The publishing dispute surrounding The Sinking City has practically eclipsed any conversation about the game itself (which is just okay). Developer Frogwares and publisher Nacon have been embroiled in a very nasty battle over, among other things, the distribution rights to the game.  Last week, it was announced that The Sinking City launched on Steam only for Frogwares to implore players on Twitter not to purchase that version of the game. Frogwares has since posted a lengthy blog post explaining that Nacon allegedly had employees “crack, hack and pirate” a version of The Sinking City to release on Steam.

Steam was one of the platforms Nacon was responsible for publishing The Sinking City to, per the original agreement between it and Frogwares. However, once the relationship started falling apart, Frogwares states that Nacon repeatedly tried to force the studio into delivering a new master version of the game for Steam claiming contractual obligation. Nacon took this request to the French courts on two occasions (July 2020 and October 2020) and was denied both times, and a final decision on the matter is currently pending judgment. Frogwares also says Nacon previously attempted to upload a pirated copy of the game to Steam back in late December (following an ultimatum by Nacon's CEO) but the studio was able to block it from sale. 

That’s why Frogwares was surprised to see The Sinking City hit Steam on February 26 under Nacon’s name. That caused Frogwares to do some digging; the company says it has discovered evidence that this version has been illegally modified by Nacon. Frogware’s blog post (and accompanying video) goes into exhausting detail about how Nacon allegedly edited the game files to pull this off, like swapping menu and loading screen assets to make it appear as if it is the sole entity responsible for the game. Furthermore, the Steam version lacks achievements, which Frogwares says is due to Nacon’s file meddling and that the publisher also pirated the game’s Deluxe version, which contains extra content that Nacon didn’t pay for or even discuss with Frogwares. 

It’s a lot to unpack, and I encourage readers to read Frogware’s post detailing its full investigation. The short version, though, is this: If Nacon did indeed do this, it seemingly did a lousy job of covering its tracks, as Frogwares was not only able to trace the edited files to their original sources, but also to the parties responsible, even going as far as to name drop the guilty parties in question. Frogwares stresses that neither Valve nor Gamesplanet are guilty of any wrongdoing and were merely duped by Nacon. The studio is now focused on finding the best legal course of action, making sure to mention that violating IP laws in France can lead to seven years in prison and 750,000 euros in fines. 

Meanwhile, Nacon responded with a blog post on Steam denying the accusations and claiming that Frogwares is merely trying to revise the original contract to their advantage while also adding that the game wouldn’t exist without it doing most of the heavy lifting in terms of funding and marketing. According to Nacon, “It's easy to play the victim, but all we seek is that Frogwares respect its commitments both in the contract and as demanded by the courts.” 

Nacon also blames The Sinking City’s missing Steam features on Frogwares, saying  “In regards to feedback on the release of the Sinking City on Steam, this is an official and complete version. However, due to a lack of cooperation with Frogwares, we are unable to integrate Steam-specific features (cloud saving/achievements). Thus, this version contains only the base game, without any additional content. Despite this, we have organized the release so that fans on Steam can enjoy the game.”

So yeah, this fight doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. If you have a dog in this race, figuring out which version of the game to buy that directly supports the company you want to side with is a mess in itself. Frogwares recently published The Sinking City on PS5 with visual enhancements, but it’ll be interesting to see if and how the game appears anywhere else after this latest fiasco.

Epic Games has announced it has acquired the development company behind the gameshow-style battle-royale hit, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. Tonic Games, the parent company of developer Mediatonic, joins Epic Games less than seven months following the launch of Fall Guys on PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam. The title is currently slated to arrive this summer on Xbox and Switch.

According to both Epic Games and Mediatonic, the gameplay of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout isn't changing and the company will continue to invest in the title across all platforms. Fall Guys will still be available for purchase on all currently existing and announced platforms (yes, including Steam), and all versions will continue to receive future updates. 

"At Tonic Games Group we often say that 'everyone deserves a game that feels like it was made for them,'" Tonic Games Group co-founder and CEO Dave Bailey said in an Epic Games blog post. "With Epic, we feel like we have found a home that was made for us. They share our mission to build and support games that have a positive impact, empower others, and stand the test of time and we couldn't be more excited to be joining forces with them."

Tonic Games and Mediatonic join Epic Games amid what appears to be a larger publishing push from the gaming giant. Epic Games has been riding high on its own megahit, Fortnite, over the last several years, and has recently announced publishing deals with Control developer Remedy Entertainment, Inside developer Playdead, and The Last Guardian developer GenDesign. Epic Games is also the parent company of another developer with a popular living game, Rocket League developer Psyonix. Mediatonic says it would love to incorporate features currently in games like Fortnite and Rocket League, including account systems, cross-play, squad-vs.-squad modes, and more, but that is something the team is currently investigating. Fall Guys has already taken a page out of games like Fortnite and Rocket League, incorporating crossover items from other games like Cuphead, Team Fortress 2, Sonic the Hedgehog, Untitled Goose Game, and Doom.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout officially launched last August to positive reviews and overwhelming community reception, garnering millions of players on both PlayStation 4 and Steam. The title is currently in its third season of content, which is winter themed. For more on Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, check out our review.

[Source: Epic Games, Mediatonic Games]