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The Sinking City, the Lovecraftian, open-world detective game caught up in a dispute between its developer and publisher, is now available for Xbox Series X. Frogwares, the studio behind the work, is this version’s sole publisher, the studio said in a news release.
The updated version of the game features improved graphics, shorter loading times, new quests, and 60 frames per second performance. It’s listed for $49.99, and has three premium add-ons ranging from $4.99 to $12.99. The same products have been available on the PlayStation Store, with Frogwares as the publisher, since Feb. 21.
The Sinking City has been listed and de-listed with various marketplaces going back to August 2020, while Frogwares and Nacon have fought in French courts over the publishing agreement for the 2019 game.
Frogwares claims Nacon was only the game’s distributor for certain platforms, and that it owes several hundred thousand dollars in unpaid royalties. The studio removed the game from most online storefronts in response, but a ruling against Frogwares, from a French court in October, seemed to clear the way for Nacon to put it back on the Microsoft Store, PlayStation Store, and Steam.
In early March, Frogwares got the Nacon-published game removed from Steam with a DMCA takedown demand, calling it a hacked and pirated copy of the version Frogwares made for the Nintendo Switch. The Xbox One version of The Sinking City is still available on the Microsoft Store, and Bigben Interactive (Nacon’s name until 2020) is listed as the publisher.
A news release from Frogwares said the “legal issues” with the game means the studio cannot offer a free upgrade to newer consoles to those who own the Xbox One version. The same holds true for PS5 owners with the PS4 version. The newer games’ $49.99 prices match the MSRP for Nacon’s last-generation titles.
