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 act of a much larger plan, according to MTG’s president and chief executive, Maria Redin.
Redin told GamesIndustry.biz that the company’s vision, set out after the Plarium acquisition, is to double its scale once again. “We set out the vision last year that post‑acquisition of Plarium we want to double yet again in size,” she explained, adding that organic growth will continue but will need to be supplemented by further purchases. The target horizon for this expansion is “about three to five years,” a timeline that feels bold but not unprecedented; MTG previously announced a similar ambition in 2021 and, as Redin notes, the group actually tripled its size during that period.
The mobile market, once characterized by double‑digit growth, has now settled into single‑digit expansion as the sector matures. What used to be a blue‑ocean landscape has turned a deep red, meaning that future growth will likely come from taking market share from rivals or absorbing them outright. While buying companies is relatively straightforward, the real challenge lies in integration—a stage where many firms have stumbled, sometimes ending in studio closures. MTG, however, believes it has a clear roadmap for that phase.
Before adding Plarium to its portfolio, MTG already owned a suite of mobile studios such as 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 grouped into two “districts”: a Casual District and a Midcore District—the latter covering games that sit between casual and hardcore experiences. The districts have now been 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. Redin emphasizes that the rebranding is more than a cosmetic change; it is meant to cultivate “one of the leading gaming villages.” The term “village” is intentional, aiming to foster a sense of belonging that will help retain talent—a critical factor when a company is rapidly adding new studios. “Gaming is the best marriage between creativity and data‑driven decisions,” she said. “People are one of our biggest assets, but you also need to create an environment for them to thrive.” She stresses that after an acquisition, MTG wants founders and teams to stay on board because that is when the most exciting growth phase begins.
A key element of the integration strategy is the standardisation of technology and tools across the group. Redin notes that not every studio needs a bespoke tech stack; the goal is to apply common platforms where it makes sense, while allowing flexibility where it does not. This effort began when she took the helm in 2020, but the scale provided by Plarium finally made a full rollout feasible. She acknowledges past industry missteps—such as Electronic Arts’ forced adoption of the Frostbite engine, which caused friction for teams working on titles like Mass Effect—but says MTG is careful to differentiate the needs of Playsimple and Playamp.
The casual division’s tech foundation will serve future casual acquisitions, while the midcore side will selectively adopt components of Plarium’s suite, ensuring that any shared tools genuinely add value. Plarium’s GoGame marketing platform and product‑detail‑page data system are already being deployed across MTG, with additional features being built in to enhance studio output. Redin explains that the company wants to allocate resources where they generate the greatest return, “supercharging” the Playamp studios with a robust tech suite that builds on what they already do well.
Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another pillar of MTG’s forward‑looking strategy. InnoGames, for instance, has been using AI to generate all of the content for its mobile game Sunrise Village and plans to expand AI‑driven creation across its portfolio.
Redin observes that AI is being woven into production pipelines industry‑wide, from A/B testing to graphics generation and quality assurance. She describes AI as “significantly more powerful than any other tool we’ve had before,” but cautions that it should augment—not replace—human creativity. “If we don’t embrace AI, we’ll fall behind competitors,” she warned, adding that AI can help alleviate capacity shortfalls in coding, art, and complex logic. Revenue-wise, roughly 80 % of MTG’s earnings now come from the Playamp segment, with the casual side contributing about 20 %.
Redin is eager to broaden both divisions, noting that the company purchased Snowprint a few years ago and would welcome additional studios of a similar profile. While Playsimple currently consists of a single studio, Redin hints at the possibility of a third “district” in the future—one that would leverage the group’s core capabilities in marketing platforms or data analytics.
When asked about the health of the mobile top‑ten charts, Redin points out that the list remains remarkably stable year after year, reinforcing MTG’s belief in evergreen intellectual property. Nevertheless, she acknowledges the importance of a fresh pipeline. “Raid has many more years ahead of it, but that doesn’t mean we stop making new games,” she said.
The need for new titles is underscored by industry commentary, such as Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen warning that Western mobile development is “coasting,” with only two of the 22 billion‑dollar games since 2020 originating from the West. Redin concedes that creating a hit game and scaling it is difficult, citing Plarium’s upcoming soft‑launch title slated for early next year. She argues that without investing in new IPs, studios risk losing the creative DNA that fuels innovation. In a maturing market with three billion gamers worldwide, she remains optimistic about growth, albeit at a slower pace than the hyper‑growth era.
“We see low‑single‑digit to mid‑single‑digit growth depending on the data source,” she said. “To exceed that, we must continue to nurture our strong evergreen IPs while also bringing fresh games to market.”