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‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. That deal, however, is only the opening act of a much larger plan, according to MTG’s president and chief executive, Maria Redin. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the acquisition of Plarium was a stepping‑stone toward a goal set last year: to double the size of the MTG group once more.
“We set out the vision last year that after bringing Plarium into the fold we want to double again in size,” she said. “We will keep driving organic growth, but to do that we need to make additional acquisitions.” The timeline she proposes is aggressive—aiming to achieve the doubling within three to five years. Redin notes that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to meet lofty targets; the company pursued a similar ambition in 2021 and, in her words, “I think we tripled.” The mobile gaming sector, which a few years ago was expanding at double‑digit rates, now registers only single‑digit growth, reflecting a market that is rapidly maturing. What was once a blue ocean of untapped opportunity has become a crowded, competitive arena where growth often means capturing another firm’s market share or outright absorbing it.
Acquiring studios is the easy part; the real challenge lies in integrating them successfully. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of poorly merged studios that end up shuttered. MTG, however, believes it has a roadmap for smooth integration. Before buying Plarium, MTG already owned a portfolio of mobile developers, including InnoGames (known for Forge of Empires), Snowprint (creator of Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus), Hutch (developer of F1 Clash), Ninja Kiwi (Bloons TD 6), and Futureplay (Merge Gardens).
These studios were originally split into two “districts”: a Casual District and a Midcore District—the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences. The two divisions have now been rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp, respectively. Playsimple, named after the India‑based studio behind WordTrip, focuses on free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp concentrates on games that generate revenue primarily through in‑app purchases, which make up the bulk of MTG’s earnings.
Redin says the rebranding is more than cosmetic; the company’s ambition is to create “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term is meant to evoke a sense of community that attracts talent and encourages retention—critical when a firm is rapidly adding new studios. “Gaming is the perfect marriage of creativity and data‑driven decisions,” she explains.
“People are one of our biggest assets, but we also need to give them an environment where they can thrive. When we acquire a company, we want the founders and their teams to stay on board because that’s when the real story begins and the business can scale.” Standardising technology across the group is another pillar of the integration strategy.
Redin notes that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; instead, MTG is rolling out shared tools wherever they make sense. The push for standardisation began when she became CEO in 2020, but the scale afforded by the Plarium deal finally allowed the vision to be fully realised.
She acknowledges the pitfalls of forced uniformity, citing Electronic Arts’ troubled attempt to mandate the Frostbite engine across its studios as an example of how a one‑size‑fits‑all approach can backfire. MTG therefore treats the two districts separately. Playsimple’s tech suite will serve as the foundation for future casual acquisitions, while Playamp will adopt selected components of Plarium’s technology, deployed selectively after a thorough internal assessment of where collaboration adds value.
Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page data system are already being used across the MTG ecosystem, and Redin says the company is adding new features to enhance them. The goal is to maximise the return on investment by giving studios a robust, shared infrastructure that accelerates development and improves quality. Artificial intelligence is also reshaping MTG’s workflow. InnoGames, for instance, has been generating content for its mobile title Sunrise Village using AI for some time and plans to broaden AI‑driven creation across its portfolio.
Redin observes that AI is becoming embedded in many stages of game production—from A/B testing and graphics generation to quality assurance and analytics. Successful AI tools piloted in individual studios are being rolled out to the wider Plarium tech suite, creating a feedback loop that spreads best practices quickly. When asked whether AI will eventually replace human creators, Redin cautions against such deterministic thinking. “Our talent’s creativity isn’t something AI can replicate yet,” she says.
“But if we ignore AI, we risk falling behind competitors who are leveraging it to speed up pipelines and enhance player experiences. AI should be seen as a supercharger that works alongside human imagination, not a substitute.” Financially, roughly 80 % of MTG’s revenue now stems from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % coming from the casual side, which currently consists of a single studio—Playsimple.
Redin is eager to broaden both sides. She mentions that MTG acquired Snowprint a few years ago and would love to replicate that success by finding “five more Snowprints around the world.” She also hints at the possibility of adding a third district to the gaming village, likely built around core capabilities such as marketing platforms or data analytics. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes there is still room for growth. “We have three billion gamers worldwide,” she notes.
“The market is compelling, even though we now compete for attention with streaming services and social media. Hyper‑growth may be behind us, but low‑single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit growth is realistic, and we can exceed that by investing in evergreen IPs and launching new titles.” MTG’s strategy therefore balances two pillars: nurturing long‑standing, high‑performing franchises like Raid: Shadow Legends, and continuously feeding the pipeline with fresh games. Redin acknowledges the difficulty of launching successful new titles—citing Supercell’s recent struggle with its Squad Busters incubator—but stresses that a vibrant pipeline is essential to keep studio cultures creative and motivated. In summary, Maria Redin’s roadmap for MTG combines aggressive acquisition, thoughtful integration, unified technology, AI‑enhanced production, and a dual focus on evergreen and new IPs.
If executed as planned, the Swedish group aims to double its scale within the next few years while cementing its reputation as a leading “gaming village” in a competitive, evolving mobile landscape.