Triad Wars
Triad Wars was an asynchronous, open world-style MMO that cast you as a rising figure in Hong Kong’s criminal underworld. Rather than sharing one persistent space with other players, you expanded your influence by building up an operation and striking rival bases, all within the same setting as Sleeping Dogs.
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Publisher: Square Enix Playerbase: Medium Type: Asynchronous Action MMO Release Date: Q4 2015 Cancellation Date: January 20, 2016 Pros: +Set in the Sleeping Dogs universe. +Cash shop options were also obtainable via in-game currency. +Responsive, smooth controls. Cons: -No playable female characters. -Bases looked fairly generic. -PvP happened through raids, not direct encounters. |
Triad Wars Overview
Triad Wars is an asynchronous action MMO focused on climbing the ladder of Hong Kong’s Triad scene through territory control, base development, and aggressive raids. The “asynchronous” structure is the defining hook, you are not roaming the same live streets as other players in real time. Instead, you build your own version of the city and cross paths with others through indirect competition, primarily by attacking their strongholds and defending yours from the same.
As a spin-off set in the Sleeping Dogs universe, the tone leans into crime drama and street-level ambition, but it flips the perspective. You are not an undercover cop working the system from within, you are part of the organization, pushing for influence, resources, and fear. Moment-to-moment play mixes close-quarters brawling with third-person shooting, letting fights swing between martial arts exchanges and firearm-heavy takedowns depending on your loadout and approach.
Character growth is built around a card-based skill setup that feeds into multiple progression paths. In practice, this gives you a flexible way to shape your preferred style without locking you into a rigid class template. Between fights, the game’s management layer becomes the engine of your expansion: recruit gang members, improve your base, and send underlings out to handle the sort of dirty work that keeps an operation profitable.
Cosmetics and presentation options were offered through a cash shop, with the notable upside that many items could also be purchased using in-game currency. The core loop then comes back to dominance and retaliation, strengthen your turf, scout targets, raid other players’ bases, and prepare for your own defenses to be tested.
Triad Wars Key Features:
- Asycnhronous Gameplay – operate in your own Hong Kong instance, competing with others through indirect interactions like base raids.
- Base Raiding – hit rival strongholds to take resources and prove your status in the Honk Kong underworld.
- Martial Arts Combat – combine hand-to-hand techniques with firearm combat, while earning abilities through branching skill paths.
- Base Management – grow an empire by upgrading buildings and assigning jobs to your crew.
- Various cosmetic – style-focused cosmetic options available via the cash shop, including ways to buy with in-game currency.
Triad Wars Screenshots
Triad Wars Featured Video
Triad Wars Review
Triad Wars had a strong premise on paper: take the world and attitude of Sleeping Dogs, then build an MMO-flavored experience around running a criminal enterprise. What it delivered felt like a hybrid of action brawling and base-centric strategy, with the asynchronous PvP structure shaping almost every design choice.
At its best, the game nailed a quick, readable combat flow. Fighting leaned on a familiar third-person action feel where punches, counters, and short combos handled close range, and gunplay offered a straightforward alternative when situations escalated. Controls generally felt snappy and dependable, which mattered because raids depended on being able to react quickly while pushing through defensive setups. Even without direct, live PvP duels, there was still pressure during attacks because success hinged on execution, route choice, and how efficiently you could clear obstacles.
The empire-building side gave players a long-term objective beyond simply winning fights. Upgrading buildings and managing crew assignments created a sense of momentum, you were not only leveling a character, you were scaling an operation. This structure also helped the game feel purpose-driven in short sessions, since you could log in, collect income, issue orders, and then decide whether to raid or reinforce defenses.
Where Triad Wars struggled was in how indirect competition could feel. Because opponents were encountered through base assaults rather than shared-world confrontation, the rivalry was more abstract than in traditional open world MMOs. You were clashing with someone’s setup and resources, not their presence. For players who want social friction, spontaneous encounters, or skill-based duels, that asynchronous model could make the experience feel one step removed.
Presentation was another mixed bag. The connection to the Sleeping Dogs universe provided instant thematic identity, but base visuals were not especially memorable, and the overall look of many player strongholds tended to blend together. It reinforced the idea that the base was primarily a functional system, not a place with much personality beyond its upgrades.
It is also hard to ignore the limitations in character options. The lack of female playable characters was a noticeable omission, especially for a game built around customization and projecting your identity as a rising boss. On the monetization side, the ability to earn cash shop items with in-game currency was a genuine positive, it lowered the feeling that customization was locked behind payment and made progression feel more rewarding for dedicated players.
Overall, Triad Wars is best remembered as an interesting experiment: a crime-themed action MMO with a management and raiding loop that aimed to translate underworld ambition into repeatable online play. The fundamentals had promise, but the indirect PvP format and some thin presentation elements made it harder to recommend broadly, even before its shutdown.
Triad Wars Links
Triad Wars Official Site
Triad Wars Developer Website
Triad Wars Wikipedia Page
Triad Wars Wikia (Database / Guides)
Triad Wars System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Windows Vista / 7 / 8 / 10
CPU: Core 2 Duo E4400 2.0GHz or Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+
Video Card: Radeon HD 6450
RAM: 2 GB
Hard Disk Space: 15 GB
United Front Games has only released minimum system requirements for Triad Wars. Recommended system requirements will be added once available.
Triad Wars Music & Soundtrack
Details on the soundtrack were never widely documented in the same way as the mainline Sleeping Dogs release. If official track listings or featured artists surface from preserved sources, they can be added here to better reflect the game’s audio direction.
Triad Wars Additional Information
Developer(s): United Front Games, Square Enix London Studios
Design Director: Steve Ferreria
Senior Producer: Justin Bullard
Community Manager: James Baldwin
Announcement Date: September 22, 2014
Closed Beta: October 22, 2014
Release Date: Q4 2015
Shut Down Date: January 20, 2016
Development History / Background:
Triad Wars was created by United Front Games, working in partnership with Square Enix London Studios. It was positioned as a spin-off to Sleeping Dogs (2012), using the same universe but shifting the player fantasy from police infiltration to building power as a Triad member. The project was revealed on September 22, 2014, and moved into Closed Beta on October 22, 2014.
Despite launching in Q4 2015, its run was brief. The team announced plans to close the game on December 23, 2015, and service ended on January 20, 2016.