What you need to know
- Ukrainian studio Frogwares has regained ownership of the IP for The Sinking City.
- The firm has announced The Sinking City 2 during the Xbox Partner Program.
- The game will focus on combat and exploration in a horror setting and is expected to launch on PC and consoles in 2025.
It's not every day that an independent studio can regain ownership of its IP, but that is exactly what Ukrainian studio Frogwares has managed to do with The Sinking City. As part of the Xbox Partner Preview, Frogwares has announced a partnership with Microsoft and revealed The Sinking City 2. The team of developers from Frogwares, affected by the war in Ukraine, are hoping The Sinking City 2 can pivot the studio in a new direction when it releases to PC and consoles in 2025.
Players will not need to play The Sinking City in order to enjoy the upcoming sequel, which will feature a brand-new, stand-alone narrative. The Sinking City 2 will also feature a greater emphasis on combat and exploration than its predecessor. Set in the 1920s in the United States, The Sinking City 2 will feature Lovecraftian horror and storytelling as a supernatural flood takes the streets of the infamous city of Arkham.
Frogwares hopes to put horror at the forefront of The Sinking City 2, though the game will still feature some gameplay elements that the studio is known for. Most notable is the detective gameplay fans of Frogwares may expect in The Sinking City 2. While the game does include some optional investigative gameplay, it is not the primary focus for the IP moving forward. Instead, investigative puzzles will be optional, though they may uncover secrets and lore that you might not be privy to if you skip them.
The Sinking City 2 is being developed on Unreal Engine 5, and the studio is hoping that the leaps in technology with the new engine will help bolster the new focus on combat and survival horror. To help with the adjustments, Frogwares executive producer Denys Chebotarov has said there will be accessibility features in place.
We’re a totally independent studio that for the past 24 years has become known for detective games. But we need to start taking bolder moves.
Sergiy Oganesyan, Frogwares
Frogwares' CEO, Wael Amr, shared insight into how the Ukrainian-based team is being affected by the ongoing war with Russia. "At this stage, we have learned and adapted to our reality, but the ongoing war adds an ominous layer of uncertainty," Amr said. Amr shared that Frogwares' previous release, Sherlock Holmes: the Awakened, was developed and released during the war.
Amr credits the studio's community and Kickstarter backers with making the release possible, "From power cuts as our electrical infrastructure was targeted for months to the need for team members to relocate at very short notice, this financial safety net proved invaluable to us." Frogwares will once again turn to Kickstarter to help fund the completion of The Sinking City 2, stating that the game is "vastly bigger and more complex."
