In February of last year, the Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the developer behind the blockbuster hero‑collection game Raid: Shadow Legends. That deal, however, is only the opening move in a broader expansion agenda, according to Maria Redin, MTG’s president and chief executive officer.
Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s vision, set after the Plarium acquisition, is to double its size once more. "We set out the vision last year that post‑acquisition of Plarium we want to double yet again in size," she said.
"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 roughly three to five years. She noted that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to scale quickly, recalling that the firm set a similar target in 2021 and ended up tripling its footprint.
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 landscape has become increasingly competitive, forcing companies to either capture market share from rivals or absorb them outright. While buying studios is relatively straightforward, integrating them into a cohesive organization is notoriously difficult, with many high‑profile failures resulting in studio closures. Redin believes MTG has a clear plan to avoid those pitfalls.
Before the Plarium deal, MTG 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 grouped into two "districts": the Casual District and the Midcore District – the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences. Following the acquisition, the districts were rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp.
Playsimple, named after the India‑based studio behind WordTrip, focuses on free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp houses the majority of MTG’s revenue‑generating games that rely on in‑app purchases. Redin emphasized that the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change. She envisions building "one of the leading gaming villages," a phrase chosen deliberately to foster a sense of community and belonging among employees. Retaining talent and ensuring smooth integration are critical when a company grows through rapid acquisitions.
"I always say gaming is the best marriage between creativity and data‑driven decisions. People are one of our biggest assets, but you also need to create an environment for them to thrive," Redin explained.
She added that keeping founders and teams on board after a purchase is essential for unlocking the full growth potential of each studio. A key part of the integration effort is standardising technology and tools across the MTG ecosystem. Redin has pursued this goal since becoming CEO in 2020, but she says the Plarium acquisition provided the scale needed to roll the vision out fully. "Not everything needs to be built uniquely for every single company," she noted.
The approach mirrors past industry attempts at tech unification, such as Electronic Arts’ push to adopt the Frostbite engine across its studios, which created significant friction for teams working on titles like Mass Effect. MTG, however, is taking a more nuanced route, recognising that the tech stack required for Playsimple differs markedly from that needed for Playamp. "Playsimple and their tech stack will be the foundation for future companies we onboard in the Casual District," Redin said. "For Midcore, we have chosen some of the Plarium tech suite to use group‑wide, but we are rolling it out selectively to ensure the end game benefits all companies." An internal assessment identified where collaboration on tools makes sense and where bespoke solutions are preferable.
Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system are now being deployed across MTG, with additional features and functionality being added to enhance their utility. Redin believes these shared resources will boost studio productivity: "We want to make sure that we put our efforts where we get the biggest bang for our buck. We have some amazing game makers across the group, and with Playamp we want to supercharge that with a tech suite they can leverage." Generative AI is also reshaping MTG’s development pipelines. InnoGames, for example, has been using AI‑generated content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and plans to expand AI‑driven creation across its portfolio.
Redin sees this as part of a broader industry trend: "Most parties I speak to are having similar discussions on how we are embracing new technology in our production chain. Generative AI is significantly more powerful than any other tool we had before." The company is experimenting with AI layers for A/B testing, graphics creation, quality assurance, and more. Successful AI solutions from individual studios are being incorporated into the Plarium tech suite and rolled out company‑wide.
Redin stressed the importance of flexibility: "We need to allow our different studios to try different things, as long as they fit into our overarching AI framework. Then we share the learnings, and when one company develops something really good, we can quickly scale it across the group." When asked whether AI is now a prerequisite for competing in the fast‑moving mobile market, Redin cautioned against fatalism.
"I often get the question, is gaming AI going to be able to do everything you do? I don’t think so. What is important is that our talent has amazing creativity, which AI does not yet replicate. However, if we don’t embrace AI we will be slower than our competitors.
AI can supercharge everything we do while we keep the creativity, innovation, and vision of our team." Revenue-wise, about 80 % of MTG’s income now comes from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple, which currently consists of a single studio. Redin expressed a desire to broaden both sides of the business. "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," she said. She also hinted at the possibility of adding a third district to the gaming village, likely built around core capabilities such as marketing platforms or data analytics. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes evergreen IPs remain central to MTG’s strategy.
The top‑ten mobile games change little year over year, and the company’s thesis from day one has been to back long‑lasting titles. "Raid has many more years ahead of it, but that doesn’t mean we don’t believe in making new games. You need a pipeline of fresh titles to keep the ecosystem healthy," she explained. The challenge of launching successful new games is evident across the industry.
Supercell’s CEO Ilkka Paananen warned that the western mobile sector is "coasting," noting that only two of the 22 mobile titles surpassing $1 billion since 2020 originated in the West. Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, with projects like Squad Busters being shut down after a brief run. Redin acknowledges these difficulties but insists that investing in new IPs is essential for preserving studio DNA, creativity, and passion.
"We have a new Plarium title set to soft‑launch early next year. It’s hard to make a successful game and scale it, but without new games we lose part of what makes our studios unique," she said.
Looking ahead, Redin remains optimistic about the market’s long‑term potential. With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, the sector is still compelling, even as it competes for attention with streaming services and social media. She expects growth to settle into low‑ to mid‑single‑digit percentages, rather than the hyper‑growth of earlier years. To exceed that baseline, MTG will continue to invest in strong evergreen franchises while also bringing fresh titles to market, leveraging AI, shared technology, and a cohesive corporate culture to drive the next phase of expansion.