Lyrical Games announces full-financing publishing deal with The Chinese Room

Logos via Lyrical Games and The Chinese Room

Independent games publisher Lyrical Games has announced a new major deal with Still Wakes The Deep and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 developer The Chinese Room. The deal paints a picture of both company’s immediate plans as they (like many developers) navigate the turbulent waters of the current industry.

According to an announcement shared with Game Developer, Lyrical Games will provide “full financing, strategic production support, and collaborative go-to-market planning while preserving the studio’s creative autonomy and IP ownership.” This type of publishing deal is rather uncommon in the game industry as of late, with some publishers taking ownership of intellectual property or only providing partial funding of the games they sign.

The news is no doubt welcome for the recently-independent game studio, which laid off an unknown number of employees in 2025 after splitting from Sumo Digital. CEO Ed Daly later explained to Game Developer that some of those laid off secured positions at Sumo Digital before the two companies officially parted ways. 

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Daly stated in the announcement that the deal allows The Chinese Room to “focus on elevating the player experience” while Lyrical Games “ensures that the game reaches those players.”

Lyrical Games is looking to fill “the lost middle” in video game financing and publishing

During DICE 2026, we heard one developer refer to Lyrical Games as “the belle of the ball” during the event, alluding to the fact that so many developers were pitching them at the show, as they were only one of the few companies present looking to fund double-A games.

“It’s interesting to hear you say that,” said Lyrical Games CEO Blake Rochkind in an interview with Game Developer when asked about that description. “On the one hand that’s flattering, on the other hand it’s not totally surprising.” He said that Lyrical is looking to fill what many in the industry refer to as a “lost middle,” generally describing a type of game that players crave between major releases and small indies. 

In his view, it’s more of a lost middle in terms of what’s available in financing. “Financing is a differentiator for us,” he said, noting that the widely-praised Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was produced for less than $10 million, and alluded to that game as both a budget tier and quality scale Lyrical hopes to pursue. Just like Expedition 33, Rochkind said he expects these games to go on sale between $40 and $50—a pricing trend that others around DICE also observed.

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Lastly, Rochkind said what he hopes to offer developers is—well, himself and the rest of the Lyrical Games team. When developers sign deals with publishers, even the strongest contract can be made worthless by an untrustworthy partner, because of the time developers need to spend litigating in court. Rochkind wants Lyrical to be the opposite of that experience, and for developers to want to sign with the company because of their reputation.

“I think we have a well-earned reputation for treating developers with respect and kindness,” he said. “It’s still a business but not only is it my natural inclination to be good to developers, I think it’s good business to be good to developers.”

“At the end of the day there are publishers out there who don’t have good reputations, and I think by virtue of having poor reputations they get the least exciting stuff. The best developers and the best games will naturally pick the people who don’t treat developers as their last choice.”

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