The Sinking City 2 Launches Tomorrow at 50 Dollars, and Premium Owners Are Already Playing

Arkham finally opens its floodgates. The Sinking City 2 launches tomorrow, August 18, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and if you sprang for the Premium Edition you do not even have to wait: its 24-hour early access kicked in today. We have been keeping an eye on this one since Frogwares first showed it, partly because the Ukrainian studio has been building it through genuinely difficult wartime conditions, and partly because a proper Lovecraft survival horror is a rare thing.

Video: Frogwares on YouTube

A 50 dollar horror game in a 70 dollar world

The price is the first thing worth saying out loud. The standard edition costs $49.99 at a time when most big releases ask $69.99 or more, and Frogwares is self-publishing, so that number is a deliberate choice rather than a discount. The Deluxe Edition runs $54.99 and adds cosmetic outfits plus a small resource pack, while the $59.99 Premium Edition throws in Holloway Manor, a self-contained puzzle house stuffed with occult lore, along with the early access that is already live. On PC the game is available on Steam, the Epic Games Store and GOG.

Frogwares has also confirmed two details we like a lot. New Game+ is in at launch, not patched in months later, and it carries over your perks, perk points and items into a fresh run with new rewards on top. And the HDR upgrade the studio had planned is coming as a free patch shortly after release, with most of the groundwork reportedly done.

What you actually do in drowned Arkham

This is a third-person survival horror set in a 1920s Arkham half swallowed by a supernatural flood. You play Calvin Rafferty, moving through tide-stained streets by foot and by skiff, managing scarce ammo and inventory while the Slither raise the dead and Deep Ones surge out of dark water. The pitch that sets it apart comes straight from Frogwares' detective heritage: optional investigations never gate your progress, but solving them unlocks safer routes, supplies and weapon upgrades, so curiosity becomes a survival resource. There is a hospital where science hides its face, a fish market where the merchandise bites back, and a descent below the city that we would rather not spoil.

August has quietly turned into a strong month for horror fans, coming right after No More Room in Hell 2 hit 1.0 on consoles and Capcom revealed that Resident Evil Requiem has passed 8 million copies. Our honest take: Frogwares games have always been more ambitious than polished, and a genre swap from detective adventure to survival horror is a real risk. But the fair price, the day-one New Game+ and the studio's stubborn devotion to Lovecraft make this an easy game to root for. We will be watching how it plays once the flood recedes.