Source: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/RemGC/discussions/9/1736595131052961774/?ctp=200
Disclaimer: I am "Protoblob" on Steam.

Just a heads-up. An unsourced statement was posted (now removed there as the poster tries to find sources) in a Steam group for removed games that all Sherlock Holmes games will be removed from all platforms* due to a license transfer.
Does GOG staff have any information on this that can be shared?

Also I am not sure if there is no thread, or if the search function doesn't work. I searched for Sherlock Holmes and found nothing. So my apoligies if there already is a thread on this.

Questions I have:
Is that rumor true? Will the games really be removed?
Does that include the upcoming Sherlock Holmes game?
Will DLC also be removed (the soundtracks)?
When is the removal happening (date)?

* This usually means storefronts such as from GOG or Steam or on consoles, but not libraries. If you have bought the game previously, you keep it.


EDIT: I can not exclude the possibility that the poster on Steam was trolling. Also the supposed license transfer was "to the original rights holders" via Sony (SIE)

Of course not. If they do have such info, then there is a 99.9% chance that they'd keep it quiet and say nothing.

And if in the 0.1% chance that they were going to go public with it, then they wouldn't do so by way of posting the info in a reply to a random thread on the forum.

Uh, you realize that releasing an announcement at least a few days prior to a removal that's due to a license expiration is actually pretty standard practice, so that people with the game wishlisted have notice that they need to snag it now or forever hold their peace, right?

I take it this is referring to the Frogwares titles specifically. ALL Sherlock games cannot be removed (from Steam at least) as there are series from more than publisher available and they wouldn't all fall under a single license transfer.


As for your questions:
* Only the developers/publishers involved can confirm whether or not its true.
* This depends on who the license is transferring from and to. If the license is transferring from Nacon (BigBen) to Frogwares then it shouldn't as Frogwares are self-publishing the new game. If the transfer is to another party altogether then it probably still wouldn't include the new game as it's not part of Nacon's franchise.
* Yes, additional content would also have to go as part of the transfer.
* See the first question.

What license? Isn't Sherlock Holmes in public domain?

Most of the original Sherlock Holmes works are public domain. That doesn't mean every derivative work is though. If I were to create a Sherlock Holmes game using an original story then the story would still be eligible for copyright as would any original characters or visual elements.

There's been some funky legal shit going on between Frogwares and Nacon ever since The Sinking City got pulled from all storefronts back in August, so I figure we're talking about the publishing licenses for the Frogwares titles, rather than the overall Sherlock IP.

The post on the Steam Community thread said it is transfered to its original rights holders via Sony, or something like that.

Correct, "public domain" is also dependant on the geographic territory (and applicable laws / copyrights / trademarks etc) as well.
A good deal of public domain stuff in north america isnt in the UK and vice versa.

[posting generally for info as you seem to understand this]

I could see that as the poster oversimplifying "Sony transferred distribution rights for Devil's Daughter and Sinking City from Nacon to Frogwares on the Playstation Store", though I haven't seen any news in that regard, and googling the matter only finds articles from around August when the legal battle between the dev & publisher initially started.

Yes. I've read multiple articles on the situation and still can't completely figure it out! But the dispute does seem quite bitter. Hoping things get sorted soon.

As for games delisting...

... GOG usually tries to give some warning, but I've seen it give warning for delisting later that same day (a matter of hours), so I wouldn't count on a heads up with plenty of time.

Hopefully Frogwares getting their *&% together means Sinking City gets LISTED here and not Sherlock DELISTED!

I can't really find anything specific about this, so it's probably something to do with The Devil's Daughter (which is the only Frogwares Sherlock Holmes that is not self-published). Maybe it will be temporarily removed from all stores, as part of the legal disputes between Frogwares and Nacon/Big Ben that has led to the delisting of Sinking City from Epic/PSN/Microsoft Store and its delay on Steam and GOG.

I'm getting the strangest sense of deja vu. Wasn't "Frogwares getting screwed over by Focus Home refusing to do a license transfer" a big deal only a year or so ago?

It was indeed! Seems like they can't seem to catch a break in that regard.