In February of last year, the Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the developer behind the blockbuster hero‑collection game Raid: Shadow Legends. That transaction, while already sizable, is only the opening move in what MTG’s chief executive and president, Maria Redin, describes as an aggressive expansion agenda. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company set a bold vision after the Plarium deal: "Post‑acquisition of Plarium we want to double yet again in size." She added that organic growth remains a priority, but achieving the next doubling will require further acquisitions.
The timeline she cites is “about three to five years,” a stretch that reflects both ambition and confidence. Redin pointed out that MTG had pursued a similar target in 2021 and, according to her, succeeded in tripling the business within a short span. The mobile gaming market, once characterized by double‑digit growth, has settled into a more mature, single‑digit expansion phase. What used to be a blue‑ocean of untapped users now resembles a crowded red sea, where gaining market share often means either taking users from rivals or absorbing competitors outright.
While buying studios is relatively straightforward, integrating them into a cohesive organization is notoriously difficult. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of acquisitions that led to cultural clashes, duplicated technology stacks, and ultimately studio closures.
MTG, however, believes it has a roadmap to avoid those pitfalls. Before adding Plarium, the group already owned a portfolio of mobile studios, including InnoGames (known for Forge of Empires), Snowprint (Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus), Hutch (F1 Clash), Ninja Kiwi (Bloons TD 6), and Futureplay (Merge Gardens). These entities were originally split into two operational “districts”: a Casual District for lighter, ad‑driven games, and a Midcore District for titles that sit between casual and hardcore, typically monetised through in‑app purchases (IAPs).
The recent rebranding renamed these districts Playsimple and Playamp, respectively. Playsimple now houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported experiences, while Playamp contains the bulk of MTG’s revenue‑generating IAP titles.
Beyond a cosmetic name change, Redin emphasises that the goal is to forge “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term is deliberately inviting; it signals a community where employees feel a sense of belonging and purpose. Retaining talent after an acquisition is a core concern, because the true value of a deal emerges when the acquired founders and teams stay on board and continue to scale their products. Redin argues that the only way to secure that loyalty is to create an environment that teams enjoy working in, blending creative freedom with data‑driven decision‑making. A major part of the integration effort has been the standardisation of technology and tools across MTG’s growing ecosystem.
Redin notes that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; common platforms can drive efficiency and reduce duplication. This standardisation drive began when she assumed the CEO role in 2020, but the scale required to roll it out fully only materialised after Plarium joined the group.
She acknowledges the risks, citing Electronic Arts’ fraught attempt to force all its studios onto the Frostbite engine—a move that caused significant friction on projects like Mass Effect. To avoid a repeat, MTG treats the tech needs of Playsimple and Playamp separately, recognising that casual, ad‑driven games and midcore, IAP‑focused titles demand different toolsets. For the casual side, Playsimple’s tech stack will serve as a foundation for any future studios that join that district.
On the midcore side, MTG has selected components of Plarium’s technology suite to roll out group‑wide, but only after a careful internal assessment of where shared tools make sense. The company is already leveraging Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data platform across its portfolio, while adding new features to enhance functionality. Redin explains that this approach aims to maximise return on investment by providing studios with a robust, shared infrastructure that can be customised where necessary. Artificial intelligence is another pillar of MTG’s modernization strategy.
Generative AI tools are increasingly embedded into production pipelines across the mobile sector. InnoGames, for example, has been using AI to generate content for its Sunrise Village title and plans to broaden AI‑driven creation throughout its catalogue. Redin observes that most industry peers are grappling with similar questions about how to integrate AI without compromising creative integrity.
She describes AI as “significantly more powerful than any other tool we’ve had before,” yet stresses the importance of striking a balance: AI should augment, not replace, human creativity. The company’s AI roadmap focuses on layering intelligent capabilities onto existing workflows—enhancing A/B testing, automating graphic production, improving quality assurance, and more. Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being packaged into the broader Plarium tech suite, allowing rapid diffusion of best practices.
Redin underscores a flexible policy: studios are free to experiment with AI as long as they adhere to the overarching framework of dos and don’ts, after which learnings are shared and successful innovations are scaled across the group. When asked whether AI has become a prerequisite for competitiveness in mobile gaming, Redin cautions against fatalism. She believes that while AI can accelerate development and fill capacity gaps, the core of game creation—original ideas, artistic vision, and innovative design—remains a uniquely human domain. Nevertheless, she warns that companies that ignore AI risk falling behind faster‑moving rivals.
Financially, roughly 80 % of MTG’s revenue now stems from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % contributed by Playsimple. Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the business.
She cites Snowprint as an acquisition that could be replicated globally—"if we could find five more Snowprints around the world, that would be fantastic"—and mentions the possibility of adding a third district to the gaming village, likely centred on leveraging existing marketing and data capabilities. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin remains optimistic about growth prospects. She notes that the top‑ten mobile games list changes very little year over year, reinforcing MTG’s long‑standing belief in evergreen IPs. While Raid: Shadow Legends is expected to generate revenue for many more years, the company also recognises the necessity of a fresh pipeline.
Plarium is preparing a new title for a soft launch early next year, and MTG plans to continue investing in both established franchises and original 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 games that have surpassed $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originating from the West. Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, as evidenced by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters.
Redin acknowledges these challenges, stating that creating and scaling a hit game is difficult for any studio, but that abandoning new‑game development would erode the creative DNA of MTG’s studios. In summary, Maria Redin’s vision for MTG is one of measured expansion: double the company’s size within five years through strategic acquisitions, integrate those studios via unified technology and a supportive cultural framework, and harness AI to boost efficiency without sacrificing creativity. By balancing the strength of evergreen titles with a steady flow of new releases, MTG aims to navigate a maturing market while still achieving modest, sustainable growth—low single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit percentages—far beyond the plateau many competitors have encountered.