In February of the previous year, Sweden’s mobile entertainment leader Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. That deal was only the opening move in what the company’s president and chief executive, Maria Redin, describes as an aggressive expansion agenda. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the vision set out after the Plarium acquisition was crystal clear: “We want to double the size of MTG again, and we intend to do it through a mix of organic growth and further acquisitions.” She added that the target timeframe for this doubling is roughly three to five years. The ambition is not new – MTG aimed for a similar scale in 2021 and, according to Redin, succeeded in tripling its size at that time.
The mobile gaming sector, once characterized by double‑digit growth, has now settled into a mature, single‑digit expansion environment. The market has shifted from a blue‑ocean landscape of endless opportunity to a red‑hot arena where gaining market share often means either out‑competing rivals or absorbing them outright.
While buying studios is relatively straightforward, the real challenge lies in integrating those businesses without disrupting their creative engines. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of failed mergers that resulted in studio closures. MTG entered the Plarium deal already overseeing a portfolio of mobile developers, including InnoGames (known for Forge of Empires), Snowprint (creator of Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus), Hutch (F1 Clash), Ninja Kiwi (Bloons TD 6) and Futureplay (Merge Gardens). These studios were previously organized into two segments: the Casual District and the Midcore District – the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences.
Following the acquisition, the two districts were rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp. Playsimple, named after the Indian studio behind WordTrip, houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp contains the bulk of MTG’s portfolio, which relies on in‑app purchases (IAPs). Redin emphasizes that the rebranding is only a surface change; the deeper goal is to forge “one of the leading gaming villages.” The terminology is intentional, aiming to foster a sense of community that encourages staff to stay and thrive. “Gaming is the perfect marriage of creativity and data‑driven decision‑making,” she explains.
“People are our greatest asset, but we must also create an environment where they can flourish. When we acquire a studio, we want the founders and their teams to remain post‑deal, because that’s when the real story begins – scaling the business together.” A key pillar of the integration strategy is the standardisation of technology and tools across the MTG ecosystem.
Redin notes that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; a shared foundation can accelerate development and reduce costs. The push for standardisation began when she took the helm in 2020, but the Plarium acquisition gave MTG the scale required to roll it out fully. She is careful to differentiate the needs of the two districts: Playsimple’s tech stack will serve future casual acquisitions, while the Midcore (Playamp) division will adopt select components of Plarium’s suite, deployed selectively after a thorough internal assessment of where collaboration makes sense. Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page (PDP) data system are already being leveraged across MTG, with additional features being added to enhance functionality.
Redin says the aim is to concentrate effort where it yields the highest return, “supercharging” the existing talent pool with a robust, shared tech suite. Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another transformative force at MTG.
InnoGames, for example, has been generating content for its mobile title Sunrise Village using AI for some time and plans to broaden AI‑driven creation across its catalogue. Redin observes that AI is being woven into many production pipelines – from A/B testing and graphic generation to quality assurance – to make games more relevant to players and to shorten time‑to‑market.
Successful AI tools from individual studios are being incorporated into the broader Plarium‑derived tech stack, allowing rapid diffusion of best practices. When asked whether AI could eventually replace human creators, Redin is cautious. She believes that while AI can amplify productivity, the core creativity and vision of developers remain uniquely human.
“If we ignore AI, we’ll fall behind competitors,” she says, “but we must keep the creative spark that only people can provide.” She envisions AI as a supplement that fills capacity gaps in coding, art, and complex logic, enabling teams to deliver higher‑quality experiences faster. Revenue-wise, about 80 % of MTG’s earnings now stem from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % coming from Playsimple, which currently consists of a single studio. Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the business.
She mentions the recent acquisition of Snowprint and expresses interest in replicating that success with additional studios of similar profile. Looking ahead, she hints 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 stresses that the top‑ten mobile games list changes little each year, reinforcing MTG’s belief in evergreen IPs. While Raid: Shadow Legends still has many years of revenue potential, the company also recognises the necessity of a fresh pipeline.
Plarium is preparing a new title for a soft launch early next year, and MTG continues to scout for innovative concepts. Industry peers warn that the western mobile market is “coasting,” with only a handful of new billion‑dollar titles emerging since 2020. Supercell’s own incubation efforts have produced mixed results, exemplified by the recent shutdown of Squad Busters.
Redin acknowledges the difficulty of launching successful new games but argues that a steady flow of fresh projects is essential to preserve studio DNA, creativity, and passion. In summary, Redin sees a mobile gaming future that balances the stability of proven evergreen franchises with the excitement of new releases. The market still holds three billion gamers, offering ample opportunity, albeit at lower growth rates than the hyper‑growth era. To exceed the modest single‑digit growth that characterises the mature market, MTG plans to double down on its strong IPs while simultaneously investing in new titles, leveraging AI, and fostering a collaborative, village‑like culture across its expanding portfolio.