Home Gaming Sleeping Dogs developer United Front Games shuts down

Sleeping Dogs developer United Front Games shuts down

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Multiple reports emerged overnight that the developer of one of my favourite open world games, Sleeping Dogs, is in the process of shutting down. According to multiple sources, United Front Games is no more, with the closure coming just weeks after its latest game, Smash+Grab, was released on Steam.

The games is a team-based, third-person online multiplayer brawler, and was recently released via Steam’s Early Access service for $19.99. The game was being sold off at a discount and had just had a free weekend. The game seems to have now been pulled from steam.

Multiple sources, including a producer at the studio have suggested that United Front Games is no more.

The Canadian company was comprised of former Rockstar, EA, Black Box Radical and Next Level employees. Their first game was the surprisingly good Modnation Racers on the PS3. The game that put them on the map, however, was Sleeping Dogs, the open-world adventure set in Hong Kong that added a bit more action to the genre.

Sleeping Dogs is an important game for me. As a Cantonese Chinese person, that game was important to me, giving me a relatable character to play as. It featured prolific use of my family’s Cantonese and a bad-ass protagonist who wasn’t a gruff white dude with a stubbly beard. It’s a game I could relate to, and the game that had me thinking that maybe a bit more representation in games isn’t, ultimately, such a bad thing.

Unfortunately, it was followed up by an entirely middling spinoff called Triad Wars, and the now dead Smash+Grab. The real pity here is obviously that a company is gone and its staff is out of work – but it saddens me that we’ll never see Sleeping Dogs 2.

Last Updated: October 18, 2016

30 Comments

  1. Geoffrey Tim

    October 18, 2016 at 07:39

    *cries*

    Reply

    • miaau

      October 18, 2016 at 08:00

      there there. Um.

      BUT, you know how this goes, IP sold off here, there and everywhere. Could still be more for Wei. I hope if there is more it is Wei, as I, in a totally different way, also related to him, to his turmoil with right / wrong and the law.

      May I offer you a Pork Bun?

      Reply

      • Geoffrey Tim

        October 18, 2016 at 08:38

        YES PLEASE.

        Reply

      • DrKiller

        October 18, 2016 at 09:19

        A man without a pork bun is not a real man!

        Reply

  2. Pariah ???

    October 18, 2016 at 07:46

    They could end up selling the IP to a company like Rockstar who would be able to make the Sleeping Dogs 2 you all crave. Or even better the Saints Row devs.

    Reply

    • Dungeon of JJ

      October 18, 2016 at 08:19

      I don’t want overpriced games with shady sales and marketing. So rather give it to Volition than Rockstar.

      Reply

      • Pariah ???

        October 18, 2016 at 08:23

        Volition are busy with Agents of Mayhem though.

        Reply

        • Dungeon of JJ

          October 18, 2016 at 08:28

          I’d rather wait than give it to Rockstar 🙂 Agents of Mayhem seems interesting though.

          Reply

      • miaau

        October 18, 2016 at 08:30

        Volition made Freespace 2. Hmm. Great game.

        Reply

    • miaau

      October 18, 2016 at 08:29

      I think the charm of the game would be lost, particularly at Rockstar.

      Reply

      • Pariah ???

        October 18, 2016 at 08:31

        Both you and @johnambitious:disqus missed that this was a dig, I see.

        Reply

        • miaau

          October 18, 2016 at 08:31

          Difficult to spot sarcastic voice in typed text, sorry.

          Reply

          • Pariah ???

            October 18, 2016 at 08:32

            I have to ask – who exactly wrote that text?

          • miaau

            October 18, 2016 at 08:34

            “They could end up selling the IP to a company like Rockstar who would be able to make the Sleeping Dogs 2 you all crave. Or even better the Saints Row devs.”

            I am hoping, some sort of keyboard, mouse with on screen keyboard or Dragon Dictate (the one that worked) attached to a speak and spell, ultimately, somewhere attached or connected to you in some vague way, typed that text.

          • Pariah ???

            October 18, 2016 at 08:34

            “attached or connected to you”

            “YOU”

            Me.

          • miaau

            October 18, 2016 at 10:21

            Yes, you. YOU, if you will. YOU

          • Pariah ???

            October 18, 2016 at 10:22

            Aren’t I just a sarcastic cunt? 😛

        • Dungeon of JJ

          October 18, 2016 at 08:36

          We did. I take Sleeping Dogs too seriously, clearly 😛

          Reply

          • Pariah ???

            October 18, 2016 at 08:37

            Yeah a lot of people do. But nobody takes Rockstar seriously, and Saints Row is completely wrong in feel for Sleeping Dogs. I thought those would be obvious, but apparently that plus the fact that its me isn’t enough. XD

          • Dungeon of JJ

            October 18, 2016 at 08:45

            Haha. Yea. I just wanted it to go on! Like my heart will go on! 😛

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      October 18, 2016 at 08:46

      “Hey biu go, you want to go play mahjong?!”

      Reply

    • Viking Of Science

      October 18, 2016 at 10:19

      Squeenix own the IP, they won’t sell it….

      Reply

  3. Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

    October 18, 2016 at 07:50

    :'(

    Reply

  4. Zoe Hawkins

    October 18, 2016 at 07:54

    NOOOOOOOOOOO!

    Reply

  5. Pariah ???

    October 18, 2016 at 07:56

    Is it time to let Sleeping Dogs lie?

    Reply

  6. Dungeon of JJ

    October 18, 2016 at 08:18

    Sleeping Dogs is by far the best game of that genre imo.

    Reply

  7. Avithar

    October 18, 2016 at 10:19

    is Rockstar going to take over this?

    Reply

  8. Ross Woofels Mason

    October 18, 2016 at 20:26

    This makes me really sad, Sleeping dogs is one my of my favorite games to the point I bought it on ps3 and then the definitive edition on steam. Outside of witcher 3 it’s the only other game I’ve gotten all the achievements too.

    It was so much damn fun, hopefully someone picks up the IP. Maybe Devolver digital then we can have a Shadow Warrior/Sleeping dogs spin off of Lo Wang the Yakuza hitman and Wei Shen the under cover cop saving the world from demon Triad =p

    Reply

  9. Grimsupanoob

    October 19, 2016 at 08:22

    Still have not played the game…

    Reply

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