Secret Mode is currently riding a wave of optimism. After untangling itself from Sumo Digital and its parent company Tencent last year, the newly autonomous UK publisher has been accelerating its growth at a remarkable pace.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz at Gamescom, Chief Publishing Officer James Schall highlighted that the company has experienced "phenomenal growth" over the past eighteen months. He explained that the team originally drafted a strategic roadmap extending to 2030, only to smash those targets within roughly four months of implementation. Schall also noted that the split from Sumo was relatively straightforward, thanks in large part to fresh capital from Emona Capital and a cooperative attitude from Tencent. "I was stunned by how quickly the deal closed and how positive the whole process was for everyone involved," he said.
From Tencent's perspective, the divestiture made sense as well. After the Chinese conglomerate acquired Sumo in early 2022, it began reassessing its sprawling portfolio of development studios and publishers.
As Schall put it, "they didn’t need eighteen different publishing houses." This sentiment aligns with comments from Tencent executive Yong‑yi Zhu, who told GamesIndustry.biz that the firm is pruning its holdings to focus on companies that fit its long‑term vision. So, what is Secret Mode’s own game plan? According to Schall and CEO Ed Blincoe, the publisher has anchored its strategy around two distinct pillars. The first pillar targets "pure indie" projects—small, innovative titles that often emerge from modest teams.
The second pillar embraces larger, higher‑budget games anchored by well‑known intellectual property, such as the upcoming Star Wars: Galactic Racer. Schall believes that in today’s saturated market, discoverability is becoming increasingly elusive. "It’s almost impossible to sell a mediocre game," he warned, adding that even a "very, very good" title can struggle to find an audience. "There is no easy answer anymore, there’s no kind of playbook.
You just have to try and make yourself lucky by making the right decisions." One of those decisions involves backing games that have already shown promise but still possess untapped potential. Secret Mode has placed a sizable wager on Star Wars: Galactic Racer, slated for release on October 6. Schall described the pre‑order and wishlist numbers as "phenomenal," while Blincoe recalled the first play‑through a year ago as "exceptional" and said the game has only improved since then. Developed by the newly formed UK studio Fuse Games, Galactic Racer was signed by Secret Mode at the end of September last year after Schall convinced Emona Capital that the project warranted further investment.
"We walked through the door and said we have this opportunity, we need to figure out how we can possibly fund it; they helped us map out the financing," Schall explained. The publisher’s high‑budget bets are not limited to Star Wars. Secret Mode has also taken on publishing duties for Fancy Games’ Escape the Backrooms—originally launched in Early Access in 2022—and for Anegar Games’ 2024 release Chained Together.
Both titles lean heavily on cooperative multiplayer experiences, a genre that resonates with a generation that grew up during the COVID‑19 pandemic and now spends a great deal of time on platforms like Twitch. "These players are used to interacting online with friends," Schall said. "You can either hope a game goes viral for a few weeks, or you can iterate, add new content, and keep the community engaged over the long term." To support that long‑term engagement, Secret Mode is not only publishing but also co‑developing these games through trusted external partners.
Blackbird Interactive, for instance, has been working on Escape the Backrooms for some time. Additionally, Secret Mode has opened an internal development studio in Sheffield, which Blincoe says will "help continue to make content for those games." Both Escape the Backrooms and Chained Together are reportedly selling a healthy number of copies each month, generating enough revenue to fund their own ongoing development. "New players keep joining, and the existing community keeps asking for more content," Blincoe noted.
"That’s why we’re focused on delivering fresh updates and expansions." This approach reflects a broader industry trend often referred to as "caretaker development," where a publisher or third‑party studio assumes stewardship of an existing title when its original creators move on. French studio Evil Empire recently adopted a similar model for the popular indie hit Brotato, and it is actively scouting additional games that could benefit from its support.
Schall believes there are many developers who have achieved modest success but feel constrained—whether by creative fatigue, demanding communities, or financial comfort—to step away from their projects. Secret Mode aims to step in, help these creators rediscover their passion, and handle the publishing side of things.
"It’s not easy, but we have the experience and the right network of people to make it happen," he said. A concrete example is Wobbledogs, an early‑access title created by Tom Astle that had stalled. "It was just him and a couple of artists, and they didn’t know how to move forward. We came in, said ‘we’ll release it,’ and now he has the freedom to pursue something completely new," Schall recounted.
In the modern games landscape, the focus has shifted from a single, explosive launch to a prolonged "long tail" strategy. Schall, who spent thirteen years at Sega, has witnessed numerous titles that never peaked on day one but gradually built sizable audiences over months or even years. "There’s an opportunity with games that are still in Early Access or that launched without hitting their full potential," he explained. Sometimes a game simply needs the right algorithmic push or an influencer’s endorsement to find its audience.
Schall admits that luck can play a role: "Discoverability is one of the biggest challenges the industry faces. Everything is driven by algorithms that tend to show you what everyone else is seeing.
Breaking that cycle keeps me up at night." The old playbook—previewing a game to the press, launching a massive marketing blitz, and then moving on—no longer guarantees success. Today, a teenager can upload a game to Roblox or itch.io and attract millions of players without any publisher involvement. "They don’t even know what a publisher is, yet they become massively successful developers," Schall observed.
Because of this shift, Secret Mode is actively scouting disruptive, low‑cost projects that prioritize fun over photorealistic graphics. While the industry has spent years chasing visual fidelity, Schall argues that the market has reached a saturation point: "Players are now more interested in enjoyment and a distinct identity than in ultra‑realistic graphics." He envisions a future where the publisher backs a diverse mix of experiences—from high‑budget, cinematic titles like Star Wars: Galactic Racer to quirky, 2‑D vector‑graphics games that simply deliver joy. "We’ll keep an eye on those opportunities, especially from young, innovative creators," he said. In summary, Secret Mode is building its future on two very different pillars: big‑budget IP‑driven games created by sizable teams, and modest indie experiments that emphasize creativity and community.
The balance between these pillars will likely evolve as the company measures the performance of its current slate. Both Schall and Blincoe stress the importance of staying financially stable before over‑extending.
"We’ll run the numbers on any big title that comes our way, but we won’t commit unless the ship is stable," Blincoe warned. The team plans to roll out more announcements over the coming months and will closely monitor the performance of Star Wars: Galactic Racer before deciding on the next strategic moves. Ultimately, Secret Mode’s dual‑pillar approach reflects a pragmatic response to an industry where discoverability is hard, algorithms dominate, and the definition of a successful launch is constantly evolving. By supporting both blockbuster IPs and grassroots indie gems, the publisher hopes to hedge its bets and remain adaptable in a rapidly changing market.