In February of last year, Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the blockbuster hero‑collection game Raid: Shadow Legends. That transaction, however, is only the opening act of a broader expansion plan, according to MTG’s president and chief executive, Maria Redin.
Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s ambition, set after the Plarium deal, is to double its size once again. “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 timeline she cited is aggressive: the goal is to achieve the doubling within roughly three to five years. Redin noted that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to scale quickly, recalling that the firm set a similar target in 2021 and ultimately tripled its footprint.
The mobile gaming landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. A few years ago, the sector was enjoying double‑digit growth rates, but the market has now matured, with growth slipping into single‑digit territory. What was once a blue‑ocean of untapped users has become a crowded, highly competitive arena where expansion often means taking market share from rivals or absorbing them entirely. Acquiring studios is the straightforward part; the real challenge lies in integrating them smoothly.
The industry is littered with cautionary tales of mergers that resulted in culture clashes, duplicated effort, and ultimately studio closures. MTG, however, believes it has a clear roadmap for integration. Before the Plarium acquisition, MTG already owned a suite of mobile developers, 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 originally grouped into two “districts”: the Casual District and the Midcore District, the latter covering games that sit between pure casual experiences and more hardcore titles. The districts have now been rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp. Playsimple—named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip—houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported games, while Playamp focuses on titles that generate revenue primarily through in‑app purchases, which represent the bulk of MTG’s portfolio. Redin says the rebranding is only the tip of the iceberg.
Her vision is to create “one of the leading gaming villages,” a phrase she chose deliberately to evoke a sense of community and belonging. The aim is to retain talent and foster collaboration across the rapidly expanding group of studios.
“Gaming is the best marriage between creativity and data‑driven decisions,” she remarked. “People are one of our biggest assets, but you also need to create an environment where they can thrive.” A key component of that environment is the standardisation of technology and tools across the organisation.
Since Redin took the helm in 2020, MTG has been working toward a unified tech stack, but the scale required to roll it out fully only materialised after Plarium joined the family. “Not everything needs to be built uniquely for every single company,” she said, noting that the standardisation effort is being applied selectively.
Playsimple’s tech foundation will serve as the template for future casual acquisitions, while the Midcore (Playamp) side will adopt parts of Plarium’s technology suite, but only where it makes sense after a thorough internal assessment. Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page data system are already being leveraged across MTG, with additional features being added to enhance functionality.
Redin explained that the goal is to maximise impact: “We want to make sure that we put our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck. We have some amazing game makers across the group, and with Playamp we want to supercharge that with a tech suite they can leverage.” Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another pillar of MTG’s growth strategy.
InnoGames, for example, has been using AI‑generated content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and is exploring broader AI integration across its portfolio. Redin observes that AI is becoming embedded in many stages of game production—from A/B testing and graphic creation to quality assurance and analytics. She stresses that AI is viewed as an accelerator rather than a replacement for human creativity: “Our talent has amazing creativity that isn’t yet within AI.
But if we don’t embrace AI, we’ll fall behind competitors. AI can help us fill capacity shortfalls and speed up delivery while we keep the creative vision intact.” Currently, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue 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 acquisition of Snowprint a few years ago and expressed interest in finding “five more Snowprints around the world.” On the casual front, she noted that Playsimple is presently a single studio but still contributes a meaningful share of earnings.
Looking ahead, she 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. When asked about the future of mobile titles, Redin emphasized the stability of the top‑ten charts, which rarely change dramatically.
“Our thesis from day one has been to invest in evergreen IPs,” she said, noting that Raid: Shadow Legends still has many years of life ahead. Nevertheless, she acknowledged the necessity of a fresh pipeline: “We need to continue to have games coming to market. Otherwise we lose part of the DNA of our studios—creativity, passion, drive.” The broader industry context is sobering.
Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen 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 illustrated by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters. Redin remains optimistic despite these challenges.
She points to a global audience of roughly three billion gamers and asserts that the market is still compelling, even if hyper‑growth is unlikely to return. “We see low‑single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit growth depending on the data source.
To exceed that, you need to keep investing in strong evergreen IPs and also bring new games to market.” In her view, a balanced mix of established franchises and fresh titles, powered by a unified tech infrastructure and AI‑enhanced workflows, will enable MTG to achieve its ambitious doubling target while maintaining a vibrant, collaborative culture across its expanding gaming village.