The legendary open-world action game set in Hong Kong's criminal underworld is coming back. A community-driven project to restore and revive Triad Wars - the game that was shut down too soon.
Triad Wars was a free-to-play online open-world action game by United Front Games and Square Enix - a spin-off of the acclaimed Sleeping Dogs. Set in a neon-lit, fictionalized Hong Kong, players built criminal empires, ran rackets, and raided rival Triads.
The game was shut down on January 20, 2016, never leaving beta. Now, nedanels is working on restoring it from the ground up - reverse-engineering the server, rebuilding the online infrastructure, and bringing this lost gem back for everyone to experience.
This is an unofficial, non-commercial fan project. We are not affiliated with Square Enix or the original United Front Games. Our goal is preservation and love for a game that deserved more.
Everything that made Triad Wars a unique experience in the Sleeping Dogs universe.
Visceral hand-to-hand combat system inherited from Sleeping Dogs. Master fighting styles, chain combos, and use the environment as a weapon.
Establish your Turf in Hong Kong, set up a Safehouse, and expand your criminal operations from a small-time enforcer to a feared Kingpin.
Run smuggling rings, auto theft operations, and counterfeiting schemes. Manage resources, recruit gang members, and grow your income.
Launch all-or-nothing assaults on rival players' Safehouses. Steal their goods, sabotage their operations, but beware of counterattacks.
Explore a living neon-lit city. Steal cars, pick fights, roam night markets, and cause mayhem across dense urban districts.
Asynchronous multiplayer where you interact with other players through raids, operations, and trading in a persistent world.
From the streets of Hong Kong to the shutdown - and back again.
United Front Games released Sleeping Dogs - an open-world action game set in a fictionalized Hong Kong. You played as Wei Shen, an undercover cop infiltrating the Sun On Yee triad. The game earned critical acclaim for its martial arts combat, gripping story, and atmospheric recreation of Hong Kong's streets, markets, and neon-lit nightlife.
United Front Games announced Triad Wars - a free-to-play online spin-off built on the Sleeping Dogs engine. Unlike the original, players would take the role of a triad boss, building their own criminal empire. The game featured the same open-world Hong Kong, the same brutal combat and driving - but with online mechanics: base building, territory control, criminal rackets, and raiding rival players.
Triad Wars entered closed beta. Thousands of players got a taste of the open world, built their turfs, ran rackets and fought over territory. The core gameplay was impressive - the martial arts combat, gunplay, and car chases were as visceral as Sleeping Dogs. But the aggressive free-to-play monetization and lack of a story campaign drew criticism from the community.
Square Enix announced the cancellation of Triad Wars citing negative community feedback. Servers were officially shut down on January 20, 2016. The game never left beta. Months later, in October 2016, United Front Games closed its doors permanently. Triad Wars became a lost game - impossible to download, play, or even watch in action.
A developer known as sneakyevil made the first attempt to bring Triad Wars back. Through reverse engineering and determination, they tried to build a server emulator - but hit an insurmountable wall. The project couldn't get past the tutorial sequence, and after months of effort, sneakyevil declared the restoration impossible and abandoned the project. But the attempt wasn't in vain - it proved that the dream of reviving Triad Wars still burned in the community.
sneakyevil uploaded the original Triad Wars game files to the Web Archive, preserving them for future generations. Shortly after, a solo developer nedanels picked up the torch. Armed with the archived files, reverse engineering tools, and sheer determination, nedanels began building a new server emulator from scratch - where others said it couldn't be done.
The restoration is ongoing. Core systems are functional - you can log in, explore Hong Kong, build your turf, drive cars, run raids, buy clothes, and manage your empire. The Sleeping Dogs Forum community is growing, and development updates are posted regularly on YouTube. nedanels continues working solo, proving that one person's passion can bring back what was lost. There's still a long road ahead, but Triad Wars is alive again.
We publish regular development updates, showcases, and behind-the-scenes progress on our YouTube channel. Subscribe to stay in the loop.
Original screenshots from the Triad Wars beta - the world we're bringing back.
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Developer build only. Public testing has not started yet.
The server emulator is up and running. You can already log in, explore the open world, buy clothes, build your base, manage inventory, drive cars, do shopping, run raids, and more. Many core systems are functional - but there's still a lot of work ahead.
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