On January 2nd, developer Frogwares announced the release of the exploration action/adventure game “The Sinking Cityannounced that it has acquired sales rights on all platforms. It has also been announced that the PC version of this game, which had previously been suspended due to distribution rights issues, will be updated to the latest version within the next few weeks.
“The Sinking City” is an open-world exploration action-adventure game inspired by the works of author H.P. Lovecraft, known for “Cthulhu Mythos” and other works. The story is set in the town of Oakmont, which is suffering from flooding due to an unexplained rise in water levels, and the main character, private investigator Charles Reed, investigates the mass insanity of the town’s residents and the mystery behind the rise in water levels.
This work was released for PC and consoles in June 2019, but in July 2020, this work was withdrawn from some stores. At the time, the game’s developer, Frogwares, was suing Nacon, the game’s distributor, for breach of contract. According to the report, delays in development fees paid by Nacon every time a development milestone was achieved were common, and furthermore, after the release of the game, Nacon rescinded approval of the milestones and refused to pay. Also, it seems that there was a contract in which the rights to this work belonged to Frogwares, but Nacon insists that they own it. As a result, both companies decided to go to court to dispute the cancellation and invalidity of the contract (see related article).
Amidst a conflict between the developer and distributor over the rights to “The Sinking City,” Frogwares has ordered each store to withdraw the work in order to prevent the proceeds from the work from flowing to Nacon. I requested it. After that, Nacon resumed distribution of the PC version, but Frogwares issued an unusual statement saying that it “does not recommend purchasing” even though it is their own work, and Steam was flooded with unfavorable reviews from fans who supported the developer and appealed for boycott (Related article).
Folks, we got some big news!
Frogwares is now the sole publisher of The Sinking City on all platforms! We’re happy to finally put this whole thing behind us, and we look forward to sharing more news about the future of the franchise very soon.
Please read our full statement pic.twitter.com/IxWblqbYmP
— The Sinking City (@thesinkingcity) January 2, 2024
Nearly two years later, on January 2nd, Frogwares announced that it had become the sole publisher of The Sinking City on all platforms. In other words, it seems that Nacon is no longer in a position to be involved in this work. Even on store pages such as Steam, the seller name has been changed from Nacon to Frogwares.
Frogwares will update the PC (Steam/Epic Games Store) version of the game, which has been suspended until now, to the latest version with bug fixes and optimizations in the coming weeks. Then an announcement was made. However, there are some caveats for users.
First of all, save data from previous versions is not compatible with the latest version due to technical issues. In the Steam version, players will be able to select and play the previous version until February 28th, and are asked to consider completing the game by that date.
In addition, the DLC “Merciful Madness”, which includes new quests, will be distributed to the PC version, but it is said that this DLC can only be applied to the latest version. Therefore, the developer says that even if you restart the game from the beginning with the latest version, you will receive adjusted save data that will allow you to play the DLC quests immediately. This save data will also be provided for the Epic Games Store version.
This announcement does not mention the fate of the lawsuit between Frogwares and Nacon, but the fact that Frogwares has become the sole publisher of “The Sinking City” means that the rights belong to the developer. It may have been settled. The studio also said it looks forward to announcing more information about the future of The Sinking City soon, and it appears that new developments are planned for the IP.
『The Sinking City』は、PC（Steam）/Nintendo Switch/PS5/Xbox Series X|SIt is currently being distributed to Distribution of the PC (Epic Games Store) version is currently suspended, but distribution will likely resume soon.
