In February of last year, Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million acquisition of Plarium, the studio behind the blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. Yet, according to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive, that deal is only the opening move in a much larger game plan. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s ambition, set after the Plarium deal, is to double its overall size again within roughly three to five years. “We set out the vision last year that post‑acquisition of Plarium we want to double yet again in size,” she explained.
“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 is bold, but Redin points out that MTG has already proven capable of rapid expansion. In 2021 the group announced a similar target and, as she notes, the company actually tripled its scale in the years that followed.
The mobile gaming landscape, once characterised by double‑digit growth, has now settled into a single‑digit pace as the market matures. What used to be a blue‑ocean of untapped users has turned “decidedly red,” meaning that future growth will likely come from capturing competitors’ market share or absorbing them outright. Acquiring studios is the easier half of the equation; integrating them successfully is the real challenge.
The industry is littered with cautionary tales of mergers that resulted in studio closures because cultural and technical integration faltered. MTG, however, believes it has a roadmap to avoid those pitfalls.
Before buying 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”: the Casual District and the Midcore District—the latter covering games that sit between pure casual and hardcore experiences. Following the Plarium acquisition, the districts were rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp.
Playsimple, named after the India‑based WordTrip studio, now houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp contains the majority of MTG’s portfolio, focused on in‑app purchases. Redin says the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it is part of a broader vision to create “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term “village” is intentional, meant to foster a sense of belonging among employees and to improve retention—a critical factor when a company is rapidly adding new studios.
“I always say gaming is the best marriage between creativity and data‑driven decisions,” Redin remarked. “People are one of our biggest assets, but you also need to create an environment for them to thrive in.
We buy our companies, which also means that we want the founders and the teams to stay on board post‑acquisition, because that’s when the true exciting story should start.” A key pillar of the integration strategy is the standardisation of technology and tools across the group. Redin notes that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; a shared foundation can accelerate development and reduce duplication. This standardisation drive began when she became CEO in 2020, but the scale required to roll it out fully only arrived with Plarium’s addition. The group is careful, however, to tailor solutions to the needs of each district.
Playsimple’s tech stack will serve as the baseline for future casual acquisitions, while Playamp will adopt select components of Plarium’s suite, deployed selectively after a thorough internal assessment of where collaboration makes sense. 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. Redin believes this shared infrastructure will boost the output of all studios, allowing them to focus effort where it yields the greatest return.
“We want to make sure that we put our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck,” she said. “We have some amazing game makers across the group, and with Playamp we want to super‑charge that with a tech suite they can leverage.” Generative AI is another transformative force within MTG.
InnoGames, for example, has been using AI‑generated content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and plans to extend AI‑driven creation across its portfolio. Redin observes that AI is being woven into many parts of the production pipeline—from A/B testing and graphic creation to quality assurance. Successful AI tools from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium‑derived tech suite, creating a feedback loop that spreads best practices quickly. When asked whether AI will eventually replace human designers, Redin is cautious.
“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 replied. “What is important is that our talent has amazing creativity, and that doesn’t sit yet within AI.” Nevertheless, she stresses that ignoring AI would leave MTG lagging behind competitors.
By pairing human creativity with advanced AI capabilities, the company hopes to accelerate development cycles, improve game quality, and maintain relevance in a crowded market. 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 Playsimple. Redin is eager to broaden both sides.
“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. She also hinted at the possibility of adding a third district to the gaming village, likely centred around core capabilities such as marketing platforms or data analytics. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin remains optimistic about growth opportunities. The top‑ten mobile games list changes little year after year, reinforcing MTG’s belief in evergreen IPs.
While Raid : Shadow Legends still has many years of revenue potential, the company also recognises the need for a fresh pipeline. Plarium is preparing to soft‑launch a new title early next year, and Redin stresses that investing in new games is essential to preserve the creative DNA of each studio. Industry observers like Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen warn that Western mobile developers are “coasting,” with only two of the 22 billion‑dollar titles since 2020 originating from the West. Yet Redin argues that a balanced approach—nurturing proven evergreen franchises while continuously incubating new experiences—is the only way to sustain growth in a market that now yields low‑single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit expansion rates.
In summary, MTG’s roadmap under Maria Redin combines aggressive acquisition, thoughtful integration, technology standardisation, AI‑enhanced production, and a dual focus on evergreen and new IPs. If executed as planned, the company aims to double its size within the next few years and cement its place as a leading “gaming village” in the evolving mobile landscape.