In February of the previous year, 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. According to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive officer, that transaction is merely the opening move in a broader expansion plan.
"Last year we articulated a vision that, following the Plarium acquisition, we intend to double our scale once again," Redin told GamesIndustry.biz. "We will keep driving organic growth, but to achieve the next leap we must pursue additional acquisitions." The timeline Redin proposes is aggressive: the company aims to double its size within roughly three to five years. She noted that MTG had already set a similar ambition in 2021 and, in her words, "we think we tripled" during that period. A few years ago the mobile sector was expanding at double‑digit rates, but growth has now settled into single‑digit territory, reflecting a market that is rapidly maturing.
What once resembled a blue ocean has turned decidedly red, meaning that future expansion will often require taking market share from competitors—or absorbing them entirely. Acquiring studios is the easy part; integrating them is where many firms stumble. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of botched integrations that culminated in studio closures.
MTG, however, believes it has a clear roadmap. Before buying Plarium, MTG already owned a portfolio of mobile developers, 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 split into two "districts": the Casual District and the Midcore District, the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences. The districts have since been renamed Playsimple and Playamp.
Playsimple, named after the India‑based WordTrip studio, houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp contains the majority of MTG’s portfolio, focusing on games that generate revenue primarily through in‑app purchases. The rebranding goes beyond a cosmetic change. Redin says the goal is to create "one of the leading gaming villages," a term chosen deliberately to foster a sense of community and belonging.
Employee retention and smooth integration are top priorities for a company that has been on an acquisition spree. "Gaming is the perfect marriage of creativity and data‑driven decision‑making," Redin explained. "Our people are our greatest asset, but they need 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 we can scale the business. The only way to make that happen is to build a workplace they enjoy." Behind the scenes, MTG has been standardising technology and tools across its portfolio. Redin noted that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; the push for uniformity began when she became CEO in 2020, but only after the Plarium deal did the group have sufficient scale to roll the vision out fully. The pitfalls of forced standardisation are well documented – EA’s attempt to impose its Frostbite engine on all its studios caused significant friction on projects such as Mass Effect.
Redin is aware that the technical needs of Playsimple differ markedly from those of Playamp, and the two divisions are being treated separately. "Playsimple’s tech stack will become the foundation for any future casual‑district acquisitions," she said. "For Midcore we have selected parts of Plarium’s suite to roll out group‑wide, but we are doing it selectively to ensure the end result benefits every studio.
We conducted a thorough internal assessment to decide where collaboration on tools makes sense and where it does not." Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑data platform are already being deployed across MTG, with additional features and functionality being added. The intention is to boost productivity across all studios. "We want to focus our efforts where we get the biggest return," Redin said. "We have fantastic developers across the group, and with Playamp we aim to super‑charge them with a tech suite that elevates what they already do." Generative AI is another major theme at MTG, mirroring trends throughout the mobile industry.
InnoGames, for instance, has been using AI‑generated content for its Sunrise Village game for some time and plans to expand AI‑driven creation across its titles. Redin observes that many mobile companies are embedding AI into their production pipelines. "Across the industry we’re all having similar conversations about how to adopt new technology," she said, adding that generative AI is "far more powerful than any tool we’ve had before." She emphasized the need to strike a balance: identifying where AI can streamline workflows—such as A/B testing, graphics creation, and quality assurance—while preserving the creative core that humans bring.
Successful AI solutions from individual MTG studios are being folded into the Plarium tech suite for broader use. "We allow studios to experiment within our overarching AI framework," Redin explained.
"When a team builds something valuable, we can quickly propagate that innovation across the group." When asked whether AI has become a prerequisite for competing in the fast‑moving mobile market, Redin cautioned against fatalism. "I often hear the question whether gaming AI will replace us. I don’t think so.
Creativity remains a uniquely human trait. However, if we ignore AI we will fall behind competitors.
Embracing AI lets us accelerate and improve our output while keeping the human spark." She gave concrete examples of AI helping with capacity shortfalls in coding, art, and complex logic, describing AI as a super‑charger for the development process. Currently about 80 % of MTG’s revenue is generated by the Playamp division, and Redin is eager to broaden the studio roster.
"We acquired Snowprint a few years ago; finding five more studios like Snowprint worldwide would be fantastic. On the casual side we’d also like to add scale," she said.
The casual side currently consists of a single studio—Playsimple—but still contributes roughly 20 % of revenue. Redin hinted at the possibility of adding a third "district" to the gaming village, though details remain tentative. She suggested that any new district would likely centre around core capabilities such as marketing platforms or data analytics.
Regarding the games themselves, Redin noted that the top‑ten mobile titles change very little year over year. "Our thesis from day one has been to back evergreen IPs," she said. While MTG continues to invest in proven franchises like Raid, the company also recognises the need for a fresh pipeline of titles.
The challenge of launching new hits is evident across the sector. Ilkka Paananen of Supercell warned that the western mobile market is "coasting," with only two of the 22 billion‑dollar games since 2020 originating in the West. Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, as illustrated by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters. Redin acknowledges the difficulty: "It’s hard to create a successful game and then scale it," she said, noting that Plarium has a new title slated for a soft launch early next year.
She believes that without new games a studio loses part of its creative DNA, which is essential for long‑term vitality. Looking at the broader landscape, Redin remains optimistic about growth despite market maturity. "There are three billion gamers worldwide, so the market is still compelling," she asserted.
While hyper‑growth may be a thing of the past, she expects low‑single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit growth rates. To exceed those baselines, MTG must continue to nurture its evergreen IPs while also bringing fresh experiences to market.