Secret Mode opens new Sheffield studio to support internal titles

Secret Mode has launched an internal development studio in Sheffield to work directly on its existing portfolio, starting with Escape the Backrooms and Chained Together. The new team is tiny for now, but the plan is to scale it to roughly 20 people over the next 12 months, giving the publisher its own in-house production capacity for ongoing content and platform expansion.

The immediate focus is practical: more levels, cosmetic systems, and ports to additional platforms. Chained Together is currently Steam-only, and Secret Mode is already looking at Xbox, PS5, and possibly Switch 2. For developers, the interesting part is the shift from outsourcing support work to building a dedicated internal pipeline for live content, retention, and multi-platform rollout.

Dan Secker, Secret Mode’s VP of technology and operations, says the move is about long-term efficiency and speed. The studio is being positioned as a place where work can reach players quickly, which should appeal to devs who want to see their output land in front of a real audience instead of disappearing into a multi-year project cycle.

Sheffield also makes strategic sense: Secret Mode’s parent Sumo Digital is based there, and technical development director Jake Habgood has deep ties to local universities. The studio wants to keep those education links alive, maintain an in-person four-day office week, and eventually become a technical centre of excellence that can support more titles, external teams, and possibly original IP later on.