UK games firm Sumo Group has sold off its publishing label Secret Mode to Emona Capital. 

No figure has been put on the deal, which will see Secret Mode continue to operate as an independent publisher. Label heads Ed Blincoe and James Schall will continue to lead the venture. 

“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," Blincoe said. 

"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.”

Meanwhile, Emona Capital managing partner Dominik Dolenec said: “Secret Mode has made great waves in its formative years as a publisher of independent games. We look forward to supporting Secret Mode’s mission within the independent games sector across PC and consoles.”

Sumo founded Secret Mode in 2020. Its acquisition follows Sumo Group announcing that it was refocusing on its work-for-hire business. 

Emona was also an investor in Relic Entertainment when that developer was spun out from Sega.