Secret Mode builds a second life for games their creators leave behind

The independent UK publisher is pairing new projects with “caretaker development” for Escape the Backrooms, Chained Together and other games with durable audiences.

1 Source, 4h ago, first seen 4h ago

An Escape the Backrooms character in a Santa suit waves as a creature approaches through a yellow corridor.

TLDR

Secret Mode is expanding a “caretaker development” model that keeps successful games active when their original creators want to move on. GamesIndustry.biz reports that the publisher has taken over publishing and arranged continued development for Escape the Backrooms and Chained Together through external partners and a new Sheffield studio. Chief publishing officer James Schall sees room to grow games with established communities, while CEO Ed Blincoe says the two titles currently sell enough units each month to fund their ongoing work. Management is still wary of overcommitting.

Featured Source

Secret Mode is building part of its independent publishing business around games that still have active audiences after their original creators want to move on. GamesIndustry.biz describes the approach as “caretaker development”: another company takes responsibility for publishing and ongoing content while the original developer steps back or pursues something new.

The UK publisher is applying that model to Escape the Backrooms and Chained Together. Both cooperative games found sizable audiences before Secret Mode took on a larger role in their future.

Chief publishing officer James Schall told GamesIndustry.biz that successful developers can become “a little bit trapped in their work.” A demanding community may want years of updates while the creator wants to make something different. In other cases, a project supplies comfortable income but its developer no longer wants to run the publishing and production operation around it.

The publisher supplies a development bench

Secret Mode is not only handling store pages and promotion. CEO Ed Blincoe says the company is arranging continued development through trusted partners. External developer Blackbird Interactive has worked on Escape the Backrooms, while Secret Mode has opened its own Sheffield studio to make additional content for both Escape the Backrooms and Chained Together.

Blincoe says each game continues to sell a solid number of units every month and pays for its own ongoing development. He also sees demand from two directions: new players are still arriving, and existing communities want more material. The caretaker model tries to preserve that long tail without forcing a small original team to remain tied to one project indefinitely.

Schall points to Wobbledogs as an earlier version of the idea. Creator Tom Astle had a distinctive game in Early Access but a very small team. Secret Mode helped take it through release, which Schall says gave Astle room to pursue a different creative project.

One half of a broader publishing strategy

Caretaker work sits within a two-pillar plan. Secret Mode is still signing small independent games, but it is also investing in larger projects such as Star Wars: Galactic Racer and in existing titles that have already demonstrated demand.

Schall argues that discoverability has made launch-day performance a poor measure of every game’s potential. Some titles find the right audience months later and become profitable over time. Continued development can give that audience a reason to stay, but it does not remove the central problem of helping players find the game in the first place.

Secret Mode is expanding after separating from Sumo Digital and Tencent with backing from Emona Capital. Even so, Blincoe says the company needs to remain a “stable ship” and see how its current slate performs before committing to too many more projects. Caretaker development gives proven games another route forward, but the publisher is treating it as a selective business model rather than an unlimited rescue program.

Secret Mode builds a second life for games their creators leave behind

The independent UK publisher is pairing new projects with “caretaker development” for Escape the Backrooms, Chained Together and other games with durable audiences.

1 Source, 4h ago, first seen 4h ago

TLDR

Featured Source

The UK publisher is applying that model to Escape the Backrooms and Chained Together. Both cooperative games found sizable audiences before Secret Mode took on a larger role in their future.

Secret Mode builds a second life for games their creators leave behind

TLDR

The publisher supplies a development bench

One half of a broader publishing strategy

Secret Mode builds a second life for games their creators leave behind

TLDR

The publisher supplies a development bench

One half of a broader publishing strategy

1 Source

Combined views

The publisher supplies a development bench

One half of a broader publishing strategy

The publisher supplies a development bench

One half of a broader publishing strategy

Combined views

Sentiment

Summary

Sentiment

Summary

Sentiment

Summary

1 Source

1 Source

1 Source

Sentiment

Summary