In February of last 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 deal, however, is only the opening act of a broader expansion plan, according to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive.
Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company set a bold vision after the Plarium acquisition: to double its overall size once again. “We laid out the ambition last year that, after bringing Plarium into the fold, we want to double again,” she said. “Organic growth will continue, but to achieve that scale we’ll need to pursue further acquisitions.” The timeline for this second doubling is aggressive – Redin targets a three‑to‑five‑year window.
She noted that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to hit lofty targets, recalling that in 2021 the group set a similar goal and ended up tripling its footprint. The mobile gaming landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years.
A few years ago the sector was enjoying double‑digit growth rates, but today that momentum has slowed to single‑digit figures, reflecting a market that is maturing rapidly. What was once a blue‑ocean of untapped users has turned into a highly competitive red‑ocean where growth often means taking market share from rivals or absorbing them entirely. Acquiring companies is the easier half of the equation; integrating them successfully is where many firms stumble. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of acquisitions that led to studio closures because the parent company failed to meld cultures, technology stacks, and processes.
MTG, however, believes it has a clear roadmap for integration. Before the Plarium deal, 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 rebranding effort, these divisions have been renamed Playsimple and Playamp. Playsimple, named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip, focuses on free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp houses the majority of MTG’s portfolio, which relies on in‑app purchases (IAPs).
Redin emphasized that the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it is part of a vision to build “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term “village” is deliberately chosen to evoke a sense of community and belonging, which she says is essential for retaining talent after rapid expansion. “People are our greatest asset,” Redin explained. “We must create an environment where they thrive, because we intend to keep founders and teams on board after an acquisition – that’s when the real story begins and the business can scale.” Standardising technology across the newly enlarged group has been a priority since Redin took the helm in 2020, but the Plarium acquisition gave MTG the scale needed to roll out the vision fully.
The company is harmonising tools and platforms where it makes sense, while recognising that the needs of Playsimple differ dramatically from those of Playamp. “Playsimple’s tech stack will become the foundation for future casual acquisitions,” she said. “For Midcore, we have selected components of Plarium’s suite to deploy group‑wide, but we are doing it selectively to ensure the end result benefits every studio.” The integration includes the rollout of Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and its product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system across MTG’s ecosystem, with added features and functionality being built in‑house.
The goal is to boost productivity across all studios and concentrate resources where they generate the highest return on investment. Redin highlighted that MTG’s Playamp studios are being “supercharged” with a unified tech suite that elevates existing capabilities. Artificial intelligence is another pillar of MTG’s growth strategy.
Generative AI tools are already reshaping content creation at InnoGames, where AI has been used to produce assets for the mobile title Sunrise Village and is being expanded across the studio’s pipeline. Redin noted that AI is being woven into many stages of game development – from A/B testing and graphics generation to quality assurance – to accelerate production and improve relevance for players. 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 cautioned against such deterministic thinking. “Creativity and imagination remain uniquely human,” she said. “If we ignore AI, we risk falling behind competitors.
The right approach is to keep our talent’s vision while leveraging AI to augment speed, capacity, and analytical depth.” She cited examples such as AI‑assisted coding, art generation, and complex logic handling as areas where the technology can fill capacity gaps. Revenue-wise, about 80 % of MTG’s earnings now come from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by the single casual studio under the Playsimple banner. Redin expressed a desire to broaden both sides of the business.
“We acquired Snowprint a few years ago; if we could find five more studios like Snowprint worldwide, that would be fantastic,” she said. On the casual front, the aim is to add scale and perhaps eventually create a third district that would leverage either the marketing platform or the data infrastructure as its core capability. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes the top‑ten mobile games list remains relatively stable, underscoring the importance of evergreen intellectual property.
“Our thesis from day one has been to invest in long‑lasting IPs,” she explained. “Raid Shadow Legends still has many years of life ahead, but we also need a pipeline of new titles to keep the creative engine running.” The challenges of launching fresh hits are evident. Ilkka Paananen of Supercell warned that the western mobile market is “coasting,” noting that only two of the 22 mobile games surpassing $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originated in the West. Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, with the recent failure of Squad Busters serving as a reminder of the difficulty in scaling new concepts.
Redin acknowledges these hurdles but insists that new development is essential to preserve studio DNA and drive long‑term growth. Plarium, for instance, is preparing to soft‑launch a new title early next year.
“It’s hard to create a successful game and then scale it,” she said, “but abandoning new‑game investment would erode the creative spirit that fuels our studios.” Looking ahead, Redin sees a market still ripe with opportunity despite slower growth rates. With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, she believes the sector remains compelling, even as it competes for attention with streaming services and social media. “We won’t see the hyper‑growth of the past,” she admitted, “but single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit growth is realistic. To exceed that, we must double‑down on strong evergreen IPs while also bringing fresh experiences to market.” In summary, MTG’s strategy under Maria Redin combines aggressive acquisition, thoughtful integration, technology standardisation, AI‑enhanced production, and a balanced portfolio of proven evergreen titles and new‑game development.
The aim is to double the company’s size within five years, create a cohesive “gaming village” that retains talent, and maintain a competitive edge in a maturing mobile gaming landscape.