[Update: Frogwares'?? CEO, Wael Amr has provided Destructoid with the following comment:

"We've seen a lot of support online from people saying they were waiting for the game to be back under our control before they buy it, so that has been very heart-??warming to see. Our team is dealing with so much given what is still happening in Ukraine, so this type of response truly helps a lot. We're also happy that we can now fully control the destiny of our creation and what we might do next in this setting."

Our original story follows.]

Via a post on Twitter, developer Frogwares has announced that they are now the sole publisher for 2019’s The Sinking City. As a result, they will? be updating storefronts with the latest version of t??he game in the coming weeks.

Back in 2021, Frogwares got embroiled in a dispute with Nacon, the publisher of the game for PC platforms, over copyright and withheld royalties. The resulting lawsuit saw The Sinking City pulled from PC, Xbox One, and PS4 storefronts. It was then reinstated to Steam before being pulled again because it was allegedly just a hacked version of the game put together by Nacon. It was a messy situati??on.

It’s currently unclear what led to the resolution of the dispute. On Steam,?? the developer merely says, “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 down the line.�We’ve reached out for comment, and will update this article if we receive clarification.

Frogwares warns that saves from the old PC version of the game will not be compatible with the updated version they will be releasing. They say that the old version will still be available but only for a limited time and suggest that you should finish any ongoing playthrough before February 28, 2024. They also plan on releasing a new DLC named Merciful Madness, which will on??ly be compatible with the new version of the game.

While Frogwares is most renowned for their work on the Sherlock Holmes series of games, The Sinking City is a detective game set in the world as envisioned by H.P. Lovecraft. In particular, it takes place sometime after The Shadow Over Innsmouth and deals with the fallout of that story. It nails the eldritch creeping horror of the author whi??le encasing it in a detective adventure game.

As an enjoyer of H.P. Lovecraft’s works, I really got into The Sinking City on PS5, but I got too embroiled in sidequests and eventually lost interest. I then picked it up again later, got further, and then the ??same thing happened. I should probably finish it before I for?get what was happening.

The post Frog?wares regains full publishing rights for The Sinking City (Up??date) appeared first on Destructoid.

Frogwares' latest Sherlock adventure has gone gold

Sherlock Holmes' next virtual mystery is arriving soon after all. Developer Frogwares has announced that Sherlock Holmes The Awakened has? gone gold, and will go l??ive for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch on April 11.

Pre-orders are going live on storefronts today with three editions. The standard edition will run $39.99 on all platforms. Deluxe, meanwhile, will net you some side quest packs and additional outfit??s for $10 more, while the premium rolls in a digital artbook and soundtrack for $54.99.

In a press release, Frogwares confirms Sherlock Holmes The Awakened is "content complete" and playable from start to finish. A new trailer show??ing Holmes' investigations into the horrors of the deep is out too, so you ca?n see just how creepy this one will get.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV0Dmvxjld4

Mysteries of the deep

Frogwares is based out of Kyiv, Ukraine, and has been sharing updates about how the conflict in the region has been affecting development. Much like fellow Ukranian developers GSC Game World, the invasion and ongoing fighting has greatly affected the project, and the update from a few weeks ago showed just how the power outages and other factors have affected development of Sherlock Holmes The Awakened.

The Awakened is a remake of Frogwares' own 2007 Sherlock game. In the time since, Forgwares has made plenty more Sherlock, and also released the Lovecraft-sans-Holmes mystery The Sinking City. I'm betting that fans of this? series are probably curious about how the studio approaches this older work now, with many more years of making Sherlock games under ?its belt.

Sherlock Holmes The Awakened arrives on April 11 f??or PC, Switch,?? PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

The post Sherlock Holmes? The Awakened locks in an April release date appeared first on Destructoid.

Understandable

Frogwares has announced their decision to delay the release of the detective adventure Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. Initially, they had planned for the game to be out the door by February o??r March, but now ?they’re predicting it could land as late as April.

Frogwares has released a video to go along with the announcement to outline the difficulties they have been having. The developer is based out of Kyiv, Ukraine, and because of the Russian invasion targeting the country’s energy infrastructure, the team has had trouble maintaining a work schedule. The video also?????????????????????????? outlines how some members ??have to alternate working remotely and in office, depending on which site has power at the time.

//youtu.be/d5XiUNnjp-4

While I haven’t played any of Frogwares�Sherlock Holmes titles, I have gotten into The Sinking City, which I mostly enjoy. I’m mostly held back by the fact that I’ve never read any of the novels. Frogwares started their adventure series based off Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories back in 2001. Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is a full remake of their third game, released back in 2007. They’ve been ??at it ??for a long time, and the series has gained its share of fans.

Frogwares isn’t the only developer trying to put together a game during an invasion. Much of Digital Dreams Entertainment, developers of Mutant Football League, are trying to create a sequel to their Football title. Likewise, GSC Gameworld is still pushing toward a release for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and has already had to delay it for the same reason.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened will be coming to PC, PS4, PS5, X?box One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch sometime in March or April.

The post Sherlock Holmes: The?? Awakened has been pushed back a few weeks appeared first on Destructoid.

Industry figures are supporting Ukraine and condemning Russia's actions

This week, the Russian military invaded Ukraine, as part of what Russian president Vladimir Putin calls a "special military operation." The invasion and missile strikes have resulted in the displacement and death of Ukrainian troops and citiz??ens.

Over the last couple of days, games industry figures, studios, and publishers have been putting their support out for Ukraine. This has include??d both Ukrainian developers like Frogwares and GSC Game World issuing statements on the invasion, and companies across the world calling for support.

GSC Game World, the studio behind the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, shared a special aid account and called on "all of our colleagues in the gaming industry" to share their post. 4A Games, makers of the Metro series of games shared a statement and call for support as well.

"We can't just stand by," Frogwares said on its Twitter account. "Russia attacks our homeland and denies the sovereignty of Ukraine. We are trying to stay safe, but this is war, there are no two ways about it. We? call on everyone to force Putin to withdraw from our lands."

//twitter.com/natusvince??re/status/1496??808817979535361

Esports organization Natus Vincere, a.k.a. Navi, is based out of Ukraine and also put out a statement and shared a donation link. Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev, a Ukrainian player for Natus Vincere's CS:GO team, gave a speech at IEM Katowice calling for peace and solidarity.

Publishers like Crytivo and tinyBuild are also offering help for their Ukrainian employees and partners to get to safety themselves. Esports organization Team Liquid has also opened up housing support for friends and colleagues who are stuck a?n??d unable to get home.

Developers and publishers have amped up calls for support as well. Polish dev 11 bit studios announced that all profits over the coming week from This War of Mine, on all stores and platforms, will go to a special fund for the Ukrainian Red Cross to dire?ctly support victims of war.

Amanita Design is donating its next weeks' earnings from Machinarium, CHUCHEL, and Creaks to a nonprofit organization aiding those affected by the invasion. And State of Play will be donating its ?next weeks' earnings from its games to the Ukrainian Red Cross.

//??twitter.com/11b??itstudios/status/1496904408344449027

After Bungie CEO Pete Parsons tweeted in support of Ukraine, Bungie announced it is donating 100% of the first 48 hours of its Game2Give drive to aid humanitarian efforts. Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red announced it is donating 1 million PLN to humanitarian aid efforts. Publisher Raw Fury is donating to the Ukrainian Red Cross. And a bundle is currently being put together by developer Brandon Sheffield, with a 50/50 split for Ukrainian support and support for ??t?rans youth in Texas.

The post GSC Game World, 4A Games, and ??more developers are calling for support fo?r Ukraine appeared first on Destructoid.

When you've eliminated all that's possible... hit a reverse elbow

The olde-wurlde mystery-lovers over Frogwares have released the first gameplay trailer for upcoming mystery adventure Sherlock Holmes Chapter One.

Originally revealed during the summer of 2020, Sherlock Holmes Chapter One will tell the story of Holmes' formative years as the 19th century sleuth develops his astute and almost supernatural investigative powers and deductive skills. Riddled with demons and regret, Holmes will follow a trail to his childhood home of Cordana where, accompanied by his friend?? Jon, he will face the traumatic events of his youth and uncover the secrets behind his deep-rooted anguish.

While the new title - the latest in Frogwares' long line of releases featuring the World's Greatest Detective - looks to feature a more psychological and darkly personal narrative than before, Chapter One will feature the logic puzzles, moral quandaries, interrogation, and accusati??on one expects from the franchise. There's even going to be time for a spot of the old Queensbury's Rules, held in reserve for when words aren't getting the job done. It's looking a bit "janky," as the kids say, but that's practically part of the series' charm at this point.

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One?? is currently in development PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch, and is scheduled to launch later in 2021.

The post Time to ?get discombobulated with Sherlock Holmes Chapter One gameplay trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

The Sunken City

There appears to be no end in sight for the debacle surrounding Lovecraft-inspired title The Sinking City. Following the mystery-horror's removal from Steam - triggered by a DMCA request by developer Fr?ogwares - publisher Nacon has responded to accusations that it pirated a copy of the product from anothe??r store in order to re-sell on Valve's platform.

"Nacon hereby wishes to set the record straight regarding these unjustified accusations," said the French publisher. "Nacon is contractually the sole exclusive distributor of The Sinking City game on Steam. Nacon has contributed to the financing ??of development a??nd the payment of royalties to Frogwares to the tune of 8.9 million euros to date (including the full payment for a version of the game for Steam), making the global investment far above 10 million euros when integrating the marketing costs. Contrary to Frogwares’ allegations, Nacon has paid all amounts due".

Nacon goes on to address the issue of royalties, as well as Frogwares' decision to actively discourage sales of the recent Steam edition of The Sinking City.

"Despite this blocking situation created exclusively by Frogwares, Nacon has allowed players to access the g??ame on Steam while still expressly indicating the ownership of Frogwares’ rights to the game. Frogwares will also receive the royalties generated by Steam sales. By encouraging the gaming community via Twitter not to buy the game on Steam, Frogwares is once again sabotaging our investments in the game. Nacon obviously regrets this conflict, for which it is not ??responsible, and for which it did everything possible to avoid".

This latest statement is just another step forward in an increasingly combustible situation regarding numerous disputes as it pertains to the development, ownership, and sale of The Sinking City. As each party projects new statements and takes active steps toward laying claim to the psychological horror title, it seems ever mor??e clear that the situation is once again headed toward legal proceedings - an option that Nacon hints at in its new statement.

"Nacon reserves the right to take legal action against Frogwares for ??its aggressive and p??rejudicial comments," closes the publisher. "Frogwares has been careful not to indicate that all court decisions in the dispute between Nacon and Frogwares have thus far been favorable to Nacon."

As of this writing, The Sinking City - as published by Frogwares - remains for sale on PS5, Nintendo Switch, and all non-Steam PC outlets. Meanwhile, the PS4 and Xbox One edition of The Sinking City  - as published by Nacon - remains available for purcha??se on the respective PlayStat??ion and Microsoft stores.

The post Nacon calls The Sinking City allegations ‘unjust,’ accuses Frogwares of ‘sabotaging our investments’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Lovecraft adventure remains swamped in controversy

[Update: Frogwares has issued a new statement regarding its issuing of t?he DMCA.

"A DMCA notice proved to be our most effective tool to give us time to gain further potential evidence and to also start the required and lengthy additional legal processes to prevent this from happening again," the developer told Vice. "We are aware that a final ruling on whether Frogwares are obligated to deliver a Steam v??ersion has yet not been made and could take years. As it stands, we have an appeals court ruling saying, until further notice Frogwares do not need to deliver a Steam version to? Nacon. In the meantime, Nacon decided to take justice into their own hands and release a pirated build."

"We are also aware that the DMCA claim on this Steam version may only b??e a temporary fix and that the game may make a comeback - in this form or anothe?r. Providing partners like Valve with finalised rulings and third-party verified evidence so they can make their final decision takes time and resources. If in the meantime they decide they have to continue selling the game, we can only respect that while continuing to speak to them and provide them with more information."

As it stands, The Sinking City - as published by Frogwares - remains for sale on PS5, Nintendo Switch, and non-Steam PC outlets. The PS4 and Xbox One edition of The Sinking City  - as ?published by Nacon - r?emain available on their respective PlayStation and Microsoft stores.]

Original article:

In the latest update on the ongoing debacle surrounding The Sinking City, Steam has once again pulled Fr??ogwares' horror-mystery from its storefront, following the developer's issuing of a DMCA against publisher Nacon, with whom it is embroiled in an increasingly ugly legal dispute.

As reported by Vice, Frogwares issued the DMCA following on from the Ukrainian studios' recent allegations that Nacon pirated a copy of the 2019 release from a digital storefront, before re-submitting the game for sale on the Steam platform. Earlier this week, Frogwares released an in-depth video explaining these particular??ly serious accusations.

"The Sinking City has been in dispute in French courts for a while," Valve's VP of marketing Doug Lombardi told Vice. "An interim decision last fall appeared to give Naco??n the right to distribute the game on Steam while the litigation proceeded. However, today we received a DMCA take-down notice for the version that Nacon recently shipped, so we have responded to that notice."

This is not the first time The Sinking City has been removed from the Steam store. Back in August 2020, Frogwares removed the title itself, protesting numerous claims against Nacon (then Bigben Interactive) that included copyright dispute and the alleged withholding of royalties. The Sinking City would eventually return ?to Steam following a Parisian court's ruling ??that Frogwares had acted unlawfully by removing the game from sale.

In a statement posted earlier this week, Nacon suggested that Frogwares was attempting to "revise the terms of the contract to their sole advantage". "It's easy to play the victim," said the French publisher. "All we seek is that Frogwares respect its commitments both in the c?ontract and as demanded by the courts."

As of this writing, The Sinking City is unavailable to purchase on Steam. This status remains likely for s?ome time, as the ongoing dispute becomes ever-more provocative and combustibl?e.

The Sinking City developer uses DMCA to?? remove its own game from Steam [Vice]

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All's fair in Lovecraft and War?

The furor surrounding mystery-horror title The Sinking City continues?? to get uglier with each pas??sing day, as both publisher Nacon (formerly Bigben Interactive) and developer Frogwares continue to dispute ownership rights and numerous other contract issues.

Just before the weekend, Frogwares asked customers not to purchase The Sinking City, which had been recently re-uploaded to Steam, stating that it had no hand in the development of this particular version. Yesterday, the Ukrainian developer went one step further, openly a??lleging that Nacon had, in fact, hacked a copy of the 2019 title from another digital storefront, altered its code, and submitted it for sale via the Steam platform.

Frogwares has gone as far as to release a detailed video which it claims shows exactly how Nacon "cracked, hacked, changed [the] game's code and content and illegally uploaded" The Sinking City back onto Steam, without Frogwares' knowledge or permission. This accusation, alongside the video in question, can be viewed on Frogwares' website.

"In order to achieve the ?removal of this protection and checking system, Nacon modified both th?e game executable and the config files inside the packages," alleges Frogwares in its statement. "We believe Nacon did this to hide the fraudulent exploitation of the game on Steam but also on other portals which they may be planning to send the game to. Nacon wants Frogwares or anyone, including the French Justice, to never know the true scope of their exploitation of the game."

Nacon also released a sta?teme?nt yesterday, responding to Frogwares' earlier complaint.

"We regret that Frogwares persists in disrupting the release of The Sinking City," said the publisher on Steam. "It was Frogwares who came to Nacon to request financing for the development of the game, and to date, more than 10 million euros have been paid to Frogwares by Naco?n. It wa??s Frogwares that relied on our marketing and promotion teams, representing thousands of hours of work and several million euros worth of investment."

"Now that the game has been fully developed, a?nd published, largely thanks to Nacon's money and work, Frogwares would like to revise the terms of the contract to their sole advantage. It's easy to play the victim, but all we seek is that Frogwares respect its commitments both in the contract and as demanded by the courts."

While the debacle surrounding The Sinking City has been ??ongoing for some time - and has already been placed before the judicial system once before - the events and accusations of the past week are particularly incendiary, and it would not be surprising at all to see Nacon and Frogwares return to the courts again before this particular situation reaches its conclusion, if ever.

The post The Sinking City wrangle continues as Frogwares accuses Nacon ?of pirating game appeared first on Destructoid.

The nightmare continues...

Developer Frogwares has put out a succinct statement asking users not to purchase the Steam edition of The Sinking City, which recently returned to the PC retail platform following a period of commotion over the title's licensing issues. According to the Ukrainian studio, the Steam edition of the 2019 mystery horror title was not develop??ed by them, though ??further details are not yet forthcoming.

The Sinking City - a L?ovecraft-inspired period piece of madness and intrigue - was pulled from digital sale by the developer following fallout with publisher Nacon (then Big Ben Interactive). Frogwares filed suit against its publisher over a laundry list of allegations pertaining to ownership rights, marketing promises, and payment delays. In October 2020, a court ruled that Frogwares had acted unlawfully in pulling the title from release. The Sinking City would return to digital storefronts in January 2021, only to be pulled from Steam again in double-quick time.

Over on Steam, users are claiming that the latest re-up of The Sinking City is an old build of the game, and does not include access to DLC, post-release updates, cloud-saves, or achievements. Frogwares insists that it will follow up with more news on the situation "soon." In the meantime, The Sinking City remains available on Steam, the Nintendo eSh??op, and the PlayStati??on and Microsoft stores.

Frogwares has not created the version of @thesinkingcity that is today on sale on @Steam. We do not recommend the purchase ?of this version. More news ?soon.

— Frogwares (@Frogwares) February 26, 2021

The Sinking City?? developer asks users not buy its game on Stea?m [GamesIndustry.biz]

The post The Sinking City cont??roversy continues as Frogwares asks fans not to purchase Steam port appeared first on Destructoid.