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Investment firm Emona Capital has partnered with Secret Mode co-founder James Schall and VP of publishing Ed Blincoe to complete a buyout of the publisher from parent company Sumo Digital.
Secret Mode will now operate as an independent publisher for PC and console titles, with current leadership said to remain at the helm. We’ve reached out to comment on its mobile plans – the company previously published A Little to the Left on the App Store and Google Play.
The move comes after Tencent-owned Sumo announced it was refocusing its business on development services for partners.
The deal sees Emona Capital increase its games portfolio, which also includes Amber Studio and Relic Entertainment. The investor helped the Company of Heroes developer private last year, having previously been owned by Sega.
Indie gems
“Secret Mode is deeply passionate about the creativity and innovation within the indie space, and so we are thrilled to be partnering with Emona Capital and to fully focus on the independent publishing scene,” said Blincoe.
“I also want to express our gratitude to Sumo not only for believing in Secret Mode’s original vision and overseeing our startup years, but for granting us this opportunity to become a fully independent entity.”
Schall added: “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.”
Sumo, also recognised for the work of Secret Mode, ranked 19th in PocketGamer.biz’s Top 50 UK Game Makers 2025 list.
