In February of last year, Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the developer behind the blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. Yet, according to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive officer, that deal is merely the opening act of a much larger growth narrative. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s ambition, set after the Plarium acquisition, is to double its scale once again within the next three to five years.
“We set the vision last year that, post‑acquisition, we want to double yet again in size,” she explained. “We’ll keep driving organic growth, but to reach that goal we’ll need to pursue further acquisitions.” The timeline is aggressive, but Redin points out that MTG has already demonstrated a capacity for rapid expansion: the firm tripled its size after adopting a similar ambition in 2021. The mobile gaming landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years.
What was once a high‑growth, double‑digit market has settled into single‑digit expansion, signalling a maturing sector. The once‑blue ocean now looks more like a crowded, red‑tinted pond where growth often means taking market share from rivals or absorbing them outright. While buying companies can be straightforward, the real challenge lies in integrating those studios without triggering the kind of cultural clashes and shutdowns that have plagued many merger attempts in the industry. MTG entered the Plarium deal already owning 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).
Historically, these studios were grouped into two “districts”: a Casual District and a Midcore District—the latter covering games that sit between purely casual and hardcore experiences. Following the acquisition, the districts were rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp.
Playsimple, named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip, houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp focuses on games that generate revenue primarily through in‑app purchases, which now make up the bulk of MTG’s earnings. Redin stresses that the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change.
She envisions building “one of the leading gaming villages,” a phrase chosen deliberately to evoke a sense of community and belonging. Retaining talent and fostering a cohesive culture are critical when a company rapidly adds new studios. “Gaming is the perfect marriage of creativity and data‑driven decisions,” Redin said. “People are our greatest asset, but we must also 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 MTG’s growing ecosystem. Redin notes that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; a shared foundation can accelerate development and reduce duplication. However, she is careful to differentiate between the needs of Playsimple and Playamp.
The casual division’s tech stack will serve as the template for future casual acquisitions, while the midcore side will selectively adopt components of Plarium’s technology suite. “We conducted a thorough internal assessment to decide where collaboration makes sense and where it doesn’t,” she explained. Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system have already been rolled out across MTG, with additional features being added to enhance functionality.
Redin believes that leveraging these shared tools will amplify the output of all studios. “We want to focus our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck,” she said, noting that Playamp’s developers will be equipped with an upgraded tech suite that builds on existing capabilities.
Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another area where MTG is investing heavily. InnoGames, for example, has been using AI‑generated assets for its mobile title Sunrise Village and plans to expand AI‑driven content creation across its portfolio. Redin observes that AI is becoming embedded in many aspects of game production, from A/B testing and graphics to quality assurance. “Generative AI is significantly more powerful than any tool we’ve had before,” she said.
“The challenge is finding the right balance—knowing where to adapt workflows and where to keep them unchanged, all while using AI to make our games more relevant and to accelerate time‑to‑market.” She cautions, however, against assuming AI will replace human creativity. “Our talent’s imagination is still something AI can’t replicate,” Redin noted. “If we ignore AI, we risk falling behind competitors.
But embraced correctly, AI can super‑charge our work, fill capacity gaps, and help us deliver amazing games faster.” Revenue-wise, about 80 % now comes from the Playamp division, with the casual side contributing roughly 20 %. Redin is eager to broaden the studio roster, saying that finding additional studios like Snowprint would be “fantastic.” While Playsimple currently consists of a single studio, she hints at the possibility of adding a third “district” to the gaming village, likely centred around core capabilities such as marketing platforms or data analytics.
When asked about the future of mobile titles, Redin observes that the top‑ten games on app stores change very little year over year. “Our thesis from day one has been a belief in evergreen IPs,” she said. “Raid has many years left, but we also need a pipeline of new games to keep the portfolio fresh.” The industry, she acknowledges, faces headwinds: western mobile developers have struggled to launch billion‑dollar hits recently, and even Supercell’s own incubation projects have seen mixed results. Nevertheless, Redin remains optimistic about the market’s long‑term potential.
With three billion gamers worldwide, there is still ample room for growth, even if hyper‑growth is unlikely to return. “We’re seeing low‑single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit growth across the board,” she said. “To exceed that, we must continue to invest in strong evergreen IPs while also bringing new titles to market.”