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, is only the opening move in a much larger strategic play, according to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive.
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, following the Plarium acquisition, we want to double again," she explained. "We’ll continue to drive organic growth, but achieving that will require further acquisitions." The timeline for this expansion is aggressive: Redin targets a three‑to‑five‑year horizon for the doubling. She noted that MTG has already demonstrated the capacity to scale quickly, having tripled its size after setting a similar goal in 2021.
The mobile gaming sector, once characterized by double‑digit growth, has now settled into a single‑digit trajectory as the market matures. What was once a blue‑ocean landscape has turned decidedly red, meaning that future growth will likely come from capturing competitors’ market share—either by out‑performing them or by absorbing them outright.
Acquiring studios is the relatively straightforward part of the equation; integrating them into a cohesive operation is where many companies stumble. The industry is littered with stories of failed integrations that resulted in studio shutdowns. MTG, however, believes it has a clear roadmap for success.
Before adding Plarium, MTG already owned a portfolio of mobile developers, 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. The districts have now been renamed Playsimple and Playamp. Playsimple, named after the India‑based studio behind WordTrip, houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp contains the majority of MTG’s portfolio, focused on games that generate revenue through in‑app purchases.
The rebranding goes beyond a cosmetic change. Redin says the ultimate goal is to create "one of the leading gaming villages," a term chosen deliberately to evoke a sense of community and belonging. Retaining talent and fostering integration are top priorities for a company that has been on an acquisition binge. "Gaming is the perfect marriage of creativity and data‑driven decision‑making," Redin said.
"Our people are our greatest asset, but we must also provide an environment where they can thrive. When we acquire a studio, we want the founders and their teams to stay on board because that is when the real story begins and the business can scale. The only way to ensure they stay is to create a workplace they enjoy." Behind the scenes, MTG has been standardising technology and tools across its portfolio.
Redin notes that not every piece of software needs to be built from scratch for each studio. The push for a unified tech stack began when she took the helm in 2020, but it was the scale afforded by the Plarium acquisition that finally allowed the vision to be fully realised.
Standardisation is a double‑edged sword; EA’s forced adoption of the Frostbite engine famously caused turmoil for teams working on titles like Mass Effect. Redin is mindful of those pitfalls and stresses that the tech needs of Playsimple differ dramatically from those of Playamp, so the two divisions are being equipped separately.
"Playsimple’s stack will become the foundation for future casual‑district companies," she explained. "For Midcore, we have selected parts of Plarium’s technology suite to roll out group‑wide, but we are doing it selectively to ensure the end result benefits every studio. We conducted a thorough internal assessment to determine where collaboration makes sense and where it does not." Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page data system are already being deployed across MTG, with additional features and functionality being added.
The aim is to boost the productivity of all studios. "We want to invest where we get the biggest bang for our buck," Redin said. "We have amazing game makers across the group, and with Playamp we intend to super‑charge them with a tech suite that elevates everything they already do." Generative AI is another pillar of MTG’s future strategy.
InnoGames, for instance, has been using AI‑generated content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and is exploring broader AI applications. Redin observes that AI integration is becoming a common discussion point throughout the mobile sector.
She describes generative AI as "significantly more powerful than any tool we have had before" and says the company is experimenting with AI for A/B testing, graphics creation, quality assurance, and other workflows. Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being folded into the Plarium tech suite for company‑wide use.
When asked whether AI will eventually replace human creators, Redin cautioned against such a deterministic view. "Creativity is still uniquely human and isn’t yet replicated by AI," she said. "However, ignoring AI would leave us trailing competitors.
By pairing our team’s imagination with cutting‑edge technology, we can accelerate development, improve quality, and bring games to market faster." Revenue-wise, roughly 80 % of MTG’s earnings now stem from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % contributed by Playsimple. Redin is eager to broaden the roster of studios in both districts.
She cites Snowprint as an example, saying that acquiring five more studios of similar caliber would be “fantastic.” While Playsimple currently consists of a single studio, Redin hinted at the possibility of adding a third district in the future, likely built around the core capabilities of MTG’s marketing and data platforms. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes the top‑ten mobile games list remains relatively stable, reinforcing MTG’s long‑standing focus on evergreen IPs. "Our thesis from day one has been to invest in titles that can endure," she said.
"Raid Shadow Legends still has many years ahead, but we also need a pipeline of new games to keep the ecosystem vibrant." The challenge of launching new hits is underscored by industry observations such as Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen, who warned that Western mobile developers are “coasting,” with only two of the 22 titles surpassing $1 billion since 2020 originating from the West. Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, exemplified by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters. Redin acknowledges the difficulty: "It’s hard to make a successful game and then scale it," she said, noting that Plarium has a new title slated for a soft launch early next year.
She argues that continued investment in fresh games is essential to preserve the creative DNA of each studio. Looking ahead, Redin remains optimistic about the market’s potential despite lower growth rates. "We have three billion gamers worldwide, so the market is still compelling," she asserted. "Growth may now be measured in low‑ to mid‑single‑digit percentages, but by nurturing strong evergreen IPs and introducing new titles, we can exceed those baseline figures."