Sherlock Holmes Developer Dropped Publisher For The Sinking City

The Sinking City developer is now the publisher of the game, and we've got the details here!
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The Sunken City Frogwares Man Looking At Fish
Image: Frogwares

Ukrainian video game developer Frogwares, known for their Sherlock Holmes series, has regained sole publishing rights for its 2019 Lovecraftian horror title, The Sinking City. This has caused a lot of changes and things that fans need to keep in mind.

In a statement released through a tweet, Frogwares announced it had finalized an agreement with its former publishing partner, NACON, ending a legal dispute that saw The Sinking City pulled from digital storefronts in 2020. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but it was big enough to cause the removal to begin with.

Frogwares expressed relief at the resolution, stating they look forward to “putting this whole thing behind us.” The developer also teased “more news about the future of the franchise very soon,” potentially hinting at future DLC or expansions for The Sinking City.

The dispute originated from Frogwares’ accusations that NACON breached its contract by withholding royalties, delaying payments, and attempting to claim ownership of the game’s intellectual property. These are huge accusations, enough to end a business relationship. NACON vehemently denied these claims, and the two companies engaged in a protracted legal battle.

While the specifics remain confidential, the agreement allows Frogwares to resume publishing The Sinking City on all platforms. Players can expect the latest game version, including bug fixes, optimizations, and new content, to roll out on Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and Gamesplanet within the next few weeks.

However, existing owners should note that save files will not be compatible with the new version. Steam users can temporarily keep playing the old version until February 28, 2024, or download new save files provided by Frogwares. Epic Games users will also have access to new save files for download.

Regaining publishing rights for The Sinking City marks a significant victory for Frogwares, allowing them greater control over the game’s future direction. However, the way that their relationship with NACON ended is a big deal and likely signals the end of any future partnerships or agreements between the two companies.

The role taken by the publisher requires a lot of capital and contacts. Frogwares taking on this role by themselves is a big task, but we’ll see how they do.

Jorge A. Aguilar

Jorge A. Aguilar

Jorge A. Aguilar, also known as Aggy, is the current Assigning Editor.

He started his career as an esports, influencer, and streaming writer for Sportskeeda. He then moved to GFinity Esports to cover streaming, games, guides, and news before moving to the Social team where he ended his time as the Lead of Social Content.

He also worked a writer and editor for both Pro Game Guides and Dot Esports, and as a writer for PC Invasion, Attack of the Fanboy, and Android Police. Aggy is the former Managing Editor and Operations Overseer of N4G Unlocked and a former Gaming editor for WePC.

Throughout his time in the industry, he's trained over 100 writers, written thousands of articles on multiple sites, written more reviews than he cares to count, and edited tens of thousands of articles. He has also written some games published by Tales, some books, and a comic sold to Telus International.

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