Following the partnership deal between the game developer, Frogwares and publisher Focus Home Interactive, the latter of the pairing halted sales of several games between the two. This has since caused some resentment and confusion between fans and developers alike. The latter of which has published a few statements since the partnership stopped and games began to be removed from storefronts.

Frogwares are probably best known for their Sherlock Holmes series, which is the focus of this topic today. Several of the titles Frogwares had developed over the years in partnership with publisher Focus Home Interactive include, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Magrunner: Dark Pulse, and Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack The Ripper. All of these have been removed from either the PS4, Xbox One, PS3, or Xbox 360 storefronts. However, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack The Ripper, and Magrunner: Dark Pulse all remain on Steam.

Attention: an important message from our studio. pic.twitter.com/HqMA8Du8iE

— Frogwares (@Frogwares) September 26, 2019

This was brought to everyone’s attention on the 26th of September 2019 with a statement by Frogwares. Then last Friday, as part of a press follow-up, Frogwares annotated that there were a total of 9 games removed from storefronts by Focus Home Interactive. This was one less than Frogwares had suspected to lose in the break-up as Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments was retained by the developer.

Frogwares comments in their opening statement that they retain all copyright to the games themselves, as the holder of the copyright to the intellectual property. In the statement, Frogwares bring to light what Focus Home Interactive cite as their policy to not transfer titles by developers they no longer have a partnership with. This was also noted as something never brought to Frogwares’ attention before the publishing agreement had ended. According to Frogwares, this also was not highlighted as part of the contacts between the two, and were never applied to previous titles by the studio.

As a simple way of saying thank you to fans of the Sherlock Holmes series for their support, Frogwares are offering a free digital booklet in the Sherlock Holmes series. Frogwares also recently released their Lovecraftian horror, The Sinking City for the Nintendo Switch. Check out Alexx’s review here.

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