In February of last year, the Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million acquisition of Plarium, the studio behind the blockbuster hero‑collection game Raid: Shadow Legends. That deal was only the opening move in a broader, aggressive expansion strategy, according to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive officer, in a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz.
Redin explained that the company set a bold vision after the Plarium transaction: to double the size of the group once more, and to do so primarily through further acquisitions that will fuel organic growth. She placed a three‑to‑five‑year horizon on the target, noting that MTG had already demonstrated an ability to scale quickly – the firm tripled its size after a similar ambition was announced in 2021.
The mobile gaming market, once characterised by double‑digit growth, has now settled into a single‑digit expansion phase as the sector matures. What was once a blue‑ocean of untapped users has become a crowded, highly competitive arena where growth often means taking market share from rivals or absorbing them outright. While buying companies can be straightforward, integrating them successfully is notoriously difficult. The industry is littered with examples of acquisitions that led to studio closures because cultural and technical integration failed.
MTG, however, believes it has a roadmap for that integration. Before the Plarium deal, the group already owned 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 organised into two “districts”: a Casual District and a Midcore District – the latter covering games that sit between purely casual titles and hardcore experiences.
The districts have now been rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp respectively. Playsimple, named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip, gathers free‑to‑play, ad‑supported games, while Playamp houses the majority of MTG’s revenue‑generating titles that rely on in‑app purchases. Beyond a simple name change, Redin emphasised that the rebranding is part of a larger ambition to create “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term “village” is deliberately chosen to evoke a sense of community and belonging, with the goal of improving employee retention and fostering collaboration across the many studios that have been added to the group.
“People are one of our biggest assets,” Redin said. “We want to create an environment where founders and their teams stay on board after an acquisition, because that is when the real story begins – scaling the business while preserving the creative DNA of each studio.” A key component of the integration plan is the standardisation of technology and tools across MTG’s ecosystem. Redin noted that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; instead, a common foundation can accelerate development and reduce duplication of effort.
The push for standardisation began when she took the helm in 2020, but the scale required to roll it out effectively only materialised after Plarium joined the group. The company is careful, however, to tailor the tech suite to the needs of each district. Playsimple’s stack will serve as the baseline for future casual acquisitions, while the Midcore (Playamp) side will adopt selected elements of Plarium’s technology, deployed selectively after a thorough internal assessment of where shared tools make sense.
Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data infrastructure have already been rolled out across MTG, with additional features and functionality being added to suit the broader portfolio. Redin explained that the aim is to maximise impact – “put our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck” – by giving Playamp studios a powerful, shared tech suite that amplifies what they already do well. Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another area where MTG is investing heavily.
InnoGames, for example, has been using AI to generate content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and is exploring broader AI‑driven content creation across its catalogue. Redin said that AI is being woven into many parts of the production pipeline, from A/B testing and graphics generation to quality assurance and analytics. Successful AI tools from individual studios are being incorporated into the Plarium‑derived tech suite, creating a feedback loop where innovations spread quickly throughout the group. When asked whether AI will eventually replace human creativity, Redin was cautious.
She believes that while AI can accelerate processes and fill capacity gaps, the core creative spark of developers remains irreplaceable. “If we ignore AI we will fall behind competitors,” she warned, “but we must keep the human element at the centre of game design.” Financially, about 80 % of MTG’s revenue now comes from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by the single casual studio under the Playsimple banner.
Redin expressed a desire to broaden both sides of the business. She cited Snowprint as a model – “if we could find five more Snowprints around the world, that would be fantastic” – and hinted at the possibility of adding a third district that would leverage either the group’s marketing platforms or its data capabilities.
Despite the market’s maturity, Redin remains optimistic about growth opportunities. She pointed out that the top‑ten mobile games list changes very little year over year, reinforcing the value of evergreen IPs.
While MTG will continue to invest in proven franchises like Raid, the company also recognises the necessity of a fresh pipeline. Plarium is preparing to soft‑launch a new title early next year, and Redin stressed that nurturing new games is essential to preserving the creative DNA of each studio. The broader industry context is challenging.
Western mobile developers have struggled to produce billion‑dollar hits recently, with only two of the 22 titles surpassing that threshold since 2020. Supercell’s own attempts at incubating new games, such as the short‑lived Squad Busters, have shown how difficult it can be to break through. Redin acknowledged these headwinds but argued that a balanced approach – bolstering evergreen titles while steadily feeding the pipeline with new IPs – is the most realistic path forward.
In summary, MTG’s roadmap under Maria Redin’s leadership combines aggressive acquisition, thoughtful rebranding, technology standardisation, and strategic AI adoption. The company aims to double its size within a few years, deepen its portfolio across casual and midcore segments, and maintain a vibrant, collaborative culture that can sustain both legacy hits and the next generation of mobile games. The ultimate goal is to keep the group competitive in a market where growth is slower but still significant, and where the blend of data‑driven decisions and human creativity will determine long‑term success.