Whore of the Orient was in development by Team Bondi, who assisted Rockstar in creating L.A. Noire. Most notably known for using their facial capture technology for the game that, at the time, was considered a visual spectacle. Team Bondi's new game was to be set in 1936 Shanghai using the same engine and facial capture technology as L.A. Noire. It was discussed a number of years ago, but news on the game's development hasn't seen the light of day since.

Team Bondi's producer Derek Proud has now revealed that the game may never see the light of day. He explains in the Gamehugs podcast that although the game is not necessarily cancelled, it is no longer in development.

“We fought for it. Brendan [McNamara, studio head], Alex Carlyle [design lead], Vicky Lord [general manager] and Naresh Hirani [project producer] all fought to keep that project alive, and I fought, too, it was something we were all passionate about. But in the end, that was the way it went.”

The news comes as a disappointment. The way Proud describes Whore of the Orient's premise makes it seem like a very unique setting and more of L.A. Noire's unique blend of action and puzzle solving could have made a great game.

“Whore of the Orient was the spiritual successor to L.A. Noire. We were going to use that tech and we were going to create a game set in the 1930s, maybe 1940s, of Shanghai. Shanghai was the only place in the world you could go to in the 1930s and 1940s if you didn’t have a passport. So everybody who was running from something went to Shanghai. The whole city was run by a gangster called Big-Eared Du and it’s just the most fascinating time, place and setting.”