Frogwares has announced that The Sinking City 2, initially anticipated for release in 2025, will now not be available until 2026. The developer attributed this decision to ongoing difficulties related to the war in Ukraine.

Challenges of Development

The studio, based in Ukraine, revealed that game development amidst conflict presents unique challenges. Sergiy Oganesyan, the head of publishing, noted, “Developing a game during a war isn’t something you can ever really prepare for, but something you need to keep adapting to.” After long periods of power outages due to attacks, maintaining productivity has become exceptionally difficult.

“You work all day, then spend the sleepless night listening for explosions, and somehow still need to function the next morning…” Oganesyan elaborated, highlighting the strain on the team’s progress.

A New Design Direction

Besides the war’s impact, The Sinking City 2 is Frogwares’ first foray into survival horror, which requires a fundamentally different approach compared to their previous titles, notably adventure games like Sherlock Holmes. Lead designer Alexander Gresko commented, “It’s exciting, but it definitely makes development slower.”

Frogwares plans to unveil more gameplay footage in the coming months as they work towards a target release in the first half of 2026.