The Chinese Room Has Separated From Sumo Digital After Management Buyout

The Chinese Room, a UK-based studio behind the award-winning Still Wakes the Deep, has announced a split from Sumo Digital. This news comes amidst ‘concerns’ that the studio would be bought out by an undisclosed firm or agency. Those worries have been placated as The Chinese Room reveals a management buyout deal that makes the studio independent.

Ed Daly, studio director at The Chinese Room, will run the studio going forward after securing ownership of the company in a deal overseen by Hiro Capital.

‘The Creative Itch’

In a statement to IGN, Ed Daly spoke positively about the independence deal that has split The Chinese Room from Sumo Digital:

This management buyout allows us to scratch the creative itch of continuing to work on new, original intellectual property, but also to partner with other studios on other projects when they fit in with our vision.

This is what we are doing and we want to carry on doing it, so we’re happy to carry on in this vein.

The Chinese Room’s last major game was Still Wakes the Deep, a unique horror game set on a Scottish oil rig. Last month, the team released a sizeable expansion for the game, which came mere months after the game and its cast won big at the BAFTA Games Awards.

Next up for The Chinese Room is Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, which is coming later this year. The game has been in the works for quite some time, and it’s the hurdle to overcome before further IPs can be produced at the studio.

Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 is an ARPG based on a TTRPG of the same name. It’s a follow-up to a game released by Troika and Activision way back in 2004, and the development was picked up by The Chinese Room in 2021 after the game was passed from pillar to post.

Are you happy to see The Chinese Room gain independence?