Keiran McEwen
Keiran McEwenWhen we did the article about what games we’re most excited about in 2025, I made it abundantly clear that I had way more than three options. After a couple of delays, I didn’t want to hedge my bets on Kwalee and Fallen Tree Games Ltd’s The Precinct. Revealed back in 2023, the sandbox police action title interestingly forgoes the whole modern setting you’ll find in Aesir Interactive’s Police Simulator or Z-Software’s Highway Police Simulator. Set in the 80s, you follow in your dad’s footsteps cleaning up Averno City of crime in a sort of isometric/top-down perspective.
Announced late last week (along with everything else in the universe), the publisher and developer revealed a third release date, one I hope they can hit with a game that hits their quality standards. “[…]publisher Kwalee and UK-based studio, Fallen Tree Games, are pleased to announce the release date for the highly anticipated game, The Precinct. The neon-noir action sandbox police game will release on May 13, 2025 for PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S,” notes the press release.
It continues: “In The Precinct, players will become rookie officer Nick Cordell Jr in 1980s America. They must navigate warring gangs, urban decay, and police corruption in their quest to restore order to a troubled city. On the ground, that means patrolling and policing a city full of sandbox crimes, from parking infractions to bank heists, street racing to drug deals, in an effort to keep citizens safe for one more day.“
Art Director at Fallen Tree Games, Lewis Boadle, said of the announcement: “We’re so excited to finally share our work with the fans! Their support has been amazing, and we truly appreciate their patience as we worked on The Precinct to deliver the best possible experience. We can’t wait to see their reactions when they finally get to play the game.“
I’ll admit, what probably drew me to The Precinct a couple of weeks after it was announced in 2023 was that it’s practically an inverse of the original GTAs by being a cop. I also like that it is doing so in a similar style to the DS-era Chinatown Wars, which I still play because selling weed, heroin, and ecstasy is fun. Shh, don’t tell the cops! Though The Precinct‘s art style is aiming for a slightly gritty-realism cartoonish style, I don’t know quite how to explain it other than a more “realistic” example of what Beat Cop tried to do.
Set to release on May 13th, 2025 for PC via Steam and Epic, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, you can wishlist The Precinct now on Steam in the meantime or play the demo that’s still available, also on Steam. No expected price was noted in the press release. I’m excited for The Precinct, as I say it was one of the many other options for what I’m excited for this year. Hopefully, Fallen Tree Games have ironed out everything and we’ve seen the last of the delays, otherwise, I might be here in 2026 hoping for its release then too.
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