The Sinking City Developer Frogwares Now Sole Publisher After Long Legal Battle

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Frogwares has announced that it is the sole publisher of The Sinking City on all platforms. This comes after Frogwares’ lengthy legal battle with the game’s original PC publisher, Nacon.

The PC version will be updated on Steam, Epic Games, GOG, and Gamesplanet in the coming weeks. “This latest version will come with all the previous bug fixes and optimizations, as well as a few things to keep in mind for the existing owners of the game on Steam and Epic Games Store,” Frogwares explained.

Old saves won’t be compatible with the latest PC version of the game, although Steam users will have the option to continue playing the old version if they want to finish it. However, the old version will only stay around until February 28. Frogwares will also release new saves for players to download and use.

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

The Sinking City was pulled from some platforms back in 2020 due to disputes between Frogwares and Nacon. Frogwares alleged that Nacon breached its contract and withheld at least €1 million in royalties, falsely implying ownership of the IP, and more.

In 2021, the game reappeared on Steam. However, Frogwares urged players not to purchase it, alleging that it was a pirated version. Nacon responded that the allegations were unjustified and that Frogwares was sabotaging its own investments. Now it seems like the dispute is over, and Frogwares owns the game’s publishing rights.

In IGN’s The Sinking City review, we said, “While occasionally frustrating, The Sinking City’s compelling stories, exciting environments, and memorable characters make for one of the better Cthulhu lore games around.”

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.

When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey