Ukrainian developer Frogwares has emerged victorious following a lengthy legal battle with then-publisher Nacon over the Lovecraftian detective game The Sinking City. Frogwares is now the sole publisher of the IP across all platforms, and this development hopefully signals the end of the tumultuous tale.
Longtime readers and eagle-eyed observers may recall that The Sinking City was removed from the PS Store back in 2020 after a messy, public spat with French publisher Nacon. Nacon, Frogwares alleged, was sold the rights to sell the game on PS4 in exchange for development payments based on milestones achieved.
Despite reaching these milestones, the payments quickly ceased, and when the game was released, Frogwares stated that its previous contracts were cancelled. The developer alleges that Nacon breached its contract by withholding royalties and had the game removed from certain storefronts to stop further money from going to the publisher.
When The Sinking City suddenly resurfaced (pardon the pun) on Steam in 2021, Frogwares urged players not to buy it, claiming it was a pirated version published by Nacon. Now, at long last, it looks like the developer has claimed a victory in French courts and is looking forward to putting the entire sordid affair behind it.