In February of last year, Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the wildly popular hero‑collection game 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. “We set out the vision last year that, after bringing Plarium into the fold, we want to double our size again,” Redin told GamesIndustry.biz. “We’ll keep driving organic growth, but to reach that goal we’ll need to make further acquisitions.” The timeline is aggressive: Redin aims to achieve the doubling within three to five years.
She points out that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to scale quickly, noting that the company set a similar ambition in 2021 and, in her words, “tripled” its size. A few years ago the mobile sector was expanding at double‑digit rates, but growth has now slowed to single‑digit percentages as the market matures. What was once a blue‑ocean landscape has turned a deep red, meaning that future expansion will largely come from taking market share from rivals—or, more directly, by acquiring them. Buying companies is the easy half of the equation; integrating them is where most firms stumble.
The industry is littered with stories of acquisitions that resulted in studio closures because the merging process was mishandled. MTG, however, believes it has a clear roadmap. Before the Plarium deal, 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 pure casual and hardcore experiences. The districts have since been rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp.
Playsimple, named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip, houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp contains the bulk of MTG’s portfolio, which relies on in‑app purchases (IAPs). The rebranding goes beyond a name change. Redin says the ultimate aim is to create “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term “village” is intentional; it is meant to evoke a community that people want to belong to. Retaining talent and ensuring smooth integration are top priorities for a company that has been on an acquisition spree.
"Gaming is the perfect marriage of creativity and data‑driven decision‑making," Redin explains. "People are our greatest asset, but we also need to give them an environment where they can thrive. When we buy a studio, we want the founders and their teams to stay on board after the deal, because that’s when the real story begins and the business can scale.
The only way to make that happen is to build a workplace they enjoy." Behind the scenes, MTG has been standardising technology and tools across its portfolio. Redin notes that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; a common platform can drive efficiencies. The push for standardisation began when she became CEO in 2020, but the scale required to roll it out fully only arrived with Plarium’s addition. She acknowledges the pitfalls of forced uniformity, citing Electronic Arts’ troubled rollout of the Frostbite engine across its studios as a cautionary tale.
However, MTG treats the two districts differently: Playsimple’s tech stack will serve as the foundation for future casual acquisitions, while the Midcore (Playamp) side will selectively adopt components of Plarium’s suite. "We performed a thorough internal assessment to decide where collaboration makes sense and where it doesn’t," Redin says. Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system are already being used across MTG, and the company is adding new features to enhance them. The goal is to maximise impact: "We want to put our effort where we get the biggest bang for our buck," she says, noting that the Playamp division will be super‑charged with a shared tech suite that elevates each studio’s output.
Generative AI is another major focus. InnoGames, for example, has been using AI‑generated content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and plans to broaden AI‑driven creation across its catalogue. Redin observes that AI is becoming embedded in mobile‑game pipelines industry‑wide. "Generative AI is significantly more powerful than any tool we’ve had before," she says, adding that the challenge is to find the right balance—knowing when to adapt workflows and when to keep existing processes.
MTG’s approach is to layer AI onto existing tools for tasks such as A/B testing, graphics creation, quality assurance and more. Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being rolled into the broader Plarium tech suite, allowing rapid diffusion of best practices.
"We let studios experiment within our AI framework, share learnings, and then scale the breakthroughs across the group," Redin explains. When asked whether AI is now a prerequisite for competing in the mobile market, Redin cautions against overstatement. "I don’t think AI will replace human creativity," she says.
"Our talent’s imagination is still essential. But if we ignore AI, we’ll fall behind competitors. AI can accelerate development, fill capacity gaps, and help us deliver better games faster." Currently about 80 % of MTG’s revenue comes from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple.
Redin is eager to grow both sides. She mentions that Snowprint was acquired a few years ago and that adding more studios with a similar profile would be “fantastic.” On the casual side, she notes that Playsimple is presently a single studio but hopes to add scale. Looking ahead, Redin hints at the possibility of a third district within the “gaming village,” though she has not yet defined its exact purpose. It would likely centre on leveraging existing marketing platforms or data assets to support new types of studios.
Despite all the strategic maneuvering, Redin believes the core of the market remains unchanged. The top‑ten mobile games list sees little turnover, and MTG’s long‑term thesis has always been to back evergreen IPs. While Raid: Shadow Legends still has many years of life ahead, the company also recognises the need for fresh titles to keep the pipeline flowing.
The broader industry context is sobering. Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen has warned that Western mobile development is “coasting,” with only two of the 22 games that have surpassed $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originating from the West. Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled; its Squad Busters project was shut down after a brief launch in 2024. Redin acknowledges the difficulty of creating and scaling new hits.
Plarium, for instance, is preparing a new title for soft launch early next year. She argues that without investing in new games, studios lose a part of their creative DNA. "That passion and drive are what keep us innovative," she says.
In summary, Redin sees a mature but still sizable market—three billion gamers worldwide—as a compelling arena for growth. While hyper‑growth is unlikely to return, the sector is delivering low‑single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit expansion. To exceed that baseline, MTG will continue to double‑down on its strong evergreen franchises while also nurturing new releases, supported by a unified tech infrastructure and AI‑enhanced workflows.