The fight between the developer and Nacon continues with cross accusations, although it has also been disputed in court.
There is no peace between Frogwares and Nacon. The study and the publisher have starred in a long crossing of reproaches that has led to the courts. In the most recent chapter of this story, the developer accused Nacon of uploading a pirated version of The Sinking City, while Nacon defends that it is an official edition. IGN reports that Steam has removed the game from its platform, all after Frogwares issued a statement in which it showed step by step how the publisher had allegedly pirated its title.
“The Sinking City has been in dispute in French courts for a while,” Valve’s Doug Lombardi told VICE Games. “Last fall a provisional ruling appeared to provide Nacon with the rights to distribute the game on Steam while the litigation continued. However, we have received a DMCA complaint to remove the version that Nacon recently released.”
. “An interim decision last fall appeared to give Nacon the right to distribute the game on Steam while the litigation proceeded. However, today we received a DMCA take-down notice for the version that Nacon recently shipped, so we have responded to that notice. “
According to Nacon’s version, Frogwares contacted them to seek funding. They explain that they have invested more than 10 million euros in the project, both in the development itself and in the promotion and marketing campaign. “Now that the game is fully developed and published, thanks in large part to Nacon’s money and work, Frogwares would like to revise the terms of the contract for its own sole benefit.”
Different versions
The company charges against the developer and points out that “it is easy to play the victim.” They ask Frogwares to respect their contractual commitment and to comply with court decisions.
“Steam is one of the platforms listed for commercialization [de The Sinking City] in the market by virtue of the contract signed between Nacon and Frogwares ”, publishes the study on its official website. “Since the game’s launch, Nacon’s illegal actions have forced Frogwares to defend its intellectual property and to bring to the French courts the lack of payments and its attempts to steal our IPs,” they point out.
The Sinking City has been optimized for PS5 with a patch that makes it work at 4K and 60fps. The update has been available since last February.
