Maria Redin of MTG Discusses Rebranding, Acquiring Raid: Shadow Legends, and Plans to Double Company Size

In February of last year, Swedish mobile powerhouse Modern Times Group (MTG) completed a $620 million purchase of Plarium, the studio behind the blockbuster hero‑collection title Raid: Shadow Legends. That transaction, however, is only the opening move in a broader expansion playbook, according to MTG’s president and chief executive officer, Maria Redin. Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the vision set out after the Plarium deal was to "double the company again" and that the ambition would be pursued through a mix of organic growth and further acquisitions.

She placed the timeline for this size‑doubling at roughly three to five years, noting that MTG had already achieved a three‑fold increase in scale after a similar target was announced in 2021. The mobile gaming landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years. Where once the sector was expanding at double‑digit rates, growth has now settled into single‑digit territory, reflecting a market that is maturing quickly.

The once‑wide blue ocean has turned a deep red, meaning that future expansion will likely involve taking market share from competitors or, more directly, absorbing them through acquisitions. Acquiring studios is the easy part; the real challenge lies in integrating them smoothly. The industry is littered with cautionary tales of poorly executed mergers that resulted in studio closures.

MTG, however, believes it has a clear roadmap for integration. Before the Plarium deal, 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 pure casual experiences and hardcore titles. The districts have since been rebranded as Playsimple and Playamp.

Playsimple, named after the India‑based WordTrip studio, houses free‑to‑play, ad‑supported games, while Playamp contains the majority of MTG’s portfolio, focusing on titles that generate revenue through in‑app purchases. The rebranding goes beyond a cosmetic change. Redin explained that the goal is to create "one of the leading gaming villages," a concept intended to foster a sense of community and belonging among the many teams now under the MTG umbrella.

Retaining talent is a top priority, especially given the rapid pace of acquisitions. "People are one of our biggest assets," Redin said. "We need to build an environment where they can thrive, and that means keeping founders and their teams on board after a purchase so the real story can continue to unfold." Standardising technology and tools across the group is another pillar of the integration strategy.

Redin has been pushing for a unified tech stack since becoming CEO in 2020, but she believes the scale afforded by the Plarium acquisition finally makes a company‑wide rollout feasible. The approach is deliberately selective: the Playsimple division will adopt a common tech foundation for future casual studios, while the Midcore (Playamp) side will incorporate elements of Plarium’s own technology suite where they add clear value.

"We performed a thorough internal assessment to decide where sharing tools makes sense and where it does not," Redin explained. "For example, Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page data system are now used across MTG, and we are continuously adding new features to enhance them." The emphasis on shared technology is intended to amplify the output of all studios. Redin said the aim is to focus resources where they generate the greatest return, leveraging the strong creative talent already present in the group while providing a powerful, common tech backbone. Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another area where MTG is investing heavily.

InnoGames, one of MTG’s casual studios, has already been using AI to generate content for its mobile title Sunrise Village and is exploring broader AI‑driven content creation across its catalogue. Redin noted that AI is being woven into various stages of the development pipeline—A/B testing, graphics creation, quality assurance, and more—often by adapting successful AI solutions from one studio and rolling them out to others.

"We want our studios to experiment within an overarching AI framework that defines what is permissible and what is not," she said. "When a team discovers a breakthrough, we can quickly propagate that innovation throughout the company." When asked whether AI will eventually replace human creativity, Redin was cautious. She believes AI is a powerful accelerator but not a substitute for the imaginative spark that human developers bring. "If we ignore AI, we risk falling behind competitors," she warned, "but we must preserve the creativity, innovation, and vision of our people." Revenue-wise, roughly 80 % of MTG’s earnings now come from the Playamp division, with the remaining 20 % generated by the casual Playsimple studio.

Redin is eager to broaden both sides of the business. She cited the acquisition of Snowprint as an example and hinted at the possibility of adding more studios with similar profiles.

Moreover, she floated the idea of a third "district" that would build on the existing marketing and data capabilities, though the exact shape of that future unit remains undefined. Despite the market’s maturity, the top‑ten mobile games list has remained remarkably stable, reinforcing MTG’s long‑standing belief in evergreen IPs.

While Raid: Shadow Legends is expected to enjoy many more profitable years, Redin stressed that the company still needs a fresh pipeline of titles to sustain growth. Plarium, for instance, is preparing to soft‑launch a new game early next year.

The broader industry context is sobering. Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen has warned that the Western mobile market is "coasting," noting that only two of the 22 mobile games that have surpassed $1 billion in revenue since 2020 originated in the West. Even Supercell’s own incubation efforts have struggled, with recent projects like Squad Busters being discontinued after a brief launch.

Redin acknowledged these challenges, saying that creating and scaling a hit game is inherently difficult. Yet she believes that continuing to invest in new titles is essential to preserve the creative DNA of the studios and keep the talent motivated. Looking ahead, Redin remains optimistic about the market’s potential. With an estimated three billion gamers worldwide, she sees ample opportunity, even if the era of hyper‑growth has passed.

She expects growth rates to hover between low and mid single digits, and she argues that exceeding those baseline figures will require a dual strategy: nurturing existing evergreen franchises while also bringing fresh games to market. In summary, MTG’s roadmap under Maria Redin’s leadership combines aggressive acquisition, thoughtful integration, technology standardisation, AI‑enhanced development, and a balanced portfolio of proven and new IPs. The aim is to double the company’s size within the next few years while fostering a collaborative "gaming village" that can adapt to a mature, highly competitive mobile landscape.