Sumo Group acquires Dear Esther studio The Chinese Room

The U.K.-based Sumo Group announced today that it has acquired independent studio The Chinese Room from its founders, Dan Pinchbeck and Jessica Curry. The Chinese Room made made its reputation on narrative focused games like Dear Esther, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and So Let Us Melt.
Pinchbeck will become The Chinese Room’s creative director. Curry is remaining an independent composer.
Sumo Group owns Sumo Digital, the developer that is working on Crackdown 3 for Microsoft. It is also developing Sonic Team Racing for Sega. Its releases include LittleBigPlanet 3, and it also helped develop Disney Infinity and Forza Horizon 3.
“I’m thrilled to be joining Sumo Digital, a network of studios I’ve a huge amount of respect for,” Pinchbeck noted in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “Sumo will provide the support and experience I’m looking for to take The Chinese Room to the next level. Our aim is to build on the reputation I’m proud to have earned, to create a truly world-class studio delivering bold, imaginative new games. We’re already working on some really fantastic new concepts, alongside discussions with partners about some of the games we already have in the pipeline. The future for the studio is incredibly exciting and being part of the Sumo family is absolutely central to that.”