Square - Activison's "gotta be crazy," for giving up True Crime: Hong Kong

Mike Fischer, president and chief executive of Square Enix US, said Activision was "crazy," for cancelling United Front's True Crime: Hong Kong.

Speaking with VentureBeat, Activision's loss is Square's gain as far as it is concerned, as it was announced the firm had picked up the game last summer and will release it under its new name, Sleeping Dogs.

"The game was, in a sense, discovered. I’m making air quotes: ‘discovered’ by the folks in Wimbledon," said Fischer. "The minute they showed it to us, we really felt like we had found a diamond in the rough.

"Obviously the game was originally True Crime: Hong Kong from Activision. I can’t speak to why they let that go. I’m not going to speculate on their behalf. All I know is, they’ve gotta be crazy. Because this game is just fantastic.

"The scale and scope of the game really encompasses all of everything you’d want to do in Hong Kong. The acting, the story, the characters are very deep.

"There’s clearly a lot of inspiration from [the movies] The Departed and Infernal Affairs. You play an undercover cop who starts to feel mixed loyalties. But the open world feels like Arkham City, the combat feels as good as a fighting game, the driving is as good as a Need for Speed, and the story is every bit as rich as compelling as a Mass Effect. All in one game.

"In a sense it reminds me a little bit of Dead Island, which Square Enix America did the sales and distribution for. Nobody had heard of that game coming into E3, and in the U.S. alone it sold over 2 million units. It’s great to have a sleeper.'

Game's out in August.