Sumo Group

History[edit]

Carl Cavers, Paul Porter, Darren Mills and James North-Hearn, four former members of the defunct Infogrames Studios, established the developer Sumo Digital in 2003.^[2] It was bought by Foundation 9 Entertainment in March 2008 before Cavers, Porter, Mills and Chris Stockwell completed a management buyout of the studio in November 2014.^[3][4] Ian Livingstone served as chairman from 2015 to 2022.^[5] In December 2017, Sumo Group was formed in December 2017 as the parent company for Sumo Digital and its Atomhawk subsidiary. Sumo Group had its initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange's (LSE) AIM market later that month.^[6][7]


In November 2019, the Chinese conglomerate Tencent acquired 15 million shares of Sumo Group, representing a 10% stake.^[8] Sumo Group acquired Pipeworks Studios in October 2020 and opened a publishing label, Secret Mode, in March 2021.^[9][10] In July that year, Tencent and Sumo Group agreed that Tencent would, through its subsidiary Sixjoy Hong Kong Limited, wholly acquire the company for £5.13 per share (143.3% of the shares' previous closing price of £3.58), totalling £919 million. At the time, Tencent was Sumo Group's second-largest shareholder at 8.75%.^[11][12]


In September 2021, Sumo Group acquired Auroch Digital, a Bristol-based developer, £6 million.^[13] Tencent's acquisition was approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States in December 2021, followed by the High Court of Justice on 13 January 2022. Sumo Group was consequently delisted from the LSE on 17 January and became a subsidiary of Tencent through the latter's Sixjoy Hong Kong Limited holding subsidiary.^[14] On July 21, 2022, Sumo Group sold Pipeworks Studios to RuneScape developer Jagex for an undisclosed sum.^[15] In September 2023, it was announced Sumo Group had acquired the Leamington Spa-based game development studio, Midoki.^[16]