The Chinese Room, developer of Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, has been acquired by Sumo Group, the parents company of Sumo Digital. As part of the acquisition, The Chinese Room Co-Founder Dan Pinchbeck will now act as Creative Director. Jessica Curry, who helped form the studio, left in 2015 and works independently as a composer.
The Chinese Room, who worked on the Sony-published Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, laid off its staff back in 2017, after it released the VR title So Let Us Melt. At the time, Pinchbeck said it was “the end of a chapter,” and now this looks like the beginning of a new one. Sumo Group has already affirmed its commitment to The Chinese Room and plans to expand the studio.
As for The Chinese Room, Pinchbeck is excited about the possibilities of this new partnership. “Sumo will provide the support and experience I’m looking for to take the Chinese Room to the next level,” he said in a statement. Pinchbeck also confirmed that there are already numerous projects in development.
“The Chinese Room has an outstanding reputation and its acquisition will enhance and extend Sumo Digital’s capabilities,” Sumo Group CEO Carl Cavers also said in a statement. This isn’t the company’s only acquisition this year, either. It recently purchased CCP Games’ Newcastle Studio. The Chinese Room is Sumo Group’s fifth acquisition overall.
Sumo Digital is behind this year’s Team Sonic Racing. The studio is also working on two long-dormant titles, Dead Island 2 and the Xbox One-exclusive Crackdown 3.
[Source: Sumo Group via GamesIndustry.biz]
