In February of the previous year, Sweden’s mobile entertainment leader Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million acquisition of Plarium, the developer behind the blockbuster 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 much larger strategic play. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company set a bold vision after the Plarium purchase: to double its size once again, and to do so within a three‑to‑five‑year horizon. “We intend to keep fueling organic growth, but to hit that target we’ll need to pursue further acquisitions,” she explained.
The ambition is not new for the Swedish group; a similar goal was announced in 2021, a period during which MTG’s revenue more than tripled. The mobile gaming sector, once characterized by double‑digit expansion, has now settled into single‑digit growth as the market matures.
What was once a blue‑ocean of untapped users has turned a deep red, meaning that future expansion will largely involve taking market share from competitors—or absorbing them outright through mergers and purchases. While buying studios can be relatively straightforward, the real challenge lies in integrating them successfully.
The industry is littered with cautionary tales of acquisitions that resulted in studio closures because of poor post‑deal integration. MTG entered the Plarium deal already overseeing a portfolio of mobile studios, 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 previously grouped into two “districts”: the Casual District and the Midcore District—the latter covering games that sit between pure casual experiences and hardcore titles. Following the acquisition, MTG rebranded these divisions as Playsimple and Playamp, respectively. Playsimple, named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip, now houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported games, while Playamp contains the majority of MTG’s portfolio, focusing on titles that generate revenue through in‑app purchases.
Redin emphasized that the rebranding is only a surface change; the deeper objective is to forge “one of the leading gaming villages.” The terminology is intentionally warm‑sounding, designed to foster a sense of belonging among employees—a critical factor when a company rapidly absorbs new teams. “Gaming is the perfect marriage of creativity and data‑driven decision‑making,” Redin said.
“Our people are our biggest asset, so we must create 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 and the business can scale.” A key part of the integration effort has been the standardisation of technology and tools across the MTG ecosystem. Redin noted that the push for uniform tech stacks began when she became CEO in 2020, but the scale required to roll it out effectively only materialised after Plarium joined the group. “Not everything needs to be built from scratch for each studio,” she explained.
However, she also warned against a one‑size‑fits‑all approach, citing EA’s problematic rollout of the Frostbite engine as an example of how forced standardisation can backfire. To avoid that pitfall, MTG has taken a differentiated route.
The Playsimple division will use a core tech stack that serves as a foundation for any future casual‑district acquisitions. For the Midcore (Playamp) side, the company has cherry‑picked components of Plarium’s technology suite and is deploying them selectively, ensuring that each studio benefits without being forced into an ill‑suited framework. An internal assessment identified precisely where shared tools make sense and where bespoke solutions are necessary.
Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system have already been rolled out across the group, with MTG adding new features and functionality to enhance them. Redin said the goal is to maximise impact: “We want to invest our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck. We have fantastic game makers across the group, and with Playamp we aim to super‑charge them with a robust tech suite that elevates everything they already do.” Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another pillar of MTG’s forward‑looking strategy. InnoGames, for example, has been using AI‑generated content for its mobile title Sunrise Village for some time and plans to broaden AI‑driven creation across its catalogue.
Redin observed that AI is becoming embedded in production pipelines across the mobile industry. “Generative AI is significantly more powerful than any tool we’ve had before,” she said, adding that studios are still debating how best to integrate it without disrupting proven workflows. The company’s AI roadmap focuses on augmenting existing tools rather than replacing them. AI is being layered onto processes such as A/B testing, graphics creation, quality assurance, and analytics.
Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being packaged into the Plarium tech suite for broader deployment. “We allow studios to experiment within our overarching AI framework, share learnings, and then roll out the best innovations across the whole group quickly,” Redin explained. When asked whether AI will eventually render human creativity obsolete, Redin was cautious. She believes that while AI can accelerate production and fill capacity gaps, the core creative spark remains a uniquely human trait.
“If we ignore AI, we’ll fall behind competitors. But we must keep the creativity, innovation, and vision of our teams while leveraging new technology alongside it.” Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue now comes from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple.
Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the business. She mentioned that the company acquired Snowprint a few years ago and would love to replicate that success with additional studios of similar calibre worldwide. Although Playsimple currently consists of a single studio, the division still contributes a meaningful share of earnings, and MTG is looking to add further scale.
Looking ahead, Redin hinted at the possibility of a third district within the gaming village, though details remain tentative. The new segment would likely centre around the group’s core capabilities—marketing platforms and data analytics—offering another avenue for growth. Despite the rapid changes in the market, the top‑ten mobile games list remains remarkably stable, reinforcing MTG’s long‑standing belief in evergreen intellectual property. The company continues to invest heavily in proven titles like Raid, while also recognising the necessity of a fresh pipeline.
Redin acknowledged the difficulty of launching successful new games, citing Supercell’s recent struggles with its Squad Busters incubator as an example. Nevertheless, she stressed that new titles are essential to preserve the creative DNA of each studio and to keep the portfolio vibrant.
In a broader industry context, Redin sees the mobile gaming market as still compelling, even if hyper‑growth has tapered to low‑ or mid‑single‑digit percentages. With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, there remains ample room for expansion, though competition for user attention now includes streaming services and social media platforms. To outpace the modest growth rates, MTG plans to double down on strong evergreen IPs while simultaneously nurturing new releases, believing that a balanced approach will sustain the company’s momentum in the years to come.