In February of the previous year, Sweden’s 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, however, is only the opening move in what MTG’s chief executive Maria Redin describes as an aggressive expansion agenda. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s vision, set shortly after the Plarium acquisition, is to double its overall size once more.
“We set out the vision last year that after acquiring Plarium we want to double yet again in size,” she explained. “We’ll continue to drive organic growth, but to achieve that we’ll need to pursue further acquisitions.” The timetable is bold: Redin aims to hit the doubling target within three to five years. She noted that MTG has already demonstrated the ability to scale quickly, recalling that the firm tripled its size after a similar ambition was announced in 2021. The mobile gaming market, once characterised by rapid double‑digit expansion, has now settled into a single‑digit growth environment, reflecting a maturing sector.
What used to be a blue‑ocean of untapped users has become a crowded, competitive arena where growth often means taking market share from rivals or absorbing them outright. Acquiring studios is the easier half of the equation; integrating them is notoriously difficult, and the industry is littered with examples of failed mergers that resulted in studio closures. MTG, however, believes it has a clear integration playbook. Before buying Plarium, MTG already owned a portfolio of mobile developers, including InnoGames (creator of Forge of Empires), Snowprint (Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus), Hutch (F1 Clash), Ninja Kiwi (Bloons TD 6), and Futureplay (Merge Gardens).
These studios were split into two “districts”: the Casual District and the Midcore District, the latter covering games that sit between purely casual and hardcore experiences. The districts have now been rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp respectively. Playsimple, named after the India‑based WordTrip studio, focuses on free‑to‑play, ad‑supported titles, while Playamp houses the in‑app‑purchase‑driven games that constitute the bulk of MTG’s revenue. The rebranding is more than cosmetic.
Redin says the goal is to forge “one of the leading gaming villages,” a phrase chosen to evoke a sense of community that encourages staff to stay and thrive. Retaining talent is critical for a company that has been on a buying spree. “Gaming is the best marriage of creativity and data‑driven decisions,” she said.
“People are our biggest asset, but we must create an environment where they can flourish. When we acquire a studio we want the founders and teams to remain post‑acquisition, because that’s when the real story begins and the business can scale.” A key part of the post‑Plarium integration has been the standardisation of technology and tools across the group. Redin noted that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack, and that the scale achieved after the Plarium deal finally allowed MTG to roll out a unified vision. She referenced past industry missteps, such as Electronic Arts’ forced adoption of the Frostbite engine, which caused significant friction for studios working on titles like Mass Effect.
To avoid similar pitfalls, MTG treats the two districts separately. The Playsimple stack will serve as the foundation for future casual acquisitions, while the Midcore (Playamp) side will selectively adopt components of Plarium’s technology suite. “We performed a thorough internal assessment to determine where collaboration makes sense and where it doesn’t,” Redin explained. “Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑data platform are already being used across MTG, and we’re adding new features to enhance them.” The company is also investing heavily in generative AI, a trend reshaping mobile development worldwide.
InnoGames, for example, has been generating all content for its Sunrise Village game with AI for some time and plans to broaden that approach. Redin sees AI as a catalyst that can accelerate production, improve quality, and keep games relevant for players. “AI is significantly more powerful than any tool we’ve had before,” she said. “We’re looking at how to embed AI into workflows—A/B testing, graphics, QA—while preserving the creative spark that only humans provide.” MTG’s AI strategy involves allowing individual studios to experiment within an overarching framework of best practices.
Successful AI‑driven solutions are then rolled out across the group, ensuring rapid diffusion of innovation. When asked whether AI will eventually replace human developers, Redin was cautious. “I don’t think AI can do everything,” she replied.
“Our talent’s creativity remains essential. But if we ignore AI, we’ll fall behind competitors. AI can fill capacity gaps—coding, art, advanced logic—and super‑charge what we already do.” 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 expand both sides, noting that MTG purchased Snowprint a few years ago and would welcome additional studios with similar capabilities. She also hinted at the possibility of adding a third “district” to the gaming village, likely centred around the group’s marketing and data platforms. Despite the market’s maturity, Redin believes the top‑ten mobile games list changes little each year, reinforcing MTG’s focus on evergreen IPs. “Raid has many years left,” she said, while also acknowledging the importance of a fresh pipeline.
Plarium is preparing a new title for a soft launch early next year, and MTG continues to scout for promising concepts. Industry observers, such as Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen, warn that Western mobile developers are “coasting,” with only a handful of new billion‑dollar games emerging from the West since 2020. Redin agrees that launching and scaling a hit is challenging, but she stresses that neglecting new games would erode the creative DNA of MTG’s studios.
Looking ahead, Redin is optimistic about the market’s long‑term prospects. With roughly three billion gamers worldwide, there is still room for growth, even if the hyper‑growth phase has passed.
She expects low‑single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit expansion rates and believes that continued investment in strong evergreen titles, coupled with a steady flow of new releases, will keep MTG competitive in an increasingly crowded entertainment landscape.