In February of last year, the Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the wildly popular hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. That deal was only the opening move in what MTG’s president and chief executive, Maria Redin, describes as an aggressive expansion plan. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s ambition, set after the Plarium transaction, is to double its overall size again within a three‑to‑five‑year horizon.
"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 is bold, but Redin points out that MTG has already demonstrated a similar capacity for rapid scaling.
In 2021 the firm pursued a comparable goal and, according to Redin, succeeded in tripling its scale. The mobile gaming sector, which a few years ago was expanding at double‑digit rates, has now settled into single‑digit growth, reflecting a mature market where new entrants must either capture market share from rivals or absorb them outright. Acquiring studios is the easier half of the equation; integrating them into a cohesive operation is notoriously difficult.
The industry is littered with cautionary tales of failed integrations that ended in studio closures. MTG, however, believes it has a clear roadmap for both acquisition and integration. Before buying Plarium, MTG already owned a portfolio of mobile developers, 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”: a Casual District and a Midcore District—the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences. Following the Plarium deal, the districts were rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp.
Playsimple, named after the India‑based 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 represent the bulk of MTG’s earnings. Redin says the rebranding is more than cosmetic; it underpins a broader vision of creating "one of the leading gaming villages." The term "village" is deliberately chosen to evoke a sense of community and belonging, aiming to boost employee retention and smooth the cultural integration of newly acquired teams.
"People are for sure one of our biggest assets," Redin emphasized. "We buy our companies, which also means that we want the founders and the teams to stay on board post‑acquisition, because that's when the true exciting story should start and you continue to scale the businesses. The only way you can make sure they stay is if you create an environment which they enjoy." A key pillar of that environment is the standardisation of technology and tools across the group. Since Redin became CEO in 2020, MTG has pursued a unified tech stack, but the scale required to roll it out fully only materialised after the Plarium acquisition.
"Not everything needs to be built uniquely for every single company," she explained. The company is now applying a common set of platforms—such as Plarium’s GoGame marketing suite and its product‑detail‑page data system—while also tailoring toolsets to the specific needs of the Casual (Playsimple) and Midcore (Playamp) divisions.
Redin acknowledges the pitfalls of forced standardisation, citing Electronic Arts’ problematic rollout of the Frostbite engine across unrelated franchises as a cautionary example. To avoid similar missteps, MTG conducts thorough internal assessments to decide where shared tools add value and where bespoke solutions are warranted. For instance, the Playsimple tech stack will serve as the foundation for future casual acquisitions, whereas the Midcore division will selectively adopt components of Plarium’s technology, ensuring that each studio benefits without being hamstrung by ill‑fitting software.
Beyond standardisation, MTG is heavily investing in generative AI, a trend reshaping the mobile gaming landscape. InnoGames, one of MTG’s flagship studios, has already been generating content for its Sunrise Village title using AI, and the company plans to broaden AI‑driven creation across its portfolio.
Redin observes that AI is being woven into many production pipelines, from A/B testing and graphics generation to quality assurance and analytics. "Generative AI is significantly more powerful than any other tool that we got access to before," she said, adding that the challenge lies in finding the right balance between automation and human creativity. The company’s AI strategy emphasizes augmentation rather than replacement. Studios are encouraged to experiment within an overarching AI framework that defines best practices and boundaries.
Successful AI‑powered solutions from one studio are then quickly propagated across the group, accelerating innovation while preserving each team’s creative autonomy. When asked whether AI will eventually render human designers obsolete, Redin was cautious. "I often get the question, is gaming AI going to be able to do everything you do? And I actually don't think so," she replied.
"What is important is that our talent, our workforce has an amazing creativity. That doesn't sit yet within AI.
However, if we don't embrace AI, we are going to be slower than our competitors. AI can super‑charge everything we do while we keep the creativity, innovation, and vision of our team." Financially, roughly 80 % of MTG’s revenue now stems from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by Playsimple. Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the business. She mentioned that MTG acquired Snowprint a few years ago and would welcome additional studios with a similar profile.
On the casual front, the company currently operates a single studio—Playsimple—but sees potential for a third "district" that would leverage existing marketing and data capabilities to explore new genres or business models. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin remains confident about growth prospects.
"We have three billion gamers out there, so is it a compelling market? Yes," she affirmed. "Do we compete for airtime with streaming platforms, social media, and so forth?
Yes. But I believe there is still growth in the gaming market." However, she cautions that the era of hyper‑growth is unlikely to return. Depending on the data source, the mobile sector now experiences low‑single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit growth rates.
To exceed that baseline, MTG must continue to nurture its evergreen IPs—titles that generate steady, long‑term revenue—while also investing in fresh games to keep the pipeline vibrant. The company’s strategy reflects this dual focus. While Raid: Shadow Legends is expected to remain a cash‑cow for many years, Plarium is already preparing a new title slated for a soft launch early next year. Redin acknowledges the difficulty of launching successful new games in a crowded market, noting industry examples such as Supercell’s recent struggles with its Squad Busters incubator.
Yet she believes that a steady flow of new projects is essential to retain the creative DNA of each studio and to prevent stagnation. In summary, MTG’s roadmap under Maria Redin’s leadership combines aggressive acquisition, thoughtful integration, technology standardisation, and AI‑enhanced production. By rebranding its divisions into a cohesive "gaming village," the firm aims to attract and keep talent, accelerate the rollout of best‑in‑class tools, and ultimately double its size within the next few years while navigating a maturing mobile gaming ecosystem.