In February of last year, Swedish mobile‑gaming powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million acquisition of Plarium, the studio behind the blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. That deal, however, is only the opening move in a broader expansion plan, according to MTG’s president and chief executive, Maria Redin. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company set a bold vision after the Plarium purchase: “We want to double our size again, building on the growth we achieved after acquiring Plarium.” She added that organic expansion will continue, but that further acquisitions are essential to reach the target.
The timeline is aggressive – she aims to accomplish the doubling within three to five years. Redin noted that MTG already hit a similar ambition in 2021, when the group’s revenue more than tripled. The mobile sector, once characterized by double‑digit growth, has now settled into single‑digit expansion as the market matures. What was once a blue‑ocean of untapped users has become a highly competitive red‑ocean, where gaining market share often means buying rivals or integrating them into a larger portfolio.
While acquisitions are relatively straightforward, the real challenge lies in merging cultures, technology stacks, and processes without triggering the studio closures that have plagued other conglomerates. Before the Plarium deal, MTG already owned a suite of mobile studios, 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 grouped into two “districts”: the Casual District for lighter, ad‑supported games, and the Midcore District for titles that sit between casual and hardcore, typically monetised through in‑app purchases (IAPs). The districts have since been rebranded as Playsimple – named after the India‑based WordTrip studio – and Playamp, respectively.
Playsimple now houses free‑to‑play, ad‑driven experiences, while Playamp contains the bulk of MTG’s IAP‑focused portfolio. Redin says the rebranding is more than cosmetic; it reflects a strategic aim to create “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term is intended to evoke a sense of community that encourages talent to stay and thrive. She emphasised that people are MTG’s greatest asset, and that retaining founders and development teams after an acquisition is crucial for unlocking the next phase of growth.
“We buy companies because we want the founders and their teams to remain on board. The only way to make that happen is to build an environment they enjoy,” she explained.
A key part of the integration effort is the standardisation of technology and tools across the group. Redin has pursued this agenda since becoming CEO in 2020, but she says the scale afforded by the Plarium acquisition finally allowed the vision to be executed fully. The approach is deliberately selective: the tech stack used by Playsimple will become the baseline for future casual acquisitions, while the Midcore (Playamp) side will adopt components of Plarium’s suite where they add clear value.
Redin stressed that the two districts have very different technical needs, so the rollout is being handled independently. Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and its product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system have already been rolled out across MTG, with additional features being added to enhance functionality. The goal is to maximise the return on investment by giving all studios access to a shared, high‑performance toolkit. “We want to put our effort where we get the biggest bang for our buck,” Redin said, noting that the Playamp division will be super‑charged by a unified tech suite that elevates existing capabilities.
Generative AI is another pillar of MTG’s modernization. InnoGames, for example, has been using AI‑generated assets for its mobile title Sunrise Village and is exploring broader AI‑driven content creation.
Redin observes that AI is becoming embedded in production pipelines across the mobile industry. She described AI as “significantly more powerful than any tool we’ve had before,” and highlighted its use in A/B testing, graphics generation, quality assurance, and analytics. Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being incorporated into the Plarium‑derived tech suite, allowing rapid cross‑studio diffusion of best practices.
When asked whether AI could eventually replace human creativity, Redin cautioned against such a deterministic view. “Our talent’s creativity is still something AI can’t replicate,” she said, but added that refusing to adopt AI would leave MTG lagging behind competitors. She sees AI as a force‑multiplier that can address capacity shortfalls in coding, art, and complex logic, thereby accelerating the delivery of high‑quality games. Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue now comes from the Playamp district, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple.
Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the business. She mentioned that MTG bought Snowprint a few years ago and would love to replicate that success with additional studios of a similar profile.
On the casual side, she noted that Playsimple is currently a single studio but still contributes a sizable share of revenue, and she envisions adding a third “district” in the future – one that would leverage the group’s core marketing and data capabilities. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes evergreen IPs remain essential.
The top‑ten mobile games change little from year to year, and MTG’s strategy has always focused on long‑lived titles. Raid: Shadow Legends, for instance, still has many years of revenue potential, yet the company continues to invest in new projects to keep the pipeline fresh.
She acknowledged the difficulty of launching successful new games, citing Supercell’s recent struggles with its Squad Busters incubator, but argued that without fresh IPs the studios would lose the creative spark that drives innovation. Looking ahead, Redin is optimistic about the overall market. With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, the sector remains compelling despite competition from streaming services and social media for user attention. Growth rates have settled into low‑ to mid‑single‑digit percentages, and MTG plans to exceed those averages by bolstering evergreen franchises while also delivering new titles.
In her words, “We keep the creativity, innovation, and vision of our team, but we can leverage completely new levels of technology alongside it.”