Sumo Digital Ltd. is a British

video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...

based in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and the principal subsidiary of Sumo Group since 2017. The company was founded in 2003 by four former members of the management team of

Infogrames Studios Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited, was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in ...

History

Sumo Digital was founded in 2003 by Carl Cavers, Paul Porter, Darren Mills and James North-Hearn, four members of the former management team of

, after that company had been closed down. In 2007, Sumo Digital opened a subsidiary studio in India, called Sumo India. In August 2007,

Foundation 9 Entertainment Foundation 9 Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game company based in Irvine, California. The company was formed in March 2005 through the merger of video game developers Backbone Entertainment and The Collective (company), The Collectiv ...

announced that it was acquiring Sumo Digital, wherein North-Hearn became the manager of Foundation 9's European operations. North-Hearn subsequently became

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

for Foundation 9 in March 2008. In November 2014, Sumo Digital's officers completed a

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...

from Foundation 9; in this transaction, Sumo Digital's management was backed by NorthEdge Capital and Foundation 9 was advised by GP Bullhound. In January 2016, Sumo Digital opened a third development studio, Sumo Nottingham, in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, England.

Under Sumo Group

Parent company Sumo Group was formed in December 2017 and was floated. In January 2018, Sumo Digital acquired CPP Newcastle, the

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

-based studio of CCP Games. In August, the company acquired developer The Chinese Room. In February 2019, Sumo Digital acquired work-for-hire video game studio Red Kite Games. A few days later, the studio opened another new studio in

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

, England, to focus on

mobile game A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any Mobile device, portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet computer, table ...

development. In October 2019, Sumo North West was opened in

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

, England; led by Evolution Studios co-founder Scott Kirkland. Lab42 and its 29 employees based in Leamington Spa were added to Sumo Digital's studios when Sumo Group acquired it May 2020. Sumo Digital announced a partnership with the blockchain-company Dapper Labs in October 2020. In February 2021, Sumo Digital acquired Polish video game studio PixelAnt Games. In February 2025, Sumo Digital abandoned plans to developing their own

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

Games

Games developed

Games ported

Games co-developed

Cancelled

References

External links

* * {{authority control Companies based in Sheffield British companies established in 2003 Sumo Group Video game companies established in 2003 Video game companies of the United Kingdom Video game development companies 2003 establishments in England 2007 mergers and acquisitions