The Sinking City, the Lovecraft-inspired detective game created by Ukrainian developer Frogwares Studios, is once again available on online stores after it was removed in August following a legal dispute. Even though the game is available once more, the legal battle between Frogwares and publisher Nacon continues.
The Sinking City released in June 2019, but drama between Frogware and Nacon began while the title was still in development. Frogwares said in a statement released in August 2020 that Nacon demanded that the studio give its source code for The Sinking City to a competing developer while the game was still in development. Frogwares refused, which led to Nacon to withhold payment to the studio for more than four months. After the game released, Nacon reportedly canceled all production milestones it agreed upon with Frogwares, resulting in Frogwares receiving no profit from the game’s sales. This led Frogwares to terminate its contract with Nacon, leading to the legal battle that removed The Sinking City from most online stores in August 2020.
But now The Sinking City is returning to the stores that it was removed from. The game is already available on the Microsoft Store for Xbox One, and will return to the PlayStation Store and Steam at a later date. Though it was removed from most online stores, it had still remained on the Nintendo Switch eShop, as well as Origin and Gamesplanet. The legal battle between Frogware and Nacon continues, as the dispute is still pending in French courts.
The Court already made one decision regarding the case. On October 28, 2020, the Paris Court of Appeals ruled that Frogwares unlawfully terminated its contract and that the contract would continue until the court reaches a final decision. The court also ordered Frogwares to refrain from any action that would breach the contract, and to “refrain from any action that impedes its continuation.”
Nacon released a statement on the day that The Sinking City returned to online storefronts, reading, “Confirmed in its expectations by this decision and regardless of the time needed to resolve this dispute definitively, NACON is continuing its action in defense of its rights and has proceeded with the execution of this court decision by asking platforms and sites to put The Sinking City game back online so that no one is held hostage to this situation.”
The Sinking City received lukewarm reviews upon its release, with most outlets taking issue with the game’s many technical problems and unexciting gameplay. The game puts players in the shoes of Charles Reed, a detective who travels to the waterlogged city of Oakmont to solve a series of dark mysteries. The Sinking City is not the only recent Lovecraft-inspired game to release to tepid reviews, as the similarly-marketed Call of Cthulhu: The Official Video Game released a year prior.
The Sinking City is out on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: Polygon