In February of last year, Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million acquisition of Plarium, the studio behind the wildly popular hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. According to MTG’s president and chief executive officer, Maria Redin, that deal is only the opening move in a broader playbook aimed at dramatically scaling the company.
Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that MTG’s post‑Plarium vision is to double the firm’s size once again, and that organic growth will need to be complemented by further strategic purchases. She set an aggressive horizon for this expansion – roughly three to five years – noting that MTG has already proven its ability to grow quickly, having tripled in 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 enjoying double‑digit growth rates, but today the market has matured and is now expanding at single‑digit percentages.
What was once a blue‑ocean of untapped opportunity has become a crowded, competitive arena where growth often means taking market share from rivals or absorbing them outright. While buying companies is relatively straightforward, the real challenge lies in integrating them successfully – a process that has tripped up many firms, leading to studio closures and wasted investment.
MTG believes it has a clear roadmap to avoid those pitfalls. Before the Plarium deal, MTG already owned a portfolio of mobile studios, including InnoGames (creator of Forge of Empires), Snowprint (developer of Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus), Hutch (known for F1 Clash), Ninja Kiwi (behind Bloons TD 6), and Futureplay (makers of Merge Gardens). These studios were originally grouped into two “districts”: a Casual District and a Midcore District – the latter covering games that sit between pure casual experiences and more demanding hardcore titles.
The recent rebranding has renamed these divisions Playsimple and Playamp respectively. Playsimple now houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported games, while Playamp focuses on titles that generate revenue primarily through in‑app purchases, which represent the bulk of MTG’s earnings. Beyond a cosmetic name change, Redin emphasizes that the goal is to forge “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term is deliberately inviting, aiming to foster a sense of community and belonging among the many studios and teams now under the MTG umbrella.
Retaining talent and ensuring smooth cultural integration are top priorities, especially given the rapid pace of acquisitions. Redin argues that gaming uniquely blends creativity with data‑driven decision‑making, and that the company’s greatest asset is its people.
To keep those people motivated, MTG intends to create an environment where founders and development teams feel valued and are encouraged to stay on after a purchase, allowing the real growth story to unfold. A key element of the integration plan is the standardisation of technology and tools across the group.
Redin notes that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; instead, shared platforms can drive efficiencies. 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. She acknowledges the risks – citing EA’s troubled push to force all its studios onto the Frostbite engine – but stresses that MTG is treating the two districts differently.
Playsimple’s tech suite will serve as the baseline for future casual acquisitions, while Playamp will adopt selected components of Plarium’s technology, deploying them selectively after thorough internal assessments to ensure they truly add value. Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and its product‑detail‑page data system are already being leveraged across MTG, with additional features being built on top. Redin says the aim is to concentrate resources where they deliver the greatest return, supercharging the already strong game‑making capabilities within Playamp.
The company is also embracing generative AI, a trend that is reshaping mobile development. InnoGames, for example, has been using AI‑generated content for its Sunrise Village title and plans to extend AI‑driven creation across its catalogue.
Redin believes AI is a powerful new tool that can enhance workflows – from A/B testing and graphics production to quality assurance – without replacing the human creativity that remains essential. She explains that successful AI solutions from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium tech suite, allowing rapid dissemination of best practices.
However, Redin cautions against over‑reliance on AI, noting that while the technology can accelerate development and improve efficiency, it cannot replicate the imaginative spark that human designers bring to games. She argues that firms that ignore AI risk falling behind competitors, but the industry must strike a balance that preserves creative vision while exploiting new technological capabilities. Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue now stems from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by the single casual studio currently operating under the Playsimple banner. Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the business.
She mentions the acquisition of Snowprint a few years ago and expresses interest in replicating that success by finding similar studios worldwide. On the casual front, she envisions adding more studios to increase scale, and even contemplates a third “district” that would leverage MTG’s core strengths in marketing platforms and data analytics.
When asked about the future of mobile gaming titles, Redin observes that the top‑ten charts have remained remarkably stable, underscoring the importance of evergreen IPs. While Raid: Shadow Legends still has many years of life ahead, MTG continues to invest in new games to keep its pipeline fresh. She acknowledges the difficulty of launching successful new titles, citing Supercell’s recent challenges with its Squad Busters project, but stresses that a steady flow of fresh experiences is vital for maintaining studio creativity and passion.
Overall, Redin sees a maturing market that still offers growth potential. With three billion gamers worldwide, the sector remains compelling, even as it competes for attention with streaming services and social media.
She predicts that hyper‑growth rates will not return; instead, the industry will settle into low‑ to mid‑single‑digit growth. To exceed that baseline, MTG plans to double down on its strong evergreen franchises while simultaneously nurturing new games that can capture the next wave of players.