The Sinking City is back on Steam, yet, its developer doesn’t want you to buy it. Strange, right? Well, perhaps not.
Best described as a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Call of Cthulhu, the Sinking City is an Eldritch investigation game set in a flooded 1920s America.
As peculiar as the game’s plot is, it’s perhaps overshadowed by a real-world dispute between developer and publisher. The feud between developer Frogwares and the game’s publisher, Nacon, is complicated, to say the least.
Frogwares has claimed that Nacon owes it around 1 million euros while also saying that Nacon used misleading marketing to suggest it was the developer. The argument ultimately led to the game being delisted from storefronts – until now.
The game’s return to the likes of Steam is the result of a court ruling, which claims Frogwares unlawfully terminated its contract. This essentially gives Nacon the right to put the game back on sale. However, it looks like Frogwares has something more up its sleeve.
The Sinking City made its return to Steam with a controversial message from Frogwares, who managed to use the news section of the game to deliver a message. Frogwares used the “About the game’s release” section on Steam to warn buyers away from the version of the game, stating the following:
“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.”
The message has since been removed from the games Steam page but was later tweeted by Frogwares. The developer has suggested instead purchasing the game from Gamesplanet, which lists Frogwares as the publisher.
The Sinking City’s official page also has a buy button, although that now appears to be linking to Sherlock Holmes Chapter One on Steam.
We’ll likely hear more about The Sinking City’s situation soon. Until then, it’s up to you where you’d like to buy the game.
The Sinking City is also available on The PlayStation Store and the Microsoft Store.
Featured Image Credit: NACON/Frogwares