Frogwares Butts Heads with Former Publisher, Focus Home Interactive

If you know Frogwares, it’s either because you recently played their latest game, The Sinking City, or you’re such a huge Sherlock Holmes fan that you actually know them as the developer behind that shockingly long-running series. The studio is extremely specialized, generally mid-tier, and typically keeps out of the news… but that doesn’t seem to be the case today, as they’ve entered a very public dispute with their former publisher, Focus Home Interactive.

And as you might expect, it’s as bitter and petty as you could possibly hope.

“Some of our games are being removed from Sony’s and Microsoft’s storefronts, and even maybe from Steam. This list includes our titles like Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack The Ripper and Magrunner: Dark Pulse (see full list below).

Why? Because Focus Home Interactive, the licensee (or “publisher”) that was in charge of commercializing these games on these platforms, refuses to transfer the title IDs to us, the creators and IP owners of those titles, even though our Publishing and Distribution Agreement has expired.

Because, according to their official statement, sent to us only last week, “Focus has put in place a policy in accordance with which they will not transfer any title – the content ID or title ID – belonging to any developer which has removed all of their games from the Focus catalog”.

A policy that is not in any of our previous or existing contracts with Focus and that has never been applied to us in the past.

Because of that policy, our games will be taken down from all storefronts.”

So, basically, Focus Home Interactive is being petty about Frogwares moving on to greener pastures, and is trying to do a little sabotage. A dick move, to be sure, and it’s clear from this public statement that Frogwares hopes to shame Focus Home Interactive into doing the right thing, since they admit their options otherwise are fairly limited.

Here’s hoping it works out for them. Something like this could mean death for a small studio.