In February of last year, Sweden’s mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. That transaction, however, is only the opening move in a broader expansion plan, according to MTG’s president and chief executive officer, Maria Redin. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s ambition, set shortly after the Plarium deal, is to double its overall size once more.
"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 for this ambition is aggressive: Redin aims to achieve the doubling within a three‑to‑five‑year window.
She noted that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to scale quickly, recalling that the firm pursued a similar target in 2021 and ultimately tripled its revenue base. The mobile gaming market, once characterized by double‑digit growth, has now settled into single‑digit expansion as the sector matures.
What was once a blue ocean of untapped users has turned into a fiercely competitive red sea, where growth increasingly means capturing market share from rivals or absorbing them through acquisitions. While buying companies is relatively straightforward, the real challenge lies in integrating those studios without disrupting their creative output—a pitfall that has led many firms to shutter newly acquired studios. MTG entered the Plarium deal already overseeing a portfolio of mobile studios, 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 previously organized into two divisions: the Casual District and the Midcore District, the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences. As part of a rebranding effort, the Casual District is now called Playsimple—named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip—while the Midcore District has been renamed Playamp. Playsimple focuses on free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, whereas Playamp houses the majority of MTG’s revenue‑generating games that rely on in‑app purchases. Redin says the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it is intended to forge "one of the leading gaming villages." The term "village" is deliberately chosen to evoke a sense of community and belonging, with the goal of retaining talent and smoothing the integration of newly acquired teams.
"I always say gaming is the best marriage between creativity and data‑driven decisions. People are certainly one of our biggest assets, but you also need to create an environment where they can thrive," Redin emphasized. She added that MTG’s acquisition strategy includes a commitment to keep founders and development teams on board after a purchase, because the real growth story begins once those teams remain intact and can continue scaling their products.
A key component of the integration plan is the standardisation of technology and tools across the group. Redin explained that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; instead, MTG is rolling out shared platforms wherever it makes sense. This effort began when she became CEO in 2020, but the scale required to implement it fully only arrived with Plarium’s addition.
"We now have the adequate scale to actually fully roll out the vision to reality," she said. The company is careful to avoid the pitfalls experienced by other publishers. For example, Electronic Arts’ push to force all its studios onto the Frostbite engine caused significant friction and delays on projects such as Mass Effect. MTG, by contrast, treats the technical needs of Playsimple and Playamp separately.
"Playsimple’s tech stack will be the foundation for future companies we onboard in the Casual District," Redin noted. "For Midcore, we have selected parts of the Plarium tech suite to use group‑wide, but we are rolling it out selectively to ensure the end result is better for all the companies." Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system are already being deployed across MTG, with additional features and functionality being added to enhance their usefulness. Redin said the aim is to maximise the return on investment by providing studios with a robust, shared infrastructure that accelerates development and improves performance. Artificial intelligence is another area where MTG is investing heavily.
InnoGames, for instance, has been generating content for its mobile title Sunrise Village using AI for some time and is now looking to expand AI‑driven content 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. "Generative AI is significantly more powerful than any other tool we have had before," she said.
"We are all trying to find the right balance—where to change workflows, where to keep them, and where AI can add the most value." The company’s AI strategy focuses on layering intelligent tools onto existing pipelines rather than replacing human creativity. Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium tech suite, allowing rapid diffusion of best practices.
Redin stressed that while AI can boost efficiency, it cannot replace the imagination and originality that human developers bring. "Our talent’s creativity is something AI does not yet possess," she affirmed.
"But if we ignore AI, we risk falling behind competitors who are leveraging it to speed up production and improve quality." Revenue-wise, roughly 80 % of MTG’s income now stems from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by the casual side, which currently consists of a single studio—Playsimple. Redin expressed a desire to broaden both divisions: "We bought Snowprint a couple of years back, and if we could find five more Snowprints around the world, that would be fantastic. On the casual side we would like to add more scale." Looking ahead, Redin hinted at the possibility of adding a third district to the gaming village, though the exact focus of this new segment remains under discussion.
It would likely centre on the core capabilities MTG already possesses, such as marketing platforms or data analytics, and could serve as a launchpad for future acquisitions. When asked about the outlook for mobile titles, Redin noted that the top‑ten games in the app stores change very little year over year. "Our thesis from day one has been a belief in evergreen IPs," she said, citing Raid: Shadow Legends as an example of a title with many years of life left.
At the same time, she acknowledges the necessity of a fresh pipeline: "We do believe in making new games because you need to keep feeding the market with fresh experiences." The broader industry context is sobering. Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen recently warned that the western mobile market is "coasting," with only two of the 22 titles that have surpassed $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originating from the West.
Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, as illustrated by the shutdown of Squad Busters after its 2024 launch. Redin concurs that creating a hit game and scaling it is a formidable challenge. Plarium, for instance, is preparing to soft‑launch a new title early next year.
She believes that neglecting new‑game development would erode the creative DNA of MTG’s studios, which is essential for long‑term vitality. In summary, Redin sees a mature but still sizable market—approximately three billion gamers worldwide—as a compelling arena for continued growth. While hyper‑growth rates have faded, the sector still delivers low‑ to mid‑single‑digit expansion. To outpace that baseline, MTG plans to double down on its evergreen franchises while simultaneously investing in fresh IPs, leveraging standardized technology, and embracing AI to accelerate development and maintain relevance in an increasingly competitive entertainment landscape.