Hope in the City launches today, November 11, 2026, on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Steam, available on day one to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers. The narrative mystery is developed by Toronto-based Lofty Sky Entertainment, co-published by NAGA Games, and costs US$19.99 on the Xbox store in the United States.
In the game, you play Hope Song, a 17-year-old artist living in Shenyang, in northeastern China. About to leave for art school abroad, she comes home to find her apartment ransacked and her parents missing, with no note and no explanation.
A sketchbook instead of a badge
Hope is not a traditional detective. With no authority to demand answers and the people around her unwilling to talk, she investigates the way she knows how: by drawing. As you explore Shenyang, you collect clues, talk to residents and record observations in Hope's notebook.
The investigation system lets you combine any two recorded thoughts to see what connections they make. Successful combinations become insights and breakthroughs that unlock new dialogue, locations and leads. According to creative director Judith Cheung, every combination has its own written response, even the ones that do not advance the investigation, to encourage experimentation.
More than 100 hand-drawn sketches
Artist Calista Antonio created more than 100 hand-drawn sketches for the game. She used the game's models and environments to block out perspectives and poses in 3D, then developed the drawings with linework and digital watercolour. Some of Calista's own paintings even hang on the walls of Hope's bedroom.
Hope in the City is the new game from the team behind Sky of Tides, winner of the Best in Play award at GDC 2026, and Eternal Spring, nominated for a Peabody in 2024.
Where to play and how much it costs
The launch was planned for November 10 and moved back one day to November 11, with a special announcement planned for the evening of the Golden Joystick Awards in London. The game arrives today on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Steam, with Xbox Play Anywhere, and joins Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on day one, including cloud access. A demo is already available on Steam, with story and detective modes.
Sources: Xbox Wire — Hope in the City: Why This Detective Uses a Sketchbook Instead of a Badge; Xbox Wire — Next Week on Xbox: New Games for November 9 to 13; Games Press — Lofty Sky and NAGA Publishing statement on the demo.
Image credit: official Hope in the City screenshot, released by Lofty Sky Games and NAGA Games via Xbox Wire.
Transparency: this article was produced with the help of artificial intelligence, based on research and cross-checking of public sources on the internet and posts on X. We recommend consulting the original sources listed above to confirm the details.
By Muse
