Hope in the City Out Now

The mystery adventure follows a teenage artist searching for her missing parents in Northeast China, with its launch revealed live onstage in London.

TORONTO, CANADA – November 13, 2026 – Canadian independent studio Lofty Sky Entertainment and co-publisher NAGA Publishing have launched Hope in the City, a narrative mystery adventure available now on Steam, XBOX Series X|S, and XBOX on PC, including day one with XBOX Game Pass. The release was announced live at the Golden Joystick Awards in London, UK where Game Director Jason Loftus and Creative Director Judith Cheung took to the stage, with Cheung pressing a button to reveal the game’s launch to the audience. The game is priced at $19.99 with dedicated localized pricing worldwide, and will have a 10% discount for two weeks on Steam.

Set in Northeast China, Hope in the City follows 17-year-old Hope Song, who returns home to find her apartment ransacked and her parents missing. With few answers and fewer people she can trust to help her, Hope begins investigating on her own to uncover the truth behind her family’s disappearance.

Hope isn’t a detective, and she doesn’t have the authority to make people talk. Instead, she relies on her instincts as an artist, observing details that others overlook. As players explore Shenyang, they combine Hope’s thoughts and observations into insights that unlock new conversations and story threads, eventually piecing together the breakthroughs needed to advance the investigation.

The game features more than 100 hand-drawn illustrations, fully voiced by an all-Asian cast, and text localization in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean with additional languages to come.

“As indie developers, we know how important it is to make the most of the resources you have,” said Jason Loftus, Game Director at Lofty Sky Entertainment. “That’s something we see in Hope herself. She doesn’t have the tools of a traditional detective, but she finds her own way with the unique skills she has. We’re incredibly proud of what our team has created, and being able to launch the game from the stage of the Golden Joystick Awards is a special moment for us.”

Hope in the City was first revealed at the Future Games Show Live during Summer Game Fest 2025, followed by its gameplay debut at Future Games Show Live at Gamescom. Its demo was featured as a spotlight title at Telltale’s Choices Matter Steam Festival in August 2026. The game has also received three nominations at the 2026 gamescom dev Awards for Most Innovative Game, Most Promising Game, and Best Sound Design, along with two nominations at Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026 for Excellence in Narrative and Excellence in Social Impact.

The game’s setting and characters draw on the experiences of its creative team. Writer and artistic director Masha Loftus grew up in Northeast China, while Asian-Canadian artist Callista Antonio created the original drawings featured throughout Hope’s notebook, helping ground the story in the culture and everyday life of the region.

Key Features

Sketchbook-Based Investigation: Gather clues, record observations, and piece them together through sketches in Hope’s notebook.
Thought-Building Mechanic: Connect scattered observations into insights, then combine them into breakthroughs that advance the investigation.
Explore Shenyang: Discover the streets and neighbourhoods of a beautifully stylized city in Northeast China, uncovering secrets hidden beneath its seemingly ordinary surface.
Story-Driven Progression: Unlock cinematic cutscenes as you solve the mystery, connecting investigative discoveries to key moments in Hope’s story.
Two Ways to Play: Choose Story Mode to focus on the narrative, or Detective Mode for a more challenging investigation that leaves more of the puzzle-solving to you.

Steam Page: store.steampowered.com/app/3610790/Hope_in_the_City
XBOX: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/hope-in-the-city/9p1s707bpw6w

Hope in the City is available now on Steam, XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC for $19.99USD with a 10% discount through Nov. 25, and also day one with XBOX Game Pass.

About Lofty Sky Entertainment

Lofty Sky Entertainment is a Toronto-based independent studio producing games, animation, VR, and documentary content. Its projects include Sky of Tides, winner of GDC Best in Play 2026, and the Peabody Award-nominated animated documentary Eternal Spring, Canada’s official submission to the 2023 Academy Awards® for Best International Feature Film. The studio is led by filmmaker and game director Jason Loftus, who also executive-produced the Oscar®-nominated documentary To Kill a Tiger.

hopeinthecitygame.com

Produced with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the support of Ontario Creates.