The Kickstarter for The Sinking City 2 has gone live, and Frogwares has shown off a sneak peek at the game with a deep dive into its current state of development. The studio says that it’ll be using crowdfunding to help create a safety net for the developer, as well as use the funds to secure additional features for the game. Currently, Frogwares is aiming to secure $105,000 in funding, and similar to its previous Kickstarter campaign for Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, it’ll offer various rewards to backers if certain goals are met.
This new campaign is launching during a dangerous time for the studio and Ukraine, as three years on, Russia’s invasion of the country is still ongoing. “After three 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 said 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.”
For The Sinking City 2, Frogwares says players can expect a “horror-first” approach, with the gameplay being built around pillars of combat and exploration. The game will feature a Lovecraftian influence once again, as players will venture into the decaying city of Arkham, scrounge for limited resources, and solve various cases inside of a morally grey world that features an expanded Cthulu mythos.
“We’re not ditching our investigation roots entirely but the chance to spread and challenge our norms has really helped the team grow,” Frogwares publishing director Sergiy Oganesyan added. “We’ve placed combat and exploration first while still keeping an air of investigation that adds depth but is entirely optional.”
It has been a long road for the sequel to 2019’s The Sinking City, as several years back, Frogwares was involved in an infamous dispute with publisher Nacon regarding ownership over the game. The Sinking City 2 was officially unveiled in March 2024, and while it doesn’t have a concrete release date yet, it will launch for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5.