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 blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. That transaction, however, was only the opening move in a broader expansion agenda, according to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive officer. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s vision, set out after the Plarium deal, 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 said. “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 she cites is aggressive: MTG aims to achieve the second doubling within roughly three to five years. Redin noted that the firm has already demonstrated the ability to scale quickly, pointing to a 2021 ambition that resulted in a tripling of the business. The mobile gaming 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 turned a deep red, meaning that future growth will largely come from taking market share from competitors or, more commonly, by absorbing them outright. Acquiring studios is the easy part; integrating them is notoriously difficult. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of poorly managed mergers that end in studio closures. MTG, however, believes it has a clear integration playbook.
Before buying Plarium, MTG already owned a portfolio of mobile studios, 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 grouped into two “districts”: a Casual District and a Midcore District – the latter covering games that sit between pure casual and hardcore experiences.
Following the Plarium acquisition, the districts were rebranded as Playsimple (named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip) and Playamp, respectively. Playsimple now houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp contains the majority of MTG’s revenue‑generating, in‑app‑purchase driven games. Redin says the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it is part of a larger ambition to build “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term “village” is intended to convey a sense of community that encourages talent to stay and thrive.
“I always say gaming is the best marriage between creativity and data‑driven decisions. People are one of our biggest assets, but you also need to create an environment for them to thrive in,” Redin explained. She emphasized that MTG’s acquisition strategy is designed to keep founders and development teams on board after a deal closes, because that is when the real growth story begins.
A key element of the integration plan is the standardisation of technology and tools across the group. Redin noted that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; a common foundation can accelerate development and reduce duplication.
This push for uniformity has been on the agenda since she became CEO in 2020, but the scale achieved after adding Plarium finally made the vision feasible. She acknowledged the risks of forced standardisation, citing Electronic Arts’ problematic rollout of the Frostbite engine across disparate franchises as a cautionary example.
To avoid similar pitfalls, MTG treats the two districts separately. Playsimple’s tech stack will serve as the baseline for future casual acquisitions, while Playamp will selectively adopt components of Plarium’s technology suite. “We have done a very thorough internal assessment on where it makes sense that we collaborate and share technical tools, and where it doesn’t make sense,” Redin said.
Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system are already being rolled out across MTG, with additional features being added to enhance functionality. The goal is to boost productivity across all studios, ensuring that investments deliver the highest possible return. “We want to make sure that we put our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck,” Redin stated, noting that the Playamp division will be super‑charged with a shared tech suite that elevates each studio’s existing capabilities.
Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another pillar of MTG’s future roadmap. InnoGames, for example, has been using AI to generate all of the content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and is exploring broader AI‑driven content creation across its portfolio. Redin sees this as a industry‑wide trend: “For most parties I speak to in the industry, we are having similar discussions on how we are embracing new technology in our production chain.” She described generative AI as “significantly more powerful than any other tool we’ve had before” and emphasized the need to find a balance between automation and human creativity.
The company’s AI strategy focuses on layering intelligent tools onto existing workflows—enhancing A/B testing, graphics production, quality assurance, and more. Successful AI solutions piloted in individual studios are being incorporated into the Plarium tech suite for broader deployment. Redin stressed the importance of allowing each studio the freedom to experiment within an overarching AI framework, then sharing learnings quickly across the group.
When asked whether AI has become a prerequisite for competing in the fast‑moving mobile market, Redin cautioned against fatalism. “I often get the question, is gaming AI going to be able to do everything you do? And I actually don’t think so,” she said.
“What is important is that our talent has amazing creativity, which doesn’t sit yet within AI.” Nonetheless, she warned that ignoring AI would leave MTG lagging behind rivals, and that AI can help fill capacity gaps in analysis, coding, art, and complex logic. Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue now stems from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by the nascent Playsimple unit. Redin expressed a desire to broaden both sides of the business.
“We bought Snowprint a couple of years back, and if we could find five more Snowprints around the world, that would be fantastic,” she said. On the casual front, she hinted at the possibility of adding a third district to the gaming village, though the exact focus—whether marketing platforms, data capabilities, or something else—remains under consideration.
Despite the rapid changes in the market, the top‑ten mobile games list has remained relatively stable, reinforcing MTG’s long‑standing belief in evergreen intellectual property. “Our thesis from day one has been that we believe in evergreen IPs,” Redin affirmed. While Raid: Shadow Legends still has many years of life ahead, MTG continues to invest in new titles to keep the pipeline fresh.
Plarium, for instance, is preparing to soft‑launch a new game early next year. Industry observers have warned that the western mobile sector is “coasting,” noting that only two of the 22 mobile games that have surpassed $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originated from western studios.
Even Supercell, a dominant player, has struggled to bring new hits to market, with its recent Squad Busters project being shut down after a brief run. Redin acknowledged the difficulty of launching successful new games but stressed that a complete lack of new development would erode the creative DNA of the studios.
“Investing in new games is how you retain creativity, passion, and drive,” she said. Looking ahead, Redin is optimistic about the overall market despite its maturation.
With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, she believes the sector remains compelling, even as it competes for user attention with streaming services and social media. Growth rates may have settled into low‑single‑digit or mid‑single‑digit territory, but she argues that exceeding those figures will require continued investment in strong evergreen IPs **and** a steady flow of fresh titles. In summary, MTG’s strategy under Maria Redin’s leadership combines aggressive acquisition, thoughtful integration, unified technology platforms, and a measured embrace of AI to sustain and expand its position in a crowded mobile gaming landscape. The company aims to double its size within the next few years, bolster its Playamp and Playsimple districts, possibly add a third pillar, and keep delivering both beloved legacy games and innovative new experiences for a global audience.