Secret Mode is currently riding a wave of optimism. After parting ways with Sumo Digital—and its ultimate owner Tencent—last year, the newly autonomous UK publisher has been moving at a rapid pace.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz conducted at Gamescom, Chief Publishing Officer James Schall highlighted the "phenomenal growth" the company has experienced over the past eighteen months. He explained that the team initially 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 swiftly the deal was finalized, and how positive the entire process felt for everyone involved," he said. From Tencent's perspective, the separation made sense as well. After Tencent acquired Sumo in early 2022, the conglomerate began assessing its sprawling portfolio of subsidiaries.
As Schall put it, "Tencent didn't need eighteen separate publishers." This aligns with comments from Tencent executive Yong‑yi Zhu, who told GamesIndustry.biz that the group 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 is building around two distinct pillars: pure indie titles on one side, and higher‑budget, IP‑driven projects on the other. The belief is that by backing quality, the company can carve out a stronger market presence. Schall emphasized the difficulty of discoverability in today's crowded marketplace.
"It's almost impossible to sell a mediocre game," he warned, adding that even an excellent title faces an uphill battle. "There is no easy answer anymore, no playbook to follow.
You have to make the right decisions and hope luck is on your side." One of those decisions has been to place a sizable wager on Star Wars: Galactic Racer, slated for release on 6 October. Schall described the game's wish‑list numbers as "phenomenal," while Blincoe recalled playing the early build more than a year ago and being impressed by its potential.
The title is being developed by Fuse Games, a fresh UK studio, and Secret Mode secured the publishing rights at the end of September last year after convincing Emona Capital that the investment was justified. Beyond Galactic Racer, Secret Mode's high‑budget bets also include publishing duties for Fancy Games' Escape the Backrooms and Anegar Games' Chained Together, both of which arrived in 2022 and 2024 respectively.
Schall argues that co‑op experiences like these appeal to a generation that grew up during the pandemic, spending hours on Twitch and other social platforms. "You can either hope a game goes viral for a few weeks, or you can iterate, add content, and keep the community engaged long‑term," he explained. Blincoe added that Secret Mode is not merely a publisher for these titles; it is also taking on development responsibilities 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 studio in Sheffield to generate fresh content for its portfolio games. Both Escape the Backrooms and Chained Together are reportedly selling a respectable number of units each month, generating enough revenue to fund their own ongoing development.
"New players keep joining, existing fans want more updates, so we are committed to delivering that," Blincoe said. This approach reflects a broader industry trend sometimes called "caretaker development," where a third party assumes stewardship of an existing title when its original creators move on. French studio Evil Empire, for example, now handles post‑launch content for Blobfish's popular game Brotato and is actively scouting additional titles to support.
Schall sees many opportunities among developers who have achieved modest success but feel constrained—whether by creative fatigue, demanding communities, or financial comfort—to pursue new projects. Secret Mode aims to step in, help these creators reset, and handle the publishing side of things.
"It's not easy, but we have the experience and the network to make it work," he affirmed. The publisher's track record includes rescuing early‑access projects like Wobbledogs, originally built by Tom Astle with a small team. When the game stalled, Secret Mode stepped in, released it, and gave Astle the freedom to explore new ideas. In today's market, the focus is shifting from a single, explosive launch to a "long‑tail" strategy where games can grow organically over months or years.
Schall, a former Sega veteran of thirteen years, observed that many titles never peak on day one but gradually build an audience. He cited several cases where a game launched with modest sales, only to become highly profitable six months later.
Discoverability remains a major challenge, often hinging on luck or influencer exposure. "Algorithms tend to push the same kind of content to everyone," Schall lamented. "Breaking that cycle keeps me up at night." The old publishing playbook—preview to press, massive launch marketing, then move on—no longer holds sway.
Young creators can now upload a game to platforms like Roblox or itch.io and amass millions of players without any publisher involvement. "They don't even know what a publisher is, yet they're achieving massive success," Schall observed, noting that many lack basic business infrastructure.
Secret Mode is therefore keeping an eye on these disruptive, low‑budget successes, especially as visual fidelity reaches a plateau. While photorealistic graphics have been the holy grail for years, Schall believes players are now prioritizing fun and distinctive style over sheer realism. He envisions supporting everything from cutting‑edge 3D spectacles like Galactic Racer to quirky 2D vector‑graphics experiences that simply deliver enjoyment. In summary, Secret Mode is building around two very different pillars: big‑budget, IP‑heavy titles produced by sizable teams, and modest indie experiments such as Everything is Crab.
The balance between these pillars will shape the company's future. Schall remains open to larger projects if the numbers make sense, while Blincoe cautions that the firm must first prove its own stability before over‑extending. "We'll evaluate each opportunity on its merits, run the numbers, and decide," Schall said. "We have more announcements coming in the next months and into next year.
We'll see how Star Wars performs, make sure we can walk before we run, and then decide the next steps for the company."