MTG is treating the two districts separately. Playsimple’s tech stack will serve as the baseline for future casual acquisitions, whereas Playamp will selectively adopt components of Plarium’s suite, after careful internal assessments determine where shared tools make sense.
Key Plarium platforms, including the GoGame marketing engine and a product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system, are already being deployed across the group, with MTG adding new features to enhance functionality. The intention is to maximise return on investment by giving all studios access to a robust, shared infrastructure that can accelerate development and improve performance. Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another area where MTG is making rapid progress. InnoGames, for example, has been using AI to generate content for its Sunrise Village title and plans to broaden AI‑driven production across its catalogue.
Redin observes that AI is becoming embedded in many stages of game creation – from A/B testing and graphic generation to quality assurance – and that successful AI tools from individual studios are being rolled into the broader Plarium tech suite. "We let studios experiment within our AI framework, share the learnings, and then quickly disseminate winning solutions across the company," she said. When asked whether AI will eventually replace human creativity, Redin was cautious. She believes AI will never fully replicate the imaginative spark that human developers bring, but she also warns that ignoring AI would leave MTG lagging behind competitors.
By pairing AI’s efficiency with human ingenuity, MTG hopes to maintain a fast development cadence while preserving the creative DNA of its teams. Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue now stems from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % contributed by Playsimple.
Redin expressed a desire to grow both sides – she would welcome “five more Snowprints” worldwide and is exploring the possibility of adding a third district to the gaming village, potentially centred on marketing or data capabilities. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin remains confident in the sector’s long‑term prospects. She notes that the top‑ten mobile games change little from year to year, underscoring the importance of evergreen IPs like Raid, which she expects to generate revenue for many more years.
Nonetheless, she acknowledges the need for a fresh pipeline: Plarium is preparing to soft‑launch a new title early next year, and MTG continues to scout for innovative concepts. Industry observers such as Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen have warned that Western mobile developers are “coasting,” with only two of the 22 titles that have surpassed $1 billion since 2020 originating from the West. Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, as seen with the recent shutdown of Squad Busters.
Redin agrees that creating hit games is difficult, but she argues that investing in new projects is essential to keep studio culture vibrant and to sustain growth. In summary, Redin sees a future where MTG leverages its existing evergreen franchises while simultaneously nurturing new experiences.
She anticipates modest, single‑digit growth rates for the overall market, but believes that by combining robust IPs, strategic acquisitions, unified technology, and AI‑enhanced workflows, MTG can exceed those baseline figures and continue to expand its influence in the mobile gaming landscape.