For Sumo Digital, it’s been a year of celebration and collaboration, so join us as we take a look back over 2023!
THE BIG 2-0
This year marked Sumo Digital’s 20th anniversary, and what better way to do so than to bring everyone together to celebrate in person. Over 1,400 of our people from studios in the UK, Europe, Canada, and India attended our second internal learning and development conference, Sumo Developer Conference (SDC), ending the week of collaboration with SumoFest, our big celebration event which featured live entertainment from Scouting For Girls, Reverend and the Makers, and Symphonic Ibiza.
As part of the celebrations, the co-founders joined us on the sofa to reflect on the last 20 years and the history of Sumo – discussing our expansion from the first studio in Sheffield back in 2003, the many incredible games we’ve developed over the years, and the importance of supporting our people.
GAMES GALORE
We’re proud to see Sumo Digital’s contribution to so many game announcements and releases in 2023, not only through co-development with fellow industry-leading studios but also through our own IP.
Sumo Nottingham released the asymmetrical horror game The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in partnership with publisher Gun Interactive, which has seen almost five million players experiencing the horrors of the Family House and over spine-chilling maps since launch. Over at Sumo Leamington, the team announced Stampede: Racing Royale, which will see 60 players go bumper-to-bumper on outrageous circuits filled with power-ups, with an Early Access launch planned for early next year.
Brighton-based The Chinese Room had a double-whammy of announcements this year with Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 – the sequel to the cult classic RPG – and Still Wakes the Deep, a brand-new narrative horror game set on an eerie 1970s oil rig.
Meanwhile, the Sumo Digital Academy’s 2022/2023 cohort released Zool: Redimensioned on PlayStation 4, which received great reviews from the likes of God is a Geek and Noisy Pixel.
A NEW FAMILY MEMBER
Sumo Digital has been fortunate to further expand its family of studios this year, welcoming Leamington-based developer Midoki. The studio – which has developed the likes of Knighthood and Plunder Pirates – was founded by a small team of veteran game developers in 2011, with a focus on creating ground-breaking, socially-connected games that deliver rich entertaining experiences to the mobile space.
We’re excited to work with the folks at Midoki in 2024 and beyond!
CELEBRATING OUR MANY ACHIEVEMENTS
Our efforts to not only inspire our own people but the industry as a whole have once again been recognised with some incredible accolades this year, with Sumo Digital awarded Best Creative/Co-Development Partner at the MCV/Develop Awards and Best Large Studio at the TIGA Awards.
Within Sumo Digital’s family of studios, Atomhawk won Best Creative Provider at the Develop:Star Awards and the Sumo Digital Academy received a ‘Highly Commended’ award at the National Apprenticeship Awards – with course leader (and Director of Education Partnerships) Dr Jacob Habgood also receiving a nomination for Inspiring Course Leader at the Game Republic Awards.
In addition, a number of our people were recognised for individual achievements, including their commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and belonging within the games industry – resulting in award wins at the likes of GI.Biz GameChangers, 30 Under 30, Game Dev Heroes, the Game Republic Awards. We were also proud to receive nominations at other popular awards including Develop:Star, MCV/Develop Women in Games, the TIGA Awards, Women in Tech Excellence, GI.Biz Best Places to Work and Midlands Women in Tech.
Sumo Digital Academy’s class of 2023 graduated this year, the first cohort in the country to do so on a programming apprenticeship recognised by the UK Government – and all nine have secured a full-time role in the games industry.
HERE’S TO 2024
The year is drawing to a close, and what a year it’s been… We’ve had big game announcements, award wins, and collaborative events, all of which have added to our milestone 20th year.
A big thank you to all of our people, industry partners and gamers for supporting us over the past 12 months, and we look forward to what lies ahead in what will be an exciting 2024 for Sumo.
Happy Holidays, everyone!
