In February of the previous year, Sweden’s mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. According to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive officer, that deal was only the opening move in a much larger plan.
Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s ambition, set after the Plarium acquisition, is to double its overall size once again. “We set out the vision last year that post‑acquisition of Plarium we want to double yet again in size,” she explained.
“And yes, we want to fuel and continue to drive organic growth, but in order to do that, we will need to do more acquisitions.” The timeline for this expansion 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 target in 2021 and ended up tripling its footprint.
The mobile gaming sector, which a few years ago was expanding at double‑digit rates, has now settled into single‑digit growth as the market matures. What was once a blue‑ocean of untapped users has turned into a crowded, competitive arena where gaining market share often means buying competitors outright. While acquisitions can be straightforward on paper, the real challenge lies in integrating new studios without disrupting their creative engines. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of failed mergers that resulted in studio closures.
MTG entered the Plarium deal already owning a suite of mobile developers, including InnoGames (known for Forge of Empires), Snowprint (Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus), Hutch (F1 Clash), Ninja Kiwi (Bloons TD 6), and Futureplay (Merge Gardens). Historically, these studios were split into two “districts”: the Casual District and the Midcore District, the latter covering games that sit between pure casual and hardcore experiences. Following the acquisition, the districts were rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp.
Playsimple, named after the India‑based WordTrip studio, now houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp contains the portfolio of games that rely primarily on in‑app purchases. Redin says the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it reflects a broader vision of creating “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term “village” is deliberately chosen to evoke a sense of community that employees want to belong to.
Retaining talent and ensuring smooth cultural integration are top priorities for a company that has been on a buying spree. “People are one of our biggest assets,” Redin emphasized.
“We buy companies because we want the founders and teams to stay on board after the deal, because that’s when the real story begins and we can scale the businesses further. The only way to make sure they stay is to create an environment they enjoy.” Behind the scenes, MTG has been standardising technology and tools across its portfolio.
Redin noted that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; a common platform can drive efficiencies. This push for uniformity began when she took the helm in 2020, but the scale required to roll it out fully only materialised after the Plarium acquisition. The company is careful, however, to differentiate between the needs of Playsimple and Playamp. “Playsimple’s tech stack will become the foundation for future casual‑district companies,” she said.
“For Midcore, we have selected parts of Plarium’s suite to use group‑wide, but we are rolling it out selectively to ensure the end result benefits all studios.” Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and its product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system are now being employed across MTG, with additional features and functionality being added to suit the broader group. Redin believes this shared infrastructure will boost productivity across the board: “We want to put our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck.
We have amazing game makers across the group, and with Playamp we aim to super‑charge them with a tech suite they can leverage, elevating everything that’s already been done.” Generative AI is another pillar of MTG’s modernization effort. InnoGames, for instance, has been using AI to generate all content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and plans to extend AI‑driven creation across its catalogue. Redin sees this as part of a wider industry trend: “Most of the parties I talk to are having similar discussions about embracing new technology in our production chain. Generative AI is significantly more powerful than any tool we’ve had before.” She stresses the need to strike a balance, integrating AI where it adds value—such as A/B testing, graphics creation, and quality assurance—while preserving the human creativity that remains essential to game design.
When asked whether AI could eventually replace human developers, Redin cautioned against such a deterministic view. “I often get the question, is gaming AI going to be able to do everything you do?
I don’t think so. Our talent’s creativity isn’t yet within AI’s reach. However, if we ignore AI we will fall behind competitors.
AI can super‑charge our work, filling capacity shortfalls in analysis, coding, art, and complex logic.” Revenue-wise, about 80 % of MTG’s earnings now come from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple. Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the business. She mentioned the recent acquisition of Snowprint and expressed a desire to replicate that success globally: “If we could find five more Snowprints around the world, that would be fantastic.” On the casual front, she noted that Playsimple is currently a single studio but still contributes a significant slice of revenue, and she envisions adding a third “district” to the gaming village in the future—potentially built around the group’s core marketing and data capabilities. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes evergreen IPs will continue to dominate the top‑ten mobile charts, which rarely change dramatically year over year.
Nevertheless, she acknowledges the importance of a fresh pipeline: “Raid has many more years ahead of it, but that doesn’t mean we don’t believe in making new games. You need a pipeline of titles to keep the ecosystem healthy.” The broader industry context is sobering. Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen warned that Western mobile developers are “coasting,” with only two of the 22 games that have surpassed $1 billion since 2020 originating from the West. Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, as illustrated by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters.
Redin concurs that creating and scaling a hit title is difficult, but she insists that investing in new games is essential to preserve studio DNA, creativity, and passion. “We have a new Plarium title slated for a soft launch early next year,” she said, underscoring the need for continual innovation. Looking ahead, Redin sees a market that, while no longer capable of the hyper‑growth of earlier years, still offers ample opportunity.
With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, the sector remains compelling despite competition from streaming services and social media for users’ attention. She expects growth rates to hover in the low‑ to mid‑single‑digit range, and she believes that to exceed those averages, companies must double‑down on strong evergreen IPs while also bringing fresh experiences to market.