From The Sinking City twitter account:

"Hey guys. We do know the cause why the game had been delisted from Steam, GOG, and Playstation now - but we cannot share any explanations now. Sorry for keeping you in the dark, but this is for a reason. We'll be able to explain just a little later. We're living thru this as well"

"Do you have any estimate on when it's coming back? Talking days, weeks, months, years?"

"Possibly, a month or two."

Around September/October then, if it's not postponed again.

Cool, well, of course they knew, but they couldn't talk. Surely it's a rights issue, for example they already had problems with Focus Home.

Thanks for the update.

Here is the reason: https://www.gamewatcher.com/news/frogwares-removed-the-sinking-city-stores-publisher-bigben-breaching-contract-terms

Apparently Frogwares is really unlucky with the publishers it chooses for its games. Fortunately they should have solved the problem, so I expect to see The Sinking City on GOG soon!

http://frogwares.com/the-sinking-city-is-being-delisted-heres-why/

It's a mess

BEWARE!

In their statement they say the game is available "DRM free" on their website. I got it there to support them, and because who knows when it will come here, but as far as I can tell it is NOT DRM free. Using any .exe in the file comes up with an error that says "please use Frogwares launcher to start the game."

I don't understand what's the point of Bigben publisher since the game was already finished. Why can't they just self publish their game digitally and appoint a small distributor to handle collector's physical boxes?

They had problems with french Focus Home and for some reason they decided to negotiate a deal with another french company. And why not Ubisoft since they have established office in Kyiv, Ukraine?

If the half of what they've told is true they surely HAVE to sue Bigben/Nacon for LOTS of lost profit money. And if they will not no one will believe in their story. It smells bad, very bad.

EDIT:
1. Bigben produced the game financially, that's why.
2. Frogwares took legal action against Bigben.

Oh great, the first inconsistency.

Sigh! This sucks!

Yep. Their store also states that the game requires internet connection when launching the game. And it's not the only game there needing online activation.
Weird choice for games which have probably been pirated a million times.

Yeah, I feel stupid for not reading first but they bluntly said "DRM free" in their press release and I didn't even consider that could be bullshit. Live and learn.

Interesting. As DRM-free becomes more attractive for potential customers, we might see such misleading statements in the future

Don't feel bad about it. I'd also have fallen in the same "trap". Specially because I'd have thought that - since the game was supposed to have landed on the GOG later on - they'd already have a DRM-free version ready for download.
Shame on them.

Hopefully nothing a couple of class action lawsuits for false advertising can't solve.

Too much shit around this game, starting with the epic exclusivity