Square Enix rescues cancelled True Crime

Square Enix will publish True Crime: Hong Kong after the title was cancelled by Activision back in February.

"When we first saw and got our hands on the game we fell in love with it," Lee Singleton, general manager of Square Enix London Studios told Gamasutra.

United Front Games is still developing the title, which Singleton describes as a "great big bucket of fun," but it will undergo a change of name, as Square Enix has not purchased the IP.

"When we met the team at United Front Games it was a done deal in our eyes -- we instantly recognised the huge potential in the game and the team," added Singleton.

"UFG is an incredibly talented team, who have individually worked on some of the biggest games in our industry, and this talent shines through from the moment you walk in the door."

Square Enix has yet to confirm platforms or new release dates for the project, but has revealed that its currently recruiting for the game.

Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg was also positive about the move.

"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."

True Crime was originally due for release in the autumn of 2010, but was delayed until 2011 due to quality issues. In February Activision dropped the title along with the Guitar Hero series. At the time Hirshberg told investors "it just wasn't going to be good enough."