On June 27, 2019, The Sinking City was released on Xbox One, PS4, and Epic Games Store.
Only the exclusivity agreement with Epic Games Store gave us some respite, as we knew what we would receive due to the minimum guarantees in Epic’s contract. Were there any sales deals arranged? We were not sure. We weren’t sure of how potential sales could turn out, meaning that we were not able to properly plan our future. We asked on multiple occasions to see sales forecasts, but the figures sent to us were not consistent. With regard to the business plan, we were kept in the dark. This kind of unacceptable behavior took on other forms as well. After we refused to comply, we stopped receiving financial contributions for over 4 months. They sell the game – not develop and co-create it. Once again, BBI/Nacon does not own the IP – they are a licensee. Once BBI/Nacon bought out a competing studio working on another Lovecraftian game, they dictated that we give them our source code for The Sinking City. The lack of commitment to honor the financial obligations soon turned into ongoing pressure. We had to issue formal notices multiple times so that we were able to receive the money that was owed to us. Each sum due on average being 40 days late, while our milestones were always on time and approved by the licensee.
So all was well – until the collaboration started.ĭuring production, BBI/Nacon was hundreds and hundreds of days behind in payments in total. Then a share of revenue starting at the first euro or dollar. We signed the deal on those terms and we would receive part payments for each production milestone completed. The intellectual property would still belong to Frogwares, which has always been the only producer and owner of its games, including The Sinking City. In exchange for a financial contribution to the development, we gave them the right to sell and commercialize the game on 4 platforms – Xbox One, PS4, Steam and later, Epic Games Store. In 2017 we signed The Sinking City contract as a licensing agreement with BigBen/Nacon, 2 years after the start of production. Since the release of The Sinking City on Jwe’ve been involved in legal battles with BigBen Interactive/Nacon over the title. The following information contained in this letter is part of court proceedings, meaning that the information is now public and confidentiality rules do not apply anymore. We urge you to read this open letter to our fans, journalists and people of the industry, to understand why this is happening and how you can still get The Sinking City. Short version: We were forced to terminate the contract with our licensee for several breaches of our agreement. The reason is a bit complicated, yet at the same time, quite simple. We have received multiple emails and messages on this issue. As some of you have noticed, The Sinking City has been taken down from Steam and many other notable stores.
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