The Sinking City 2 will "pivot" to a horror focus

Ukrainian developer Frogwares has announced The Sinking City 2, for launch on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2025.

Set once again in a Lovecraftian 1920s United States, this sequel will tell a separate and standalone story from its predecessor.

But, as detailed during tonight's Xbox Developer Direct, this entry will pivot to a «horror-first» genre focus, and also boast technical advancements from being built in Unreal Engine 5.

The Sinking City 2 | World Premiere Trailer (PC, PS5, Xbox Series) The Sinking City 2 debut trailer.

«The original Sinking City is still one of our most successful titles, most likely because of stronger horror genre leanings and setting,» Frogwares exec Sergiy Oganesyan said. «We're going to mix things up to keep doing what people love about us — meaning story-rich experiences — while still being able to evolve.

»It's exciting but at the same time risky. We're a totally independent studio that for the past 24 years has become known for detective games. But we need to start taking bolder moves. The industry is changing around us and we want to secure the studio’s future."

Detective work will now be optional — a way to further uncover new details of the game's story but never act as a blocker to your progress.

Frogwares will fund The Sinking City 2's development at least in part via Kickstarter, which the studio says will help provide a «safety net» during development and pay for «some additional features».

Based in Kyiv, Frogwares has been working through Russia's invasion of Ukraine over the past two years, during which time it developed and launched 2023's Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. The studio has provided regular updates of how it is coping with the situation — which make for some harrowing reading.

Earlier this year, it resolved a dispute over the rights to The Sinking City, following a row over their ownership with publisher Nacon that saw the original The Sinking City game briefly taken off sale.