In February of the previous year, the 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. That transaction, however, appears to be only the opening move in a broader expansion playbook, according to MTG’s president and chief executive, Maria Redin. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company set a bold vision after the Plarium deal: “We want to double our size again after the acquisition, and we intend to keep fueling organic growth while also pursuing further acquisitions.” She added that the target timeline for this doubling is roughly three to five years.
The ambition is not new – MTG pursued a similar growth target in 2021 and, as Redin recalled, the group actually tripled its scale during that period. The mobile gaming sector, once characterized by double‑digit expansion, has now settled into a more mature, single‑digit growth environment.
What was once a blue‑ocean market has turned a deep red, meaning that future growth will largely come from taking market share from competitors or absorbing them outright. While buying studios is relatively straightforward, the real challenge lies in integrating those studios without triggering the kind of cultural clashes and closures that have plagued many mergers in the industry.
MTG entered the Plarium deal already owning 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 previously split into two “districts”: a Casual District and a Midcore District – the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences. Following the acquisition, the districts were rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp. Playsimple, named after the India‑based WordTrip studio, focuses on free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp houses the in‑app‑purchase‑driven games that now make up the bulk of MTG’s revenue.
Redin says the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it is part of a larger effort to create “one of the leading gaming villages.” The phrasing is intentional, aiming to foster a sense of community that encourages talent to stay and thrive. “Gaming is the perfect marriage of creativity and data‑driven decision‑making,” she explained. “People are our greatest asset, but we must also build an environment where they can flourish. When we acquire a studio, we want the founders and their teams to remain on board because that’s when the real story begins – scaling the business together.” A key element of the post‑acquisition integration is the standardisation of technology and tools across MTG’s growing family of studios.
Redin, who became CEO in 2020, noted that the Plarium acquisition gave the group the scale needed to roll out a unified tech vision. However, she cautioned that a one‑size‑fits‑all approach would be naïve. “Playsimple’s tech stack will serve as the foundation for future casual‑district studios, while for Midcore we are selectively adopting parts of Plarium’s suite,” she said. “We performed a thorough internal assessment to decide where sharing tools makes sense and where it does not.” Among the shared assets are Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and its product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system, both of which are being enhanced with additional features.
The goal is to maximise return on investment by giving Playamp studios a powerful, common technology backbone that can accelerate development and improve quality across the board. Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another pillar of MTG’s modernization agenda. InnoGames, for instance, has already been using AI to generate content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and plans to expand AI‑driven creation across its portfolio. Redin observes that AI is becoming embedded in many stages of game production – from A/B testing and graphics generation to quality assurance and analytics.
Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being folded into the broader Plarium tech suite, allowing rapid diffusion of best practices. When asked whether AI could eventually replace human creators, Redin was cautious.
“I don’t think AI will ever fully replicate the spark of human creativity,” she said. “But if we ignore AI, we risk falling behind competitors who are leveraging it to speed up pipelines and enhance player experiences. AI should be viewed as a super‑charging tool that works alongside our talented teams.” Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue now comes from the Playamp division, while the casual side – essentially Playsimple – contributes roughly 20 %.
Redin expressed a desire to broaden the studio roster, noting that MTG bought Snowprint a few years ago and would welcome additional studios with similar capabilities. She also hinted at the possibility of adding a third “district” to the gaming village, likely built around the core competencies of marketing platforms and data analytics that the group has already developed. 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 back evergreen IPs,” she explained.
“Raid has many more years ahead of it, but we also need a pipeline of new titles to keep the ecosystem vibrant.” The industry, however, is not without its challenges. Supercell’s CEO Ilkka Paananen has warned that the Western mobile market is “coasting,” with only two of the 22 titles that have generated over $1 billion since 2020 originating from the West. Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, as evidenced by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters. Redin acknowledges the difficulty of launching successful new games but stresses that a complete focus on legacy titles would erode the creative DNA of MTG’s studios.
“Investing in new games keeps the passion alive and fuels innovation,” she said, noting that Plarium has a new title slated for soft launch early next year. Looking ahead, Redin remains optimistic about the market’s long‑term prospects.
With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, the audience is still compelling, even if growth rates have settled into low‑ to mid‑single‑digit figures. She argues that to exceed those modest rates, companies must double‑down on both strong evergreen IPs and fresh, compelling experiences. In summary, MTG’s strategy under Maria Redin’s leadership combines aggressive acquisition, thoughtful integration, technology standardisation, AI adoption, and a balanced portfolio of proven and emerging titles.
The aim is to double the company’s size within a few years, create a cohesive “gaming village” that retains talent, and continue delivering both beloved evergreen games and innovative new experiences to a still‑large global mobile‑gaming audience.