In February of the previous year, Sweden’s mobile entertainment leader Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. That transaction, while already sizeable, appears to be only the opening move in a broader expansion playbook, according to MTG’s president and chief executive officer, Maria Redin. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the acquisition of Plarium was deliberately positioned as a stepping stone toward a much larger ambition: "We set out the vision last year that, after bringing Plarium into the fold, we want to double the company again.
And yes, we intend to keep driving organic growth, but to achieve that scale we will need to pursue additional acquisitions." The timeline attached to this doubling target is aggressive. Redin estimates that the company hopes to hit the 2‑times‑size mark within roughly three to five years. She noted that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to grow quickly, pointing to a 2021 goal that resulted in a tripling of the firm’s size.
The mobile gaming landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. A few years ago, the sector was expanding at double‑digit rates, but today growth has settled into the single‑digit range, reflecting a market that is reaching maturity. What was once a blue‑ocean of untapped users has become a crowded, highly competitive arena where any further expansion typically requires taking market share from rivals—or outright acquiring those rivals.
Buying companies is the easier half of the equation; integrating them is where most firms stumble. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of poorly managed mergers that ended in studio shutdowns. MTG, however, believes it has a clear integration roadmap.
Before the Plarium deal, MTG already owned a portfolio of mobile studios, including InnoGames (known for Forge of Empires), Snowprint (creator of Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus), Hutch (developer of F1 Clash), Ninja Kiwi (behind Bloons TD 6), and Futureplay (maker of Merge Gardens). These studios were grouped into two internal clusters: the Casual District and the Midcore District, the latter covering games that sit between purely casual and hardcore experiences.
The company has now rebranded these clusters as Playsimple and Playamp respectively. Playsimple, named after the Indian studio that built WordTrip, will focus on free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp will house the majority of MTG’s portfolio—games that generate revenue primarily through in‑app purchases. The rebranding goes beyond a cosmetic change. Redin explained that the goal is to create “one of the leading gaming villages,” a phrase chosen to evoke a sense of community and belonging.
The emphasis is on employee retention and cultural integration, which are critical when a firm rapidly adds new studios to its roster. "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 company, we want the founders and their teams to stay on board, because that is when the real story begins and the business can scale further. The only way to ensure they stay is to make the workplace enjoyable and supportive." A parallel initiative underway since Redin took the helm in 2020 is the standardisation of technology and tools across the group.
The Plarium acquisition gave MTG the scale needed to roll out a unified tech stack more comprehensively. Redin cautioned that standardisation must be sensible; not every tool is appropriate for every studio.
She referenced the well‑known difficulties EA faced when forcing its Frostbite engine on diverse teams, noting that MTG is taking a more measured approach. Specifically, the Playsimple division will adopt a core technology foundation that will serve future casual‑district acquisitions, while the Midcore (Playamp) side will selectively incorporate components of Plarium’s tech suite. Redin said the company conducted a thorough internal audit to decide where shared tools make sense and where bespoke solutions are necessary.
Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system are already being deployed across MTG, with additional features being added to enhance functionality. Redin believes that this shared infrastructure will boost productivity across all studios: "We want to focus our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck. We have fantastic game makers across the group, and with Playamp we aim to super‑charge them with a tech suite that elevates everything they already do." Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another pillar of MTG’s forward‑looking strategy.
InnoGames, for example, has been using AI to generate content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and plans to expand AI‑driven creation across its portfolio. Redin observed that AI is becoming embedded in many production pipelines throughout the mobile sector. She described AI as “significantly more powerful than any tool we’ve had before,” while acknowledging that the industry is still figuring out the optimal balance between automation and human creativity. The company’s AI roadmap focuses on augmenting existing workflows—enhancing A/B testing, graphics production, quality assurance, and more—rather than replacing creative talent.
Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being integrated into the broader Plarium tech suite, allowing rapid diffusion of best practices. "We let studios experiment within our overarching AI framework, share learnings, and then roll out the most effective innovations across the group," Redin explained.
When asked whether AI has become indispensable in the fiercely competitive mobile market, Redin was measured. She noted that while AI will not replace human imagination, ignoring it could leave MTG lagging behind rivals.
"If we don’t embrace AI, we risk being slower than our competitors. AI can super‑charge our capacity, helping us deliver games faster and, ideally, better, while preserving the creativity and vision of our teams." Revenue-wise, about 80 % of MTG’s income now comes from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple. Redin expressed a desire to broaden the studio lineup, citing Snowprint as a model: "We bought Snowprint a couple of years ago; if we could find five more Snowprints around the world, that would be fantastic." She also hinted at the possibility of adding a third “district” to the gaming village, likely built around the core capabilities of the existing marketing and data platforms.
Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes the top‑ten mobile games list remains relatively static, reinforcing MTG’s long‑standing belief in evergreen intellectual property. While the company continues to invest in proven titles like Raid, it also recognises the necessity of a fresh pipeline. Plarium, for instance, has a new game slated for soft launch early next year. The broader industry context is sobering.
Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen warned that Western mobile developers are “coasting,” noting that only two of the 22 games surpassing $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originated from the West. Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, as illustrated by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters. Redin acknowledged these challenges, stating that launching and scaling a successful new title is difficult for any studio.
Yet she argued that a commitment to new games is essential for preserving the creative DNA of each studio and for sustaining long‑term growth. "If we stopped investing in new games, we would lose a part of what makes our studios innovative and passionate," she said.
Looking ahead, Redin remains optimistic about the market’s potential. With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, she sees a compelling opportunity, even if growth rates have settled into low‑single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit territory. To outpace that baseline, MTG must continue to nurture its evergreen franchises while also bringing fresh experiences to players. In summary, MTG’s strategy under Maria Redin’s leadership blends aggressive acquisition, thoughtful integration, technology standardisation, AI‑enhanced production, and a balanced portfolio of proven and emerging titles.
The company aims to double its size within a few years, create a cohesive "gaming village" that retains talent, and leverage both data‑driven tools and creative ingenuity to stay competitive in a mature, yet still lucrative, mobile gaming market.