Frogwares

Frogwares is a developer and publisher.

Frogwares Webpage, Facebook

An independent Ukrainian development studio based in Kyiv, with an additional branch located in Dublin. While the company primarily focuses on creating complex adventure games - best known for its work on the Sherlock Holmes series - it has also developed a variety of casual titles. Frogwares' games can be found on both PC and consoles.

Frogwares' history

Frogwares was founded in 2000. Two years later, the team released its debut title - a game that would define the studio’s creative direction for years to come. This adventure game, titled Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy, was released on PC in 2002. Curiously, seven years later, it was ported to the Nintendo DS. The project was so successful that in 2004, the developers created another title featuring the famous detective, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring. Its release was preceded by Journey to the Center of the Earth, which debuted in 2003.

A fruitful collaboration with Focus Home Interactive

In 2005, 80 Days was released - a game inspired by Jules Verne’s classic novel Around the World in Eighty Days. However, this was only a brief detour, as two years later the developers returned to their favorite character with Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened and Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis.

In 2008, they released the adventure game Dracula: Origin, based on Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. A year later, the Ukrainian studio followed up with Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper, which launched on PC and Xbox 360. The same applied to The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, released three years later in 2009 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. In 2010, Frogwares did something different again, releasing the multiplayer strategy game World of Battles: Morning Star.

In 2013, the studio released another unusual title, Magrunner: Dark Pulse - evoking comparisons to the famous Portal - developed under the banner of 3 AM Games. A year later, they returned to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's universe with Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments. This entry quickly became the highest-rated installment in the legendary detective’s series to date.

A shift to a new publisher

In January 2014, the studio revealed its next project, Call of Cthulhu. Although Frogwares’ partnership with Focus Home Interactive, the publisher of most of their titles, appeared successful, in May 2015, the studio announced it was switching to Bigben Interactive. As a result, the project was transferred to Cyanide Studio, which took over its development. In December, Frogwares shared concept art from the upcoming project, and by March 2016, it confirmed that their efforts would not go to waste - these assets would be used in their own Lovecraft-inspired adventure, The Sinking City. Development on The Sinking City kicked into full gear after the release of Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter in June 2016 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Three years later, The Sinking City launched on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Notably, under an agreement with Epic Games, the PC version was exclusive to the Epic Games Store for the first twelve months after release.

Conflicts with publishers

In September 2019, Frogwares announced the removal of many of its games from digital stores. This action was a result of a dispute with their publisher, Focus Home Interactive. Once the publishing and distribution agreement for these titles expired, the French publisher refused to return the rights to Frogwares as originally stipulated, having altered its publishing policy in the meantime. This move was a severe blow to the Ukrainian studio; Frogwares stated at the time that Focus Home Interactive meant to cut them off entirely from any revenue generated by these games.

By May 2020, it appeared that Frogwares had successfully weathered the storm. At that time, the studio announced Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, a prequel to the series focusing on the detective's youth. The game was planned for release on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, with a scheduled launch in 2021.

In late August 2020, the studio announced that its partnership with Bigben Interactive - by then renamed Nacon - had also encountered significant issues. The developers were ultimately forced to terminate the contract after numerous disruptions and a legal dispute, citing “multiple breaches of its terms” as the reason. Consequently, The Sinking City was removed from numerous digital storefronts. According to an open letter from the developers, Nacon had delayed payments during the game's development and even tried to coerce them into handing over the source code to a rival team working on another H.P. Lovecraft-inspired project. After the release of The Sinking City, they effectively denied the Ukrainian team the funds they were owed from the game's sales. Additionally, Nacon allegedly circulated misleading claims asserting that it owned the rights to the Sherlock Holmes brand, rather than Frogwares. As a result, Frogwares declared that all of their future titles would be published independently.

Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One was released in November 2021 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The game received positive feedback from both critics and players. In April 2022, the game launched on PlayStation 4, while plans for an Xbox One release were ultimately canceled.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the developers had to scale back their plans for their next project. In May 2022, it was revealed that the project was codenamed Project Palianytsia. By July 2022, it became clear that this mysterious title was Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, a full remake of the 2006 game of the same name. In August, Frogwares launched a crowdfunding campaign that turned out to be a huge success. They raised over €252,000, far surpassing the €70,000 needed to successfully complete the fundraiser.

In the final stretch before releasing their new game, the developers had to postpone the launch by several weeks. The delay was caused by Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which led to power outages that disrupted the studio’s operations.

The remake of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened was released on PC and consoles in April 2023. The game was warmly received by players and reviewers. It earned “very positive” reviews on Steam, and according to Metacritic, industry media gave it an average score of 72–75/100, depending on the platform.

In January 2024, the studio announced that its legal battle with Nacon over the rights to The Sinking City had ended. The dispute was resolved in the studio's favor, granting them full publishing rights for the game across all platforms. Simultaneously, the developers revealed that work had already begun on an enhanced version of The Sinking City, featuring multiple improvements, along with a DLC titled Merciful Madness that would add new quests.

In March 2024, it was announced that the studio's next major project would be The Sinking City 2. Interestingly, the developers chose to emphasize survival horror elements more heavily, while investigative gameplay would take a back seat. Shortly after, it was announced that the original The Sinking City would receive a remastered edition. The Sinking City Remastered, as the game was titled, was developed using Unreal Engine 5 and aimed to distinguish itself from the original primarily through fully revamped graphics.