British studioThe Chinese Room—known forStill Wakes the Deep,Dear Esther,Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and the upcomingVampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2—has broken away from Sumo Digital and is now independent once again.
Management Buyout Backed by Hiro Capital
A spokesperson confirmed to IGN that the studio’s leadership team completed a management buyout, supported by investment firm Hiro Capital. This move gives them independence from Sumo, which recently announced it would shift focus toward providing services to partners rather than creating its own games.
The announcement also comes with confirmation that, in addition toBloodlines 2, the studio hastwo new projectscurrently in development.
Open to New Collaborations
“This management buyout allows us to satisfy our creative drive to work on new and original IPs,” said Ed Daly, “but also to collaborate with other studios on projects that align with our vision. That’s what we’ve been doing and what we want to continue doing, so we’re very happy to move forward in this direction.”
Restructuring Followed by a New Chapter
The Chinese Room’sfuture had seemed uncertain after a wave of layoffs, as noted by former employees on LinkedIn. Daly confirmed that the team was downsized as part of the transition:
“The details are confidential, but the studio currently has 55 developers. It was definitely a difficult process, as we were trying to secure the studio’s future beyond Sumo.”
