In February of last year, the Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million acquisition of Plarium, the studio behind the wildly popular hero‑collecting title Raid: Shadow Legends. That deal, however, is only the opening move in what MTG’s chief executive, Maria Redin, describes as a broader, multi‑year growth campaign. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company set a clear vision after the Plarium transaction: “Following the Plarium acquisition we want to double our size again.” She added that organic expansion will continue, but that organic growth alone will not be sufficient – further acquisitions will be required to hit the target.
The timetable is aggressive: Redin aims to achieve the doubling within roughly three to five years. She noted that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to scale quickly, recalling that the firm set a similar ambition in 2021 and ultimately tripled its size.
The mobile gaming landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years. While the sector once enjoyed double‑digit growth, it now registers only single‑digit increases, signalling a maturing market that has moved from a blue‑ocean scenario to a highly competitive red‑ocean environment.
In such a context, growth increasingly means either taking market share from rivals or absorbing them through acquisition. Acquiring companies is the easier half of the equation; the real challenge lies in integration.
The industry is littered with cautionary tales of studios that were bought only to be dismantled because the parent company failed to meld cultures, technology stacks, and business processes. MTG, however, believes it has a roadmap to avoid those pitfalls.
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”: a Casual District and a Midcore District – the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences.
Following the rebranding effort, the districts have been renamed Playsimple and Playamp respectively. Playsimple, named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip, houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp focuses on games that generate revenue primarily through in‑app purchases, which now represent the bulk of MTG’s earnings. Redin emphasizes that the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it is part of a larger ambition to build “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term “village” is deliberately chosen to evoke a sense of community and belonging, with the goal of improving employee retention and fostering collaboration across the many studios that have been brought under the MTG umbrella.
“People are one of our biggest assets,” she said, “and we need to create 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 – scaling the business together.” A key component of the integration strategy is the standardisation of technology and tools across the group.
Redin notes that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; a common foundation can drive efficiencies and reduce duplication. This standardisation drive began when she became CEO in 2020, but the scale required to roll it out fully only materialised after the Plarium acquisition gave MTG the necessary breadth. The approach is cautious, however.
MTG has learned from past industry missteps – for example, Electronic Arts’ forced adoption of the Frostbite engine caused significant friction across its studios. Redin acknowledges that the technical needs of Playsimple differ markedly from those of Playamp, and therefore the two divisions are being equipped with separate, purpose‑built toolsets. For the Midcore (Playamp) side, MTG has selected portions of Plarium’s technology suite to serve as a group‑wide foundation, but the rollout is being executed selectively.
Redin explains that an internal assessment identified where sharing tools makes sense and where it does not. Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page data infrastructure are already being leveraged across the company, with additional features being added to enhance functionality for all studios. The overarching aim is to concentrate resources where they deliver the greatest return on investment.
“We want to put our effort where we get the biggest bang for our buck,” Redin said. “We have amazing game makers across the group, and with Playamp we want to super‑charge them with a tech suite that elevates everything they already do.” Generative AI is another pillar of MTG’s modernization agenda.
The technology is reshaping content creation across the mobile sector. InnoGames, for instance, has been using AI to generate all of the assets for its Sunrise Village title and plans to expand AI‑driven content creation further. Redin observes that AI is being woven into many stages of production – from A/B testing and graphics generation to quality assurance and analytics. Successful AI solutions developed at individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium tech suite, creating a feedback loop that accelerates innovation.
When asked whether AI will eventually replace human creativity, Redin is cautious. She believes AI can augment talent but not supplant the creative spark that humans bring. “If we don’t embrace AI we will fall behind our competitors,” she warned, adding that AI can help address capacity shortfalls in coding, art, and complex logic, thereby allowing teams to focus on the truly creative aspects of game design.
Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue now stems from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple. Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the portfolio. She cites Snowprint as a recent acquisition and says that finding “five more Snowprints around the world” would be ideal. On the casual front, the company currently operates a single studio under the Playsimple banner but hopes to add scale there as well.
She even hints at the possibility of a third “district” in the future, which would likely centre around core capabilities such as marketing platforms or data analytics. Despite the rapid evolution of the market, the top‑ten mobile games list remains relatively static, reinforcing MTG’s long‑standing belief in evergreen intellectual property. Raid: Shadow Legends, for example, is expected to have many more profitable years ahead. Nevertheless, Redin stresses the importance of a fresh pipeline.
“If we stop investing in new games we lose a part of our DNA,” she said, noting that Plarium has a new title slated for soft launch early next year. Industry peers have warned that the western mobile market is “coasting,” with only a handful of new titles breaking the $1 billion revenue barrier since 2020. Supercell’s own incubator projects have struggled, exemplified by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters. Redin acknowledges the difficulty of launching successful new games but maintains that a balanced mix of evergreen IPs and new titles is essential for sustained growth.
Looking ahead, Redin is optimistic about the market’s potential despite its maturity. With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, the sector remains compelling, even as it competes for user attention with streaming services and social media.
She expects growth to settle into low‑ to mid‑single‑digit percentages, and argues that exceeding that baseline will require continued investment in both proven franchises and innovative new experiences. In summary, MTG’s roadmap under Maria Redin’s leadership combines strategic acquisitions, thoughtful rebranding, technology standardisation, and AI‑enhanced development to build a cohesive “gaming village.” By retaining talent, sharing best‑in‑class tools, and balancing evergreen titles with fresh IP, the company aims to double its size within the next few years while navigating the challenges of a maturing mobile gaming market.