Secret Mode is currently riding a wave of optimism. After breaking away from Sumo Digital and its parent company Tencent last year, the newly independent UK publisher has been moving at full throttle. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz conducted at Gamescom, Chief Publishing Officer James Schall described the past 18 months as a period of "phenomenal growth." He explained that the company had originally drafted a strategic roadmap that stretched to 2030, only to crush those targets within roughly four months of implementation.

Schall emphasized that the separation from Sumo was smoother than many expected, thanks in large part to financial backing from Emona Capital and a cooperative attitude from Tencent. "I was stunned by how quickly the deal was finalized and how positive the entire experience turned out to be for everyone involved," he remarked. From Tencent's perspective, the split made strategic sense.

After the Chinese conglomerate acquired Sumo in early 2022, it began a portfolio rationalisation process, questioning the need for a long list of disparate publishing houses. As Schall noted, "Tencent didn't need 18 different publishers," a sentiment echoed by Tencent executive Yong‑yi Zhu, who recently told GamesIndustry.biz that the firm is pruning its holdings to focus on companies that align with its long‑term vision.

So what is Secret Mode's new direction? According to Schall and CEO Ed Blincoe, the publisher is building around two distinct pillars. The first pillar consists of "pure indie" titles—small, often experimental games that rely on creativity rather than big budgets. The second pillar targets higher‑budget, IP‑driven projects such as the upcoming Star Wars: Galactic Racer.

The belief is that by allocating resources to both ends of the spectrum, the company can hedge its bets and increase its chances of hitting breakout successes. Schall underscored the difficulty of standing out in today's saturated market. Discoverability is getting harder every day, and even a "very, very good" game 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," he said, highlighting the need for both strategic insight and a dash of fortune.

One of those strategic bets is Star Wars: Galactic Racer, slated for release on October 6. Schall described the game's pre‑order and wishlist numbers as "phenomenal," while Blincoe recalled playing the early build more than a year ago and being impressed by its quality, noting that the title 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 2023 after convincing 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 find out how to fund it," Schall explained. The publisher's high‑budget portfolio also includes titles that are less about blockbuster franchises and more about leveraging emerging trends. Secret Mode has taken on publishing duties for Fancy Games' "Escape the Backrooms," originally released in Early Access in 2022, and for Anegar Games' 2024 release "Chained Together." Both games are cooperative, online‑focused experiences that appeal to the generation that grew up during the COVID‑19 pandemic and now spends much of its leisure time on platforms like Twitch.

"They grew up during COVID, they're used to interacting on Twitch, and that's where they're hanging out with their mates," Schall observed. He added that the publisher can either hope for a brief viral spike or invest in ongoing content updates to keep players engaged over the long term. Beyond publishing, Secret Mode is increasingly acting as a caretaker for existing titles.

Blincoe explained that the company partners with external studios—such as Blackbird Interactive, which has been working on "Escape the Backrooms"—and has also launched its own internal development studio in Sheffield to produce additional content for these games. Both titles are reportedly selling a respectable number of units each month, generating enough revenue to fund their own continued development. "New players are coming in and wanting more, and the existing community wants fresh content as well. That's why we're trying to deliver that for them," Blincoe said.

This caretaker model mirrors a broader industry trend where third‑party studios step in to sustain and expand games whose original developers have moved on. French studio Evil Empire, for example, recently assumed content development responsibilities for the popular indie hit "Brotato," and is actively scouting other titles that could benefit from similar support. Schall believes there are numerous opportunities with developers who have achieved modest success but feel constrained by limited resources, demanding communities, or a desire to explore new creative directions.

Secret Mode positions itself as a partner that can "reset" these developers, allowing them to rediscover their passion while handling the publishing logistics. He cited the case of "Wobbledogs," created by Tom Astle, which was stuck in Early Access with only a handful of team members.

Secret Mode stepped in, released the game, and gave Astle the freedom to pursue entirely new projects. The emphasis is shifting from a launch‑or‑die mentality to a focus on the "long tail"—the idea that games can continue to grow and become profitable months or even years after release. Schall, who spent 13 years at Sega, observed that many titles never peak on day one but instead build an audience over time through word‑of‑mouth, community engagement, and algorithmic discovery. "Sometimes a game hasn't found the right audience because the algorithm hasn't pointed people to it, or the audience is elsewhere," he explained.

Secret Mode has several case studies where a game started with modest sales but became highly profitable after six months of steady growth. Nevertheless, discoverability remains a major headache. Schall admitted that luck—such as an influencer highlighting a game—can play a huge role.

"I think discoverability is one of the biggest challenges this industry faces," he said. "Because everything is based on an algorithm, and the algorithm will tell you you want the same thing as everybody else, ultimately. How do we break that? I would say that's one of the things that keeps me up at night." The old playbook—preview to press, massive launch marketing, then move on—no longer holds sway.

Today, a teenager can upload a game to Roblox or itch.io and amass millions of players without any publisher involvement. "They don't know what a publisher is, and they're sitting down being a massively successful developer," Schall noted, pointing out that many of these creators lack even basic business infrastructure.

Secret Mode therefore aims to keep an eye on these disruptive, low‑cost projects, especially as visual fidelity becomes less of a differentiator. After years of chasing photorealism, the industry is now valuing fun, distinctive style, and memorable experiences. "I think as an industry we can learn a lot about that by finding our way to the fun first," Schall said.

While high‑budget, visually spectacular titles like Star Wars: Galactic Racer will remain part of the mix, he added, "there are going to be other experiences that we look at which could be, who knows, a vector‑graphics, 2D, mad game, but it's fun." In summary, Secret Mode is building its future on two very different pillars: big‑budget, IP‑driven games produced by sizable teams, and tiny indie experiments such as "Everything is Crab." The balance between these pillars will shape the company's trajectory in the coming years. Schall affirmed that the publisher remains open to larger opportunities, promising to run the numbers and assess feasibility rather than dismissing projects outright due to size. Blincoe, however, cautioned that the company must first ensure it remains a "stable ship" before over‑extending itself. "The reality now is, let's see how the games that we've signed go," he said.

"We've got some more announcements coming up over the next few months to next year. And then let's see where we get to.

Let's see how Star Wars goes. Let's not run before we can walk.

Let's get to the other side of Star Wars, and then we'll make a call on how we move everything forward for the company from there."