After a years-long battle with its publisher, Ukraine-based studio reveals first gameplay footage of survival horror sequel The Sinking City 2, launches Kickstarter, and hits $100,000 goal in hours

A year after its announcement, Lovecraftian survival horror sequel The Sinking City 2 is back with its first gameplay trailer and a successful Kickstarter campaign.

I love a good redemption arc, and Ukraine-based studio Frogwares' is one for the ages. Back in August 2020, the first Sinking City game was delisted from all PC and console storefronts after the studio terminated its contract with publisher Nacon, allegedly over lack of payment and violation of intellectual property.

The next year, Nacon went ahead and republished a version of The Sinking City on Steam and console storefronts that Frogwares claimed had been "hacked." Frogwares urged players not to buy the new version and issued a DMCA takedown in response, and the game was once again delisted in March 2021.

Years later, Frogwares announced that it had become the "sole publisher" of The Sinking City on all platforms after its legal dispute with Nacon was resolved "amicably" and the game re-released. Great news, right? Well, while that legal fight was ongoing, Russia invaded Ukraine, a dire situation Frogwares and many other game developers have had to endure for three years now.

Regardless, The Sinking City 2 was announced in March 2024 and the studio explicitly shifted focus to survival horror games in contrast to the detective games it had become known for. And then Frogwares went totally silent for a year, which is why the sudden arrival of its sequel's first gameplay trailer and Kickstarter campaign is such a triumphant relief.

The Sinking City 2 - Gameplay Reveal & Kickstarter Now Live! - YouTube

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It also helps that the trailer looks pretty good! It definitely takes inspiration from Resident Evil and Silent Hill, but that's not a bad thing by any means. It shows a new protagonist arrive in the flooded city of Arkham and pretty quickly come across some pretty horrific monsters inspired by the works of HP Lovecraft.

Looking at the sequel's Kickstarter, I can only hope the devs at Frogwares are clinking some glasses tonight. Hours after the Kickstarter went live with a funding goal of $108,035, it blew right past that and has over $160,000 at the time of writing. When I started writing this story about an hour ago, it had about $128,000.

"After 3 years of this horrid war hanging over our daily lives, we've learned to adapt, though it has never been easy," Frogwares CEO Wael Amr says in a press release. "In 2023 when we released Sherlock Holmes The Awakened with the help of Kickstarter and our loving fans, we built ourselves a safety net that saved us more than once.

"From power outages and the need for team members to relocate on short notice, to having to pause development for days, this safety net was crucial. Given that The Sinking City 2 is a far more complex and demanding game, we’ve decided to take the same route as before."

As a reporter, it's not my job to promote anything, and I have no idea if The Sinking City 2 will end up being any good, but it's hard not to feel warmed by the studio's success in the face of such unimaginable headwinds.

The Sinking City doesn't have a release date, but you can pick something from our list of the best horror games if you're looking for some spooky fun.