In February of last year, the Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the wildly popular hero‑collecting title Raid: Shadow Legends. That deal, while already substantial, is only the opening act of what MTG’s chief executive, Maria Redin, describes as an aggressive expansion agenda. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company set a bold vision after the Plarium acquisition: “We want to double our size again.” She added that organic growth will continue to be a priority, but achieving the target will require a series of further purchases. The timeline she cited is roughly three to five years – an ambitious horizon, yet one she believes is realistic given MTG’s track record.
In 2021 the group announced a similar ambition and, according to Redin, succeeded in tripling its scale. The mobile gaming sector, once characterized by double‑digit growth, has settled into single‑digit expansion as the market matures.
What was once a blue ocean of untapped users has turned into a crowded, competitive arena where growth often means taking market share from rivals or absorbing them outright. Acquiring studios is the straightforward part; the real challenge lies in integrating those businesses without disrupting creative momentum.
The industry is littered with cautionary tales of failed integrations that led to studio closures, but Redin insists MTG has a clear roadmap to avoid those pitfalls. Before buying Plarium, MTG already owned a portfolio of mobile developers, including InnoGames (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 for lighter, ad‑supported games and the Midcore District for titles that sit between casual and hardcore experiences and rely primarily on in‑app purchases (IAPs).
The recent rebranding renamed these divisions Playsimple and Playamp, respectively. Playsimple now houses free‑to‑play, ad‑driven products, while Playamp contains the IAP‑centric titles that form the bulk of MTG’s revenue. Redin says the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it reflects a broader ambition to create “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term “village” is meant to evoke a sense of community and belonging, encouraging talent to stay and thrive after an acquisition.
“People are our biggest asset,” she explained, “but we must also build an environment where they can flourish. When we acquire a studio, we want the founders and teams to remain, because that’s when the real story begins and the business can scale.” A key element 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 drive efficiencies and reduce duplication. The push for standardisation began when she took the helm in 2020, but the Plarium deal gave MTG the scale needed to roll it out fully.
She is careful to point out that the tech needs of Playsimple differ dramatically from those of Playamp, so the two divisions are being equipped with separate, specialised suites. For the Midcore side, MTG has selected parts of Plarium’s technology platform—particularly the GoGame marketing system and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data tools—and is deploying them selectively after a thorough internal assessment of where collaboration makes sense. “We’ve done a very detailed review of where sharing tools adds value and where it doesn’t,” Redin said. The company is also extending these platforms with new features, aiming to boost productivity across all studios.
Artificial intelligence is another pillar of MTG’s growth engine. Generative AI, already reshaping content creation at InnoGames—where the entire Sunrise Village experience is now AI‑generated—is being rolled out across the group.
Redin observes that AI is becoming embedded in many stages of game development, from A/B testing and graphics creation to quality assurance. Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium‑derived tech suite, creating a feedback loop that accelerates innovation. When asked whether AI could eventually replace human designers, Redin cautions against such a deterministic view. “Creativity is still a uniquely human trait,” she argues, “but ignoring AI would leave us trailing competitors.
AI should amplify, not replace, our talent.” She highlights how AI can fill capacity gaps in analysis, coding, art, and complex logic, allowing teams to deliver games faster and with higher quality. Revenue-wise, about 80 % of MTG’s income now comes from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple. Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the business.
She cites the recent Snowprint acquisition and expresses a desire to replicate that success globally, potentially adding five more studios with similar capabilities. On the casual front, she envisions a third “district” that would leverage the group’s core marketing and data assets, though the exact shape of that unit remains under discussion. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes there is still room for growth.
The top‑ten mobile games list changes little year over year, reinforcing her belief in evergreen IPs—titles that generate revenue for many years. While Raid: Shadow Legends will continue to be a long‑term cash cow, MTG is also investing in new projects. Plarium, for instance, is preparing a fresh title for a soft launch early next year, and Redin stresses that a pipeline of new games is essential to keep creative energy alive across the studios.
Industry observers like Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen warn that Western mobile developers are “coasting,” with few new billion‑dollar hits emerging from the region. Redin acknowledges the difficulty of launching successful new titles but argues that abandoning them would erode the innovative DNA of MTG’s studios. She concludes that while hyper‑growth may be a thing of the past, the market remains compelling: “We have three billion gamers worldwide. Growth will be modest—low to mid single‑digit—but by nurturing evergreen franchises and continuously feeding the market with fresh experiences, we can still expand.”