Maria Redin of MTG Discusses Rebranding, the Raid: Shadow Legends Acquisition, and Plans to Double Company Scale

In February of last year, Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. That deal, however, is only the opening move in a broader expansion plan, according to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive officer, who spoke to GamesIndustry.biz about the company’s long‑term vision. Redin explained that after the Plarium acquisition, MTG set an ambitious target: to double its size again within the next three to five years. "We laid out the vision last year that after acquiring Plarium we want to double yet again in size," she said.

"We will continue to drive organic growth, but to reach that scale we’ll need to pursue further acquisitions." The timeline is aggressive, yet Redin pointed out that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to hit lofty goals. The firm announced a similar ambition in 2021 and, as she noted, "we think we tripled" in the intervening period.

The mobile market, which once enjoyed double‑digit growth, has now settled into single‑digit expansion as the sector matures. What was once a blue ocean has turned a deep red, meaning growth now largely depends on capturing market share from rivals or absorbing them outright. Acquiring companies is only half the battle; integrating them successfully is where many firms stumble.

The gaming industry is littered with stories of poorly executed integrations that resulted in studio closures. MTG, however, believes it has a clear roadmap for that challenge.

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 purely casual and hardcore experiences.

Following the acquisition, the districts were rebranded as 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, which relies on in‑app purchases. The rebranding is more than cosmetic.

Redin said the aim is to create "one of the leading gaming villages," a phrase chosen deliberately to foster a sense of community and belonging among employees. Retaining talent is critical for a company that has been rapidly adding studios. "Gaming is the best marriage of creativity and data‑driven decision‑making," Redin remarked. "People are one of our biggest assets, but they need an environment where they can thrive.

When we acquire a studio we want the founders and teams to stay, because that’s when the real story begins and the business can scale. The only way to ensure they stay is to make that environment enjoyable." Behind the scenes, MTG has been standardising technology and tools across its portfolio – a process Redin began when she became CEO in 2020 but could only fully roll out once the company reached sufficient scale after the Plarium deal. She stressed that not every tool needs to be built from scratch for each studio.

"Plarium gave us the scale to implement a unified tech vision," she said. The company is careful to avoid the pitfalls seen elsewhere. For example, Electronic Arts’ push to force all its studios onto the Frostbite engine caused significant friction and delays on projects such as Mass Effect.

MTG, by contrast, treats the tech stacks of Playsimple and Playamp separately, recognising that the needs of a casual, ad‑driven studio differ markedly from those of a midcore, IAP‑focused operation. "Playsimple’s stack will become the foundation for any future casual studio we bring in," Redin explained. "For Midcore, we have selected parts of Plarium’s technology suite to roll out group‑wide, but we’re doing it selectively to ensure the end result benefits every company. We conducted a thorough internal assessment to decide where collaboration makes sense and where it does not." Key components of the Plarium platform – the GoGame marketing suite and the PDP data platform – are already being used across MTG, with additional features being added to enhance functionality.

Redin said the goal is to maximise impact: "We want to focus our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck. We have amazing game makers across the group, and with Playamp we aim to super‑charge them with a tech suite that elevates everything they already do." Generative AI is another area where MTG is investing heavily. InnoGames, for instance, has been generating all content for its mobile title Sunrise Village with AI for some time and is looking to expand AI‑driven content creation across its other games.

Redin noted that AI is becoming embedded in production pipelines throughout the mobile sector. "Most industry peers are having similar discussions about how to adopt new technology," she said, adding that generative AI is "significantly more powerful than any tool we’ve had before." The company’s AI strategy focuses on layering intelligence onto existing workflows – from A/B testing and graphic creation to quality assurance. Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium tech suite, allowing rapid dissemination of best practices.

"We let studios experiment within our overarching AI framework, share learnings, and then roll out the most effective innovations at scale," Redin explained. When asked whether AI is now a prerequisite for competing in the fast‑moving mobile market, Redin cautioned against over‑hyping the technology. "I often get asked if gaming AI will eventually replace everything we do.

I don’t think so. Creativity remains a uniquely human strength," she said. "But if we ignore AI, we’ll fall behind competitors.

AI can supercharge our work, fill capacity gaps, and help us deliver games faster and better." 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 broaden the studio roster, noting that MTG bought Snowprint a few years ago and would love to replicate that success with additional studios worldwide. She also hinted at the possibility of adding a third district to the gaming village, likely built around core capabilities such as marketing platforms or data analytics. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes the top‑ten mobile games remain remarkably stable, reinforcing MTG’s long‑standing focus on evergreen IPs.

While Raid: Shadow Legends still has many years of life ahead, the company continues to invest in new titles to keep the pipeline fresh. She acknowledged the challenges of launching new hits, referencing Supercell’s recent struggles with new projects, but stressed that a pipeline of fresh games is essential for retaining creative DNA and sustaining growth. In summary, Redin sees a mobile market that will no longer deliver hyper‑growth but can still achieve low‑ to mid‑single‑digit expansion.

To exceed that baseline, MTG plans to double down on its proven evergreen franchises while simultaneously nurturing new games, leveraging standardized technology, and embracing generative AI to keep its studios competitive and its players engaged.