In February of last year, Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the developer behind the wildly popular hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. According to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive, that deal was only the opening move in a broader expansion play. "We set out the vision last year that, after bringing Plarium into the fold, we want to double our size again," Redin told GamesIndustry.biz.
"We will keep driving organic growth, but to reach that ambition we will need to pursue further acquisitions." She added that the target timeline for this second doubling is roughly three to five years. MTG has already demonstrated an appetite for rapid scaling – the company tripled its size after a similar ambition was set in 2021. The mobile gaming landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years.
A few years ago the sector was expanding at double‑digit rates, but growth has now settled into single‑digit territory as the market matures. What was once a blue‑ocean of untapped users has become a crowded, competitive arena where gaining market share often means either out‑performing rivals or absorbing them through acquisition.
Buying studios is relatively straightforward; the real challenge lies in integrating them successfully. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of acquisitions that resulted in culture clashes, duplicated effort, and ultimately studio closures.
MTG, however, believes it has a clear integration roadmap. Before the Plarium deal, MTG already owned a suite of mobile developers, including InnoGames (known for 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 for lighter, ad‑supported games and a Midcore District for titles that sit between casual and hardcore, typically monetised through in‑app purchases (IAPs). The districts have now been rebranded as Playsimple – named after the India‑based WordTrip studio – and Playamp, respectively.
Playsimple focuses on free‑to‑play, ad‑driven experiences, while Playamp houses the IAP‑centric portfolio that currently generates about 80 % of MTG’s revenue. Redin says the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it reflects a vision to create "one of the leading gaming villages." The term "village" is intentional, aiming to foster a sense of community that encourages talent retention and smooth integration of newly acquired teams. "Gaming is the best marriage of creativity and data‑driven decision‑making," she explained. "People are our biggest asset, but they need an environment where they can thrive.
When we acquire a studio, we want the founders and their teams to stay on board because that’s when the real story begins – scaling the business together. The only way to make that happen is to build a workplace they enjoy." A key component of MTG’s integration strategy is the standardisation of technology and tools across its portfolio. Redin notes that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; a common foundation can accelerate development and reduce overhead. This standardisation effort began when she took the helm in 2020, but the scale required to roll it out fully only materialised after the Plarium acquisition.
The company is careful to differentiate between the needs of Playsimple and Playamp, applying separate technology suites where appropriate. For the casual side, Playsimple’s tech stack will serve as the template for future studios added to that district. In the midcore arena, MTG has selected portions of Plarium’s technology – such as its GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page data system – and is deploying them selectively across the group. Redin emphasises that the rollout is guided by a thorough internal assessment that identifies where sharing tools adds value and where it would hinder a studio’s unique workflow.
Beyond internal tools, MTG is actively enhancing Plarium’s platforms with new features and functionality, aiming to boost the output of all studios. "We want to put our effort where we get the biggest bang for our buck," she said.
"We have amazing game makers across the group, and with Playamp we want to super‑charge them with a tech suite they can leverage, elevating everything that’s already been done." Generative AI is another pillar of MTG’s forward‑looking strategy. The technology is already reshaping content creation at InnoGames, where AI has been used to generate assets for the mobile title Sunrise Village and is being expanded to other projects.
Redin observes that AI is being woven into production pipelines across the industry, from A/B testing and graphics generation to quality assurance and analytics. "AI is significantly more powerful than any tool we’ve had before," she remarked, adding that the challenge is to strike the right balance – integrating AI where it adds efficiency while preserving the creative spark that only human talent can provide. MTG’s AI framework encourages studios to experiment within defined guidelines, share successful implementations, and rapidly roll out proven solutions across the company. This collaborative approach is intended to keep the organisation agile in a market where speed and innovation are critical.
When asked whether AI will eventually replace human designers, Redin cautioned against such deterministic thinking. "Our talent’s creativity isn’t something AI can replicate yet," she said. "But if we ignore AI, we risk falling behind competitors. Embracing it lets us maintain our creative vision while accelerating development and reducing capacity bottlenecks." Financially, the Playamp district accounts for roughly 80 % of MTG’s revenue, while Playsimple contributes about 20 %.
Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the portfolio. She cited Snowprint as an example of a studio she would like to replicate globally, and hinted at the possibility of adding a third "district" that would leverage the company’s core capabilities in marketing and data analytics.
Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes evergreen IPs remain a reliable foundation. The top‑ten mobile games list changes little year over year, reinforcing the value of long‑lived titles like Raid. Nonetheless, she stresses the importance of a fresh pipeline: "Investing in new games keeps the creative DNA alive and fuels growth." The broader industry context is sobering. Western mobile publishers have struggled to launch new billion‑dollar hits, and even Supercell’s recent incubation effort, Squad Busters, was discontinued after a brief run.
Redin acknowledges the difficulty but remains optimistic: "We have a new Plarium title slated for soft launch early next year, and we’ll continue to nurture fresh ideas alongside our evergreen portfolio." Looking ahead, Redin sees a market still worth pursuing, albeit with modest growth rates of low to mid single digits. She concludes that sustained investment in both established franchises and innovative new games, combined with a unified tech and AI strategy, will be the engine that drives MTG’s next phase of expansion.