AAA co-development and art studio Secret 6 has been bought up by Catalis Group, a British company that counts indie publisher Curve Games among its subsidiaries. Secret 6 has worked on major games like The Last of Us Part II and Cyberpunk 2077, so even if you don't know its name, you're probably familiar with its work.
In an announcement on the official Secret 6 website, the company announces its acquisition and describes the purchase as an "exciting advancement to our company". Secret 6 is based in San Francisco, Manila, and Madrid, and this will represent Catalis' first ventures in the latter two locations.
Secret 6 founder and CEO Ron Schaffner, who also worked for Sony for almost 13 years, says the acquisition will provide his Manila and Madrid teams with "exciting new opportunities". He also says the relationship will be symbiotic, as his team and studio will "accelerate" Catalis' growth.
Secret 6 is one of those studios whose work you probably wouldn't be able to identify at a glance, but which are still invaluable to the development process. They're not dissimilar in that way to SkyBox Labs, which was recently acquired by Chinese gaming giant NetEase. Like SkyBox, Schaffner's studio is a co-development and art asset outfit, helping to keep major AAA development ticking along.
In terms of operation going forward, Secret 6 says that although the acquisition applies to all of its different companies and entities, the studio will "retain its company name, structure, and management team". That means we're not expecting any major changes to the way the studio operates, either. True to its name, expect to see lots of Schaffner and his team's hidden hand in future AAA and indie games as well.
You can learn more about Secret 6 right here via its official website if you like. There, you'll also find a pretty impressive portfolio of games the studio has worked on, including not only the aforementioned titles but also Diablo II: Resurrected, MediEvil, and more.
