Sleeping Dogs early build leaked online revives fan cries for a sequel

An early build of Sleeping Dogs has leaked online, prompting fans to once again call for a sequel to be released.

YouTuber GrandTheftAero, a content creator who specialises in posting videos about driving and racing games, has shared footage from a November 2011 build of Sleeping Dogs.

This build is dated around nine months before the retail release in August 2012, and has some noticeable differences from what would be in the public version.

For example, the intro sequence doesn’t feature any motion-capture cutscenes, currently only existing as a storyboard, and lacks a lot of the polish and textures that are seen in the game’s final tutorial.

GrandTheftAero adds that this level is noticeably much less complete than other missions in the build, indicating that it was a late addition, perhaps based on playtesting revealing the need for a tutorial.

This sequence ends with the game’s protagonist Wei Shen getting arrested, just as it happens in the final game, but includes a scene of him in the back of a police cruiser with Naz which ended up being cut.

Read More: Sleeping Dogs Designer Would "Love To See It Come Back", Hints At Movie Progress

Sleeping Dogs' early beta shows when it stopped being a True Crime sequel and became something else entirely

More differences in the early build include the character Ming having a much larger role in the story, several cut weapons and vehicles, and the phone camera being available at all times with the ability to save images to your console or PC.

One interesting detail is that missions originally featured bonus objectives, similar to the optional ones seen in several Rockstar games. Completing these would reward you with experience points for either the triad or police factions, leading to some player choice about which side of the law you want to align with.

Originally made as a Hong Kong-based sequel to the True Crime series, it’s clear that the differences in this early build indicate the point where Sleeping Dogs transitioned from that to being its own thing, removing features that were seen in True Crime and replacing them with unique mechanics and systems.

After release, Square Enix scrapped plans for a sequel around a year later, later also cancelling a spin-off that was also in production. Naturally, fans of the game have cried out for a new sequel to be made ever since.

“Honestly this is one of my fav games of all time. I seriously wish there was a sequel to this game,” reads one comment on Reddit.

“Where is my sequel? I need more pork buns and wei shen,” reads another comment in the same thread.

“Kind of wild how few cop games there are out there. Seeing how big of an entertainment genre it is on television and film, and how it’s a great setting for action and drama (both popular elements of video games) you’d think there would be more,” reads a third comment.

With Grand Theft Auto VI set to release later this year, we're hoping it reignites some interest in developing lower budget open-world action games in the same vein as games like Sleeping Dogs and Saints Row.