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Report: Sleeping Dogs developer United Front Games shuts down

The studio's latest title, Smash + Grab, was in early access on Steam, but has been pulled.

David Craddock

October 18, 2016 12:29 PM

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Vancouver-based United Front Games is shutting down, according to a report verified by GameSpot (via VG24/7).

Rumors of the studio's imminent closure surfaced on NeoGAF. Editors from GameSpot reached out to sources and confirmed that UFG will be closing down.

Peculiar circumstances indicate that United Front's Closure happened rather quickly. Its latest title, Smash + Grab, was in early access on Steam and available for free over the weekend; players who enjoyed teaming up to pillage and plunder stores could buy the game for $17—a discounted price—after the weekend promotion expired.

Smash + Grab is no longer available on Steam.

Founded in 2007, United Front Games got its start developing ModNation Racer for PS3. It's perhaps most well-known for Sleeping Dogs, an open-world action game in the vein of Grand Theft Auto IV. Sleeping Dogs started out as a new entry in publisher Activision's True Crime series but was cancelled due to quality and budget concerns.

Square Enix bought the publishing rights and entered into a development contract with United Front Games. UFG rebranded the game Sleeping Dogs and released it in 2012 for Xbox 360, PS3, and Windows.

Between Sleeping Dogs and Smash + Grab, United Front worked on LittleBigPlanet Karting for Sony, several ports, and the cancelled Triad Wars game.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.