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 title Raid: Shadow Legends. That deal, however, is only the opening move in what MTG’s chief executive and president, Maria Redin, describes as an ambitious expansion agenda. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the vision set out after the Plarium acquisition is to double the group’s size once again, targeting a three‑to‑five‑year horizon for that growth.
"We want to keep driving organic expansion, but to hit those numbers we’ll need to pursue further acquisitions," she explained. The goal is not merely a numerical increase; it is about building a sustainable, integrated ecosystem of studios that can feed each other’s strengths.
The plan is rooted in MTG’s recent track record. In 2021 the company announced a similar ambition and, according to Redin, succeeded in tripling its scale within a few years.
The mobile gaming market, once a fast‑growing, double‑digit arena, has now settled into single‑digit growth as the sector matures. What was once a blue ocean of untapped users has turned into a crowded, highly competitive space where growth often means taking market share from rivals or, more dramatically, absorbing them. Acquisitions are the easy part; the real challenge lies in integration. The industry is littered with stories of studios that were bought only to be shuttered after a rocky merger.
MTG, however, believes it has a roadmap to avoid those pitfalls. Before buying Plarium, the group already owned a portfolio of mobile developers, including InnoGames (Forge of Empires), Snowprint (Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus), Hutch (F1 Clash), Ninja Kiwi (Bloons TD 6), and Futureplay (Merge Gardens). These studios were previously grouped into two “districts”: a Casual District and a Midcore District—the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences.
Following the Plarium deal, those districts were rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp. Playsimple, named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip, aggregates free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp houses the in‑app‑purchase‑driven games that now represent the bulk of MTG’s revenue.
The rebranding goes beyond a cosmetic change; Redin says the aim is to create “one of the leading gaming villages,” a community‑focused identity that encourages talent retention and smooth post‑acquisition integration. She stresses that people are the company’s greatest asset and that fostering an environment where developers enjoy working is essential for long‑term success.
A key pillar of the integration strategy is technology standardisation. 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 group.
The company is careful not to repeat the mistakes of other giants—EA’s forced adoption of the Frostbite engine, for example, caused major friction across its studios. Instead, MTG tailors its tools to the needs of each district. Playsimple’s tech foundation will serve as the baseline for future casual acquisitions, while the Midcore (Playamp) side will selectively adopt components of Plarium’s suite, ensuring that any shared tools genuinely add value.
Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system have already been rolled out across the organisation, with MTG adding new features to enhance their utility. Redin explains that the goal is to concentrate effort where it yields the highest return, leveraging the existing talent pool while supercharging it with a robust, group‑wide tech suite. Artificial intelligence is another area where MTG is pushing the envelope.
Generative AI has become a game‑changer in mobile development, and InnoGames, for instance, has been using AI‑generated content for its Sunrise Village title for some time. Redin notes that AI is being woven into various production pipelines—A/B testing, graphics creation, quality assurance, and more. Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium tech suite, creating a feedback loop that accelerates innovation across the whole group. When asked whether AI will eventually replace human creativity, Redin is cautious.
She believes that while AI can boost efficiency and fill capacity gaps, the core creative spark still resides in people. "If we ignore AI we’ll fall behind our competitors," she says, "but we must keep the creativity, innovation, and vision of our teams at the forefront." 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 the studio roster, noting that the company acquired Snowprint a few years ago and would love to replicate that success with additional studios worldwide. She also hints at the possibility of adding a third district to the gaming village, potentially centred around the group’s marketing and data capabilities.
Despite the market’s maturity, Redin remains confident in its growth prospects. The top‑ten mobile games list changes little year over year, reinforcing her belief in evergreen IPs. Nevertheless, she acknowledges the need for a fresh pipeline of titles. Plarium is preparing to soft‑launch a new game early next year, and MTG continues to scout for promising concepts.
The broader industry context is sobering. Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen has warned that Western mobile developers are “coasting,” with only two of the 22 billion‑dollar titles since 2020 originating from the West.
Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, as illustrated by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters. Redin concedes that creating and scaling a hit game is difficult, but she insists that neglecting new development would erode the creative DNA of MTG’s studios. In summary, MTG’s roadmap combines aggressive acquisition, thoughtful integration, technology harmonisation, and AI‑enhanced workflows, all aimed at doubling the company’s size within a few years while preserving the innovative spirit of its teams. The strategy balances reliance on proven evergreen franchises—such as Raid: Shadow Legends—with a commitment to nurturing new titles that can sustain the group’s relevance in a competitive, maturing mobile gaming market.