Maria Redin of MTG Discusses Rebranding, Acquiring Raid: Shadow Legends, and Ambitions to Double Company Size

In February of last year, Sweden’s mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the wildly popular hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. Yet, according to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive, that transaction is only the opening move in a much larger game plan. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company set a bold vision after the Plarium deal: "We want to double our size again after the acquisition, and we intend to keep fueling organic growth while also pursuing further purchases." She added that the target is to achieve this scale within roughly three to five years.

The ambition is not new – MTG previously aimed for a similar leap in 2021 and, as Redin noted, the group actually tripled its size during that period. The mobile market, once characterised by double‑digit expansion, has now settled into single‑digit growth as the sector matures. What used to be a blue‑ocean of untapped users has turned a deep red, meaning that future expansion will largely depend on taking market share from rivals or absorbing them outright.

While buying companies is relatively straightforward, integrating them successfully is notoriously difficult, with many industry stories of failed mergers leading to studio closures. MTG, however, believes it has a clear roadmap for integration. Before the Plarium acquisition, MTG already owned a portfolio of mobile developers, 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 organised into two “districts”: a Casual District and a Midcore District – the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences. The recent rebranding renamed these units Playsimple and Playamp respectively.

Playsimple, named after the India‑based WordTrip studio, now houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp contains the majority of MTG’s portfolio, focusing on games that generate revenue through in‑app purchases. Redin emphasised that the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it reflects a broader ambition to build "one of the leading gaming villages." The term "village" is deliberately chosen to evoke a sense of community and belonging, which the leadership believes will help retain talent – a critical factor after a wave of acquisitions. "Gaming is the perfect marriage of creativity and data‑driven decision‑making," she said.

"People are our greatest asset, but we must create an environment where they can thrive. When we acquire a studio, we want the founders and teams to stay on board because that’s when the real story begins and we can scale the business together.

The only way to ensure they stay is to make the workplace enjoyable." A key element of the integration effort is the standardisation of technology and tools across the group. Redin explained that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; instead, MTG is rolling out shared platforms where it makes sense.

This push for standardisation began when she became CEO in 2020, but the scale required to implement it fully only arrived after Plarium joined the family. The company is careful to differentiate between the needs of Playsimple and Playamp – the casual side relies on a different set of tools than the midcore side, and each division is being equipped accordingly. "Playsimple’s tech stack will become the foundation for any future casual‑district acquisitions," Redin said. "For Midcore, we have selected portions of Plarium’s technology suite to deploy group‑wide, but we are doing it selectively to ensure the end result benefits all studios.

We conducted a thorough internal assessment to decide where collaboration and shared tools make sense and where they do not." Two of Plarium’s platforms – the GoGame marketing suite and a product‑detail‑page (PDP) data platform – are already being used across MTG, with additional features being added to enhance functionality. The goal is to maximise the return on investment by giving every studio access to the best possible infrastructure. "We have amazing game makers across the group, and with Playamp we want to super‑charge them with a tech suite they can leverage, elevating everything that’s already been done," Redin explained.

Artificial intelligence is also reshaping MTG’s development pipeline. InnoGames, for example, has been generating content for its mobile title Sunrise Village using AI for some time and is looking to expand AI‑driven content creation across its portfolio. Redin noted that AI integration is a common theme throughout the mobile sector, with many companies exploring how to embed generative AI into production workflows. She described AI as "significantly more powerful than any tool we’ve had before" and stressed the need to strike a balance between automation and human creativity.

The company’s AI strategy focuses on augmenting existing tools rather than replacing them. Applications include AI‑assisted A/B testing, graphic generation, quality assurance, and analytics.

Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium tech suite, allowing rapid dissemination of best practices. "We allow studios to experiment within our overarching AI framework, share learnings, and quickly roll out breakthroughs across the group," Redin said.

When asked whether AI has become a prerequisite for competing in the fast‑moving mobile market, Redin cautioned against overstatement. "I often get asked if gaming AI will eventually do everything we do, and I don’t think so.

Creativity remains a uniquely human strength. However, if we ignore AI we risk falling behind competitors. AI can super‑charge our work, helping us deliver games faster and at higher quality while preserving the creative vision of our teams," she replied.

Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue now comes from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by the single casual studio Playsimple. Redin expressed a desire to broaden both sides of the business. "We acquired Snowprint a few years ago; finding five more studios like Snowprint worldwide would be fantastic.

On the casual side, we want to add more scale," she said. While the group is currently focused on building Playamp and Playsimple, Redin hinted at the possibility of a third district in the future, perhaps centred around core capabilities such as marketing platforms or data analytics.

Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes the top‑ten mobile games list remains relatively stable, reinforcing MTG’s long‑standing belief in evergreen IPs. The company continues to invest in proven titles like Raid, while also recognising the importance of a fresh pipeline. "We have a new Plarium title slated for a soft launch early next year," she noted, adding that neglecting new games would erode the creative DNA of the studios.

The broader industry context is sobering: Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen warned that the Western mobile market is "coasting," with only two of the 22 games that have topped $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originating from the West. Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, as illustrated by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters. Redin concluded that while hyper‑growth may be a thing of the past, the market remains compelling. With three billion gamers worldwide, there is still room for expansion, albeit at modest single‑digit rates.

To exceed those baseline figures, MTG must continue to nurture its evergreen franchises and simultaneously bring new experiences to market. "We’ve seen hyper‑growth, then a slowdown to stabilization.

The market is still attractive, but we won’t see the explosive growth of earlier years. To grow beyond low‑single‑digit rates we need strong evergreen IPs and a steady flow of new games," Redin summed up.