Sumo Group Sells Secret Mode to Emona Capital

Tencent-owned Sumo Group has sold its Secret Mode publishing division to financial investor Emona Capital. This is the company's first investment in game publishing and underlines its commitment to the broader gaming ecosystem.

Secret Mode was founded in 2020 as part of Sumo to publish PC and console games. Its portfolio includes Still Wakes the Deep, A Little to the Left, Wobbledogs and Eternal Threads. Now, financial investor Emona Capital has completed the acquisition of Secret Mode. It will operate as an independent publisher focused on supporting indie PC and console games. The current management, Ed Blincoe and James Schall, have the full backing of the investor and will remain at the helm. The purchase price has not been disclosed.

Emona Capital already owns Amber Studio, a full-service game development company, as well as two development studios, Relic Entertainment (following its separation from Sega) and Blackbird Interactive.

Dominik Dolenec, Managing Partner at Emona Capital said: "Secret Mode has made great waves in its formative years as a publisher of independent games. We look forward to supporting Secret Mode's mission within the independent games sector across PC and consoles."

Ed Blincoe at Secret Mode said: "Secret Mode is deeply passionate about the creativity and innovation within the indie space, and so we are thrilled to be partnering with Emona Capital and to fully focus on the independent publishing scene. I also want to express our gratitude to Sumo not only for believing in Secret Mode's original vision and overseeing our startup years, but for granting us this opportunity to become a fully independent entity."

James Schall at Secret Mode said: "By becoming independent, we can now put all our efforts into uncovering the indie gems that gamers never knew they needed in their lives. We are committed to bringing our players the very best indie titles; not just of the future, but also by helping them discover existing indie masterpieces that have undeservedly flown under the radar in years gone by. We are working hard to empower independent developers across the globe, and hope to make some exciting announcements on this front in the coming months."

Michael Moriarty, Partner at Emona Capital said: "We are excited to build upon our commitment in the gaming ecosystem by investing in Secret Mode. This partnership strengthens our portfolio and adds skills and experience that complement our existing studios."