Square Enix Picks up True Crime: Hong Kong

Its been a long and strange road for developer United Front Games after the cancellation of True Crime: Hong Kong. Believing that it was the end for road for the game, Square Enix used a Phoenix Down and is now publishing the project under a new name. The publisher didn’t secure the rights to the True Crime IP but its safe to say that there will be elements of True Crime when it finally releases in the near future.

Square Enix’s Europe London division chose to pick up the title citing it “as a fantastic opportunity to create a new and unique franchise which gamers will come to know and love for years to come.” Expect True Crime to release on PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation given the publishers multiplatform approach. What does Activision have to say in light of this announcement? In a post on Gamasutra, Activision seems enthralled that it was able to outsource United Front’s development to someone more willing to take the financial risk stating “our team has worked very hard to find a solution where everybody wins. Square Enix gets the benefit of the tremendous investment we’ve made in the game thus far. UFG gets to stay together and complete their vision. And gamers get to play a great game. We couldn’t be more thrilled.”