In February of the previous year, Sweden’s mobile entertainment leader Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the developer behind the wildly popular hero‑collecting title Raid: Shadow Legends. That transaction, however, is only the opening move in a broader expansion playbook, according to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive officer. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s ambition, set shortly after the Plarium deal, is to double its overall size once more. “We laid out the vision last year that after bringing Plarium into the fold we want to double again,” she explained.
“Organic growth is still a priority, but to hit that target we’ll need to pursue additional acquisitions.” The timeline she cited is aggressive: roughly three to five years to achieve the doubling. Redin noted that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to meet lofty goals, pointing to a 2021 initiative that saw the firm triple its scale within a short period. The mobile gaming landscape has shifted dramatically since those rapid‑growth days. Where once the sector enjoyed double‑digit annual increases, growth has now settled into single‑digit territory, reflecting a market that is maturing quickly.
The once‑vast “blue ocean” has become a crowded “red ocean,” meaning that future expansion will often require taking market share from rivals or absorbing them outright. Acquiring companies is the easier half of the equation; the real challenge lies in integrating them smoothly. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of mergers that resulted in studio closures because of cultural clashes or technical mismatches. MTG, however, believes it has a roadmap to avoid those pitfalls.
Before the Plarium purchase, MTG already owned a portfolio of mobile studios, including InnoGames (the team behind Forge of Empires), Snowprint (creator of Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus), Hutch (developer of F1 Clash), Ninja Kiwi (known for Bloons TD 6), and Futureplay (makers of Merge Gardens). These studios were organized into two “districts”: a Casual District for lighter, ad‑supported games and a Midcore District for titles that sit between casual and hardcore experiences.
Following the acquisition, MTG rebranded these districts as Playsimple and Playamp. Playsimple, named after the Indian studio that produced WordTrip, groups together free‑to‑play, ad‑driven titles. Playamp houses the majority of MTG’s portfolio, focusing on games that generate revenue through in‑app purchases (IAPs).
The renaming is more than cosmetic; it reflects a strategic push to create what Redin calls “one of the leading gaming villages.” The phrase is intentionally warm, designed to foster a sense of belonging among employees and to aid retention—a critical factor when a company is rapidly adding new studios. Redin emphasized that people are MTG’s greatest asset and that a supportive environment is essential for them to thrive. “We acquire companies because we want the founders and their teams to stay on board after the deal,” she said. “The only way to make that happen is to build a culture they enjoy being part of.” Behind the scenes, MTG has been standardizing technology and tools across its ecosystem—a plan that began when Redin took the helm in 2020 but only gained sufficient scale after the Plarium deal.
The goal is not to force a one‑size‑fits‑all solution, but to eliminate unnecessary duplication while respecting the distinct needs of the casual and midcore divisions. Redin acknowledged the risks of tech standardization, citing Electronic Arts’ fraught rollout of the Frostbite engine as an example of how a forced uniform platform can cause headaches for development teams.
To avoid similar missteps, MTG treats the two districts separately. Playsimple’s tech stack will serve as the foundation for future casual acquisitions, while Playamp will selectively adopt components of Plarium’s technology suite. The company conducted an internal audit to determine where shared tools make sense and where they do not. Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system have already been rolled out across the group, with MTG adding new features and functionality to enhance them.
Redin explained that these enhancements aim to deliver the greatest return on investment by giving studios a robust, shared infrastructure that amplifies their existing capabilities. Artificial intelligence is another pillar of MTG’s modernization effort.
InnoGames, for example, has been using generative AI to produce all of the content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and is exploring broader AI‑driven content creation across its portfolio. Redin noted that AI is becoming embedded in many production pipelines throughout the mobile sector, and MTG is no exception.
“We’re all having similar conversations about how to integrate new technology into our workflows,” she said. “Generative AI is far more powerful than any tool we’ve had before, and we’re figuring out the right balance—where to adjust our processes and where to keep them unchanged.” The focus is on layering AI onto existing tools for tasks such as A/B testing, graphics 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.
When asked whether AI will eventually replace human creativity, Redin was cautious. She believes that while AI can accelerate production and fill capacity gaps, the core creative spark still resides in people. “If we ignore AI we’ll fall behind competitors,” she warned, “but we must keep the human element at the heart of our games.” Revenue-wise, about 80 % of MTG’s income now comes from the Playamp division, with the casual side (Playsimple) contributing roughly 20 %. Redin expressed a desire to expand both sides, noting that the company acquired Snowprint a few years ago and would welcome additional studios of a similar profile.
She also hinted at the possibility of adding a third “district” to the gaming village, likely built around either the marketing platform or data capabilities that have become core strengths. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin maintains confidence in the continued relevance of mobile gaming. She observes that the top‑ten mobile titles remain remarkably stable year after year, reinforcing MTG’s long‑standing belief in evergreen intellectual property.
While the company will keep nurturing established successes like Raid, it also recognizes the necessity of a fresh pipeline. Plarium, for instance, has a new title slated for a soft launch early next year. The broader industry context is sobering.
Ilkka Paananen of Supercell has warned that the western mobile market is “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 admits that launching and scaling a new hit is challenging, but she argues that neglecting new development would erode the creative DNA of MTG’s studios. “Investing in new games keeps the passion alive,” she said.
Looking ahead, Redin sees a market that, while no longer capable of the hyper‑growth of earlier years, still offers meaningful expansion. With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, the sector remains attractive, even as it competes for attention with streaming services and social media. She expects growth rates to hover in the low‑ to mid‑single‑digit range, and she believes that exceeding those averages will require a dual strategy: bolstering evergreen IPs while continually bringing fresh titles to market.
In summary, MTG’s roadmap under Maria Redin’s leadership blends aggressive acquisition, thoughtful integration, technology standardization, AI augmentation, and a balanced portfolio of proven and emerging games—all aimed at doubling the company’s size within the next few years while maintaining a vibrant, creative culture.