In February of the previous year, Sweden’s mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the blockbuster hero‑collecting title Raid: Shadow Legends. According to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive, that deal was only the opening move in a much larger plan.
"Last year we set a vision that, following the Plarium acquisition, we want to double our size again," Redin told GamesIndustry.biz. "We will continue to drive organic growth, but to achieve that we will need to make additional acquisitions." The timeline Redin proposes is aggressive: she aims to double the company’s revenue and studio footprint within roughly three to five years. She notes that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to scale quickly – the firm set a similar ambition in 2021 and, in her words, "tripled" its size in the ensuing period.
The mobile gaming market, once characterized by double‑digit expansion, has now settled into single‑digit growth as the sector matures. What used to be a blue‑ocean landscape has turned a deep red, meaning that future expansion will largely depend on capturing market share from rivals or, more commonly, absorbing them outright.
Acquiring companies is the easy part; integrating them successfully is notoriously difficult. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of mergers that resulted in studio closures because of cultural clashes or technical incompatibilities. Redin, however, believes MTG has a clear roadmap for integration. Before buying Plarium, MTG 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 grouped into two “districts”: the Casual District for lighter, ad‑supported games, and the Midcore District for titles that sit between casual and hardcore and rely primarily on in‑app purchases (IAPs). The districts have now been rebranded as Playsimple – named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip – and Playamp, respectively. Playsimple focuses on free‑to‑play, ad‑driven experiences, while Playamp houses the IAP‑centric games that make up the bulk of MTG’s earnings. Redin says the rebranding is more than cosmetic; the goal is to create what she calls "one of the leading gaming villages." The terminology is intentional, meant to foster a sense of community that encourages staff to stay and thrive.
"Gaming is the perfect marriage of creativity and data‑driven decision‑making," she explains. "People are our greatest asset, but we must also provide an environment where they can flourish. When we acquire a studio, we want the founders and teams to remain on board because that’s when the real story begins – the scaling phase.
The only way to keep them is to make that environment enjoyable." Behind the scenes, MTG has been standardising technology and tools across its growing empire. Redin notes that this effort began when she became CEO in 2020, but the scale required to roll it out fully only materialised after Plarium joined the group. The aim is not to force every studio to use the same bespoke solutions, but rather to establish a common foundation where it makes sense, while allowing flexibility where needed.
She points to the pitfalls of forced standardisation, such as Electronic Arts’ troubled push to adopt the Frostbite engine across all its studios, which caused significant friction on projects like Mass Effect. To avoid similar missteps, MTG treats the tech stacks of Playsimple and Playamp separately. "Playsimple’s stack will become the baseline for future casual acquisitions, while for Midcore we have selected parts of Plarium’s suite to roll out selectively," Redin says.
"We performed a thorough internal assessment to determine where sharing tools adds value and where it does not." Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system are already being deployed across MTG, with additional features being added to enhance functionality. Redin emphasizes that the purpose of these tools is to boost the productivity of all studios: "We want to invest where we get the biggest bang for our buck. Our Playamp studios are talented, and we aim to super‑charge them with a tech suite that elevates everything they already do." Generative AI is another area where MTG is making headway.
InnoGames, for example, has been using AI to generate content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and plans to expand AI‑driven creation across its portfolio. Redin observes that AI is being woven into many stages of game development – from A/B testing and graphic creation to quality assurance. Successful AI tools from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium tech suite, allowing rapid dissemination of proven innovations.
When asked whether AI will eventually replace human creativity, Redin is cautious. "I don’t think AI can do everything we do. The creative spark of our teams is still uniquely human," she says.
"But if we ignore AI, we risk falling behind competitors. AI can help us fill capacity gaps, accelerate production, and enhance quality, but it must complement, not replace, our talent." Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue now comes from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple. Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the business. She mentions that Snowprint was acquired a few years ago and that finding additional studios with a similar profile would be ideal.
On the casual side, the group currently has a single studio – Playsimple – but she envisions adding more scale and possibly a third "district" that leverages the company’s core capabilities in marketing and data analytics. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes the top‑ten mobile games list changes very little each year, reinforcing MTG’s focus on evergreen IPs.
While Raid: Shadow Legends still has many profitable years ahead, the company also recognises the necessity of a fresh pipeline. Plarium is preparing to soft‑launch a new title early next year, and Redin stresses that nurturing new games is essential to retain the creative DNA of each studio.
Industry observers, such as Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen, warn that Western mobile publishers are “coasting,” with only a handful of billion‑dollar titles emerging recently. Redin acknowledges the difficulty of launching successful new games, but argues that without a steady flow of fresh concepts, studios risk losing the innovative spirit that fuels long‑term growth.
Looking ahead, Redin sees a market still ripe with opportunity. With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, the sector remains compelling, even as it competes for attention with streaming services and social media. She expects growth to settle into low‑ to mid‑single‑digit percentages, and contends that surpassing that baseline will require a blend of strong evergreen franchises and the continuous introduction of new, engaging experiences.