Secret Mode is currently riding a wave of optimism. After parting ways with Sumo Digital and its parent company Tencent last year, the newly autonomous UK publisher has been accelerating its growth at a rapid 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 18 months. He explained that the team originally drafted a strategic roadmap extending to 2030, yet they "crushed" that target in roughly four months.
Schall emphasized that the split from Sumo was straightforward, largely thanks to fresh capital from Emona Capital, and he praised Tencent for being "very helpful" throughout the transition. "I was stunned by how quickly the deal was sealed and how positive the whole process felt for everyone involved," he remarked.
From Tencent's perspective, the divestiture also made sense. After Tencent acquired Sumo in early 2022, the Chinese conglomerate began evaluating its sprawling portfolio of studios and publishers. As Schall put it, "they didn't need 18 different publishing arms." This aligns with recent comments from Tencent executive Yong‑yi Zhu, who told GamesIndustry.biz that the firm is streamlining its holdings to match its long‑term strategic goals. So what is Secret Mode’s new direction?
Schall and CEO Ed Blincoe say the publisher is building around two distinct pillars: a stream of "pure indie" titles and a handful of higher‑budget, IP‑driven games such as Star Wars: Galactic Racer. The belief is that investing in quality across both ends of the spectrum will give the company a competitive edge. Schall notes that discoverability is becoming increasingly difficult. "In today’s market, selling a mediocre game is almost impossible, and even getting a very good game into players’ hands is a challenge.
There is no longer a simple playbook; you have to make the right choices and hope luck is on your side," he explained. One of those choices is to back projects that have already demonstrated promise but still have room to grow. Secret Mode has placed a sizeable wager on 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 their first playthrough a year ago, saying the title has only improved since then and that the publisher is extremely confident in its success.
Developed by the newly formed UK studio Fuse Games, Galactic Racer was signed by Secret Mode at the end of September last year after convincing Emona Capital that the project warranted funding. "We walked in with an opportunity and worked with Emona to figure out the financing structure," Schall said. The publisher’s other big‑budget bets differ in nature. Secret Mode has 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." According to Schall, co‑op experiences like these cater to a demographic that grew up during the COVID‑19 pandemic and is accustomed to social platforms such as Twitch.
"These players are used to hanging out online with friends; you can either hope a title goes viral for a few weeks or you can iterate, add content, and keep them engaged over the long term," he said. Blincoe added that Secret Mode is not only publishing these games but also overseeing their ongoing development through trusted partners. External studio Blackbird Interactive has been extending "Escape the Backrooms," while Secret Mode has launched its own internal development studio in Sheffield to produce additional content for these titles. Both games are reportedly selling a solid number of copies each month, generating enough revenue to fund their own updates.
"New players keep joining, and the existing community wants more content, so we’re focused on delivering that," Blincoe explained. This approach reflects a growing "caretaker development" model in the industry, where a publisher steps in to sustain and expand an existing title after the original developers move on. French studio Evil Empire recently assumed content duties for Blobfish’s hit "Brotato" and is actively scouting similar opportunities. Schall sees many developers trapped in a dilemma: they have a successful game but feel creatively stifled, face demanding communities, or simply want to pursue new projects after achieving financial comfort.
"We help them reset, rediscover their passion for the game, and handle the publishing side, which isn’t easy but we have the expertise and network to make it work," he said. Secret Mode has done this before. Schall cited the case of "Wobbledogs," created by Tom Astle, which was stuck in Early Access with only a small team. Secret Mode stepped in, released the game, and gave Astle the freedom to explore new ideas.
The focus now is on the long tail rather than a single launch spike. Schall, a former Sega veteran of 13 years, observed that many games don’t peak on day one but grow steadily over months or years. "There’s a real opportunity with titles that are in Early Access or have launched without hitting their full potential," he said. Sometimes a game simply hasn’t found the right audience because algorithms haven’t surfaced it, or because its ideal players are elsewhere.
Schall noted that Secret Mode has several examples of games that started with modest sales but became highly profitable after six months. However, uncovering that audience can still feel like a roll of the dice.
Influencer exposure or a viral moment can change everything. "Discoverability is one of the biggest challenges in our industry.
Algorithms tend to push the same content to everyone, and breaking out of that loop keeps me up at night," Schall admitted. The old publishing playbook—preview to press, massive launch marketing, then move on—no longer works.
A teenager can now publish a game on Roblox or itch.io and amass millions of players without any publisher involvement. "These creators often don’t even know what a publisher is, yet they’re already hugely successful and disrupting the industry," Schall observed. Secret Mode therefore aims to keep an eye on these emerging, disruptive creators, especially as visual fidelity becomes less of a differentiator.
After years of chasing photorealism, the market is shifting toward fun and distinctive artistic identities. "We need to prioritize fun first," Schall concluded.
While blockbuster‑style titles like Star Wars: Galactic Racer will remain part of the portfolio, Schall believes there will also be space for unconventional experiences—perhaps a vector‑graphics, 2D “mad game” that simply entertains. In summary, Secret Mode is betting on two very different pillars: big‑budget, IP‑rich games built by sizable teams, and tiny indie experiments such as "Everything is Crab." Which pillar will dominate the company’s future remains to be seen.
Schall assures that the publisher will still consider larger projects if they make sense financially. "We’ll run the numbers and decide; size isn’t a disqualifier," he said.
Blincoe, however, cautions that the company must first prove it can sail steadily before taking on too many commitments. "We’ll watch how the games we’ve signed perform, announce a few more titles over the coming months, see how Star Wars does, and then decide the next steps. We can’t run before we can walk," he warned.