Still Wakes the Deep publisher, Secret Mode, goes indie

Still Wakes the Deep publisher Secret Mode has purchased itself out of Tencent’s grasp. It was previously a subsidiary of Sumo Group.

Reported by VGC, studio leadership James Schall and Ed Blincoe teamed up with Emona Capital to buy the studio from Sumo. The two continue to operate the company as it continues to team with Emona. The driving forces behind this seems to fall on wanting to focus on more “indie gems.”

“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.”

This also feels like a way out for Secret Mode as Sumo has decided to no longer make original IPs. Among the studio’s bigger games, Still Wakes the Deep was award-winning, even nabbing Best Horror Game at The Smash Jump Awards.

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger Editor-in-Chief

Gabe has been a gamer since he was young, playing games like Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish, Guitar Hero, and whatever looked cool on GameFly. Ever since 2018, he's been infatuated with the inner workings of the gaming and entertainment industries, covering a wide range of topics from video games to TV and film. Starting as a contributor for PSX Extreme, he's worked his way up to its Managing Editor. Using what's he learned over the years, he founded Smash Jump to remind everyone to smash jump.