The Sinking City developer Frogwares has announced that it has obtained publishing rights for its game after a lengthy dispute with former publisher Nacon.
In a new post on Steam, the developer says it is "now the sole publisher of The Sinking City on all platforms, including Steam", and that a new version of the game full of bug fixes and optimizations is in the works.
As well as announcing this new version of the game, Frogwares has also teased a DLC pack titled Merciful Madness, which will add new quests to The Sinking City.
This DLC will only work with the new version of the game, and saves for the old version also won't be compatible with the new one, although you will have the choice to play the old version instead for a limited time if you want to finish an old save.
There's no timeline regarding when this new version will arrive; Frogwares simply says it's coming "soon", so you might want to tidy up any unfinished The Sinking City saves sooner rather than later.
The dispute between Frogwares and Nacon began when The Sinking City was delisted from storefronts in August 2020, with Frogwares alleging Nacon breached an agreement over the game in multiple ways.
Nacon subsequently issued a statement in which it denied Frogwares' allegations, alleging that the developer was seeking to "discredit Nacon in the eyes of the public" and "jeopardize the distribution" of the game.
The Sinking City was then reinstated on Steam, but at the time, Frogwares said it had nothing to do with the re-release, going on to allege that Nacon had pirated The Sinking City in order to relaunch it on Steam.
Shortly thereafter, Frogwares issued a DMCA takedown claim against The Sinking City, to which Nacon responded that Frogwares' piracy allegations were "unjustified", accusing Frogwares of "sabotaging [Nacon's] investments" in the game.
Technically, Frogwares doesn't state whether you'll need to repurchase the new version of The Sinking City if you already own the old one.
However, the studio does clarify that the new DLC will come free for owners of the game's Necronomicon editions, and the original announcement states that players will be able to choose between the new and old versions of the game, so it sounds like you won't need to make an extra purchase.
You can grab The Sinking City right now on PC via Steam. It's also available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
