Secret Mode, the publisher of Escape the Backrooms, Chained Together, and the upcoming Star Wars: Galactic Racer, is opening a development studio in Sheffield to support its portfolio.
Announced via a press release earlier today, the studio will support existing titles under the publisher banner with updates and DLC. It’s also set to manage porting to new platforms, maintain codebases, and, where needed, provide additional support to external developers as well.
The team will be led by Secret Mode VP of technology and operations Dan Secker, joined by Jacob Habgood as technical development director.
“We’ve worked closely with Dan and Jacob over the years at Sumo and Jake led the team developing our football management game NUTMEG!, so we’re certain they will be the perfect pair to lead this new initiative for us,” said Ed Blincoe, Secret Mode CEO and co-founder.
Blincoe is referring to Sumo Group, Secret Mode’s original parent company. The publishing division kicked off back in 2021, before splitting and becoming independent early last year. As a result of the move, Secret Mode made a “small number” of layoffs at the time, and didn’t provide an exact number.
Sumo Group, which is a Tencent subsidiary, laid off an unknown number of employees in February of this year after commencing a consultation process, saying that it must adapt to “ongoing instability.”
“Sheffield has been an important part of my own journey in games, and it continues to be a place where creativity and talent can flourish,” said Habgood. “There is a genuine community here, bringing together experienced developers, universities and the next generation entering the industry. I cannot think of a better place to build this team.”
“Coming from a development background, I wanted to build a team dedicated to keeping Secret Mode’s games thriving, bringing them to new platforms for a wider audience and keeping players engaged long after launch,” said Secker.