Sleeping Dogs’ first story expansion to be revealed next month

When publisher Square Enix and developer United Front Games released open-world sandbox action title Sleeping Dogs in August, they claimed that the game would see regular DLC updates for at least the next six months. At the time it seemed an audacious claim, especially given the game’s intensely troubled development history, yet the two firms have remained true to their word so far. However, to date the additions released for the game have all been in the form of additional weapons, in-game clothing and vehicles, leaving those players who have already completed the game with little to do but roam the streets, punching random thugs, and hoping that some day the developers would get around to adding a few new missions to the game.

As of this morning, those gamers’ prayers have been answered. As part of the announcement of what fans can expect from October’s DLC releases, United Front Games’ claimed that Sleeping Dogs’ “first story-driven game extension” would be revealed at the annual New York Comic Con. The conference is scheduled to be held October 11 through 14, so we expect more information to emerge then.

In the meantime however, the company has divulged pretty extensive details on the guns, cars and clothes that will be released for the game throughout the month of October, including a totally gratis Community Gift Pack. While not quite as enthralling as new story missions, they should pique the interest of anyone who has yet to finish the game’s original missions.

First up is the Street Racer Pack which includes three brand new races throughout Sleeping Dogs’ stylized Hong Kong: “Kamikaze, a race up and down the winding tracks of the city’s Victoria Peak; Cross Island Enduro, an epic endurance motorcycle race; and the high-speed Harbor Run boat race.” Additionally, the Pack offers players a new motorcycle, as well as a new racing jacket and helmet.

Next, the SWAT Pack offers a new SWAT team vehicle, full SWAT team riot gear (pictured above) and 20 additional police missions for players to undertake. Unlike the story expansion missions we mentioned above these are relatively minor diversions, but should prove helpful for anyone looking for something extra to do.

Assuming you somehow get tired of kicking people in the face or impaling them on swordfish heads, you can download the Tactical Soldier Pack which gives you instant access to the game’s most powerful armor and weapon (an assault rifle with an attached grenade launcher).

Finally, the Community Gift Pack, which United Front Games describes as “our special thank you to the community.” As we mentioned above, this one is going to be totally free of charge, and will grant players access to United Front Games-branded t-shirts, a United Front Games car, and, most crucially, a luchador-style mask that may be out of place in inner-city Hong Kong, but looks pretty cool regardless.

While the developers were kind enough to detail all of these upcoming DLC additions, they offer no word on when these DLC packs might be available, nor how much they might cost (aside from the free Community Gift Pack). Expect more info as we inch closer to October, and keep your fingers crossed that the Comic Con announcement includes a sizable amount of extra story content. We greatly enjoyed Sleeping Dogs, but really wish it had played out for a few more (dozen) hours.