The Precinct – 1980s Police Sandbox

A new open-world police simulator is out on consoles and PC. The Precinct prepares launched across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC on 13th May 2025. Set against the backdrop of 1980s urban America, this sandbox crime game puts players in the shoes of rookie officer Nick Cordell Jr as he navigates a city gripped by gang warfare, decay, and police corruption.

Law Enforcement in a Living City

The Precinct approaches the police simulator genre with a focus on sandbox gameplay, allowing players to patrol and respond to a diverse range of criminal activities throughout their shift. These incidents range from minor infractions like illegal parking to high-stakes scenarios including bank heists, street racing, and drug deals, all set within a living city environment.

The game appears to offer considerable freedom in how players approach their law enforcement duties, with exploration available on foot, in squad cars, and even via helicopter. This mobility should complement the gameplay variety, as officers respond to crimes across different neighbourhoods and districts.

Dynamic Systems and Environmental Interaction

According to the announcement, the game features destructible environments that come into play during vehicle pursuits, suggesting a physics system that allows for interactive chase sequences through the city streets. A support system allows players to call for backup during challenging encounters, potentially adding strategic depth to more dangerous situations.

Beyond the day-to-day policing, there appears to be an overarching narrative involving gang investigations and exposing “dark conspiracies” that maintain the criminal status quo. This story element could provide structure to the sandbox experience and a sense of progression as players work to clean up the streets.

The city itself will feature day/night cycles and dynamic weather systems, likely affecting visibility, driving conditions, and perhaps even the types of crimes that occur during different times of day.

The Precinct joins a relatively small but dedicated genre of police simulation games, offering what appears to be a more narrative-driven and action-oriented approach than some of its contemporaries. As Officer Cordell prepares to hit the streets next month, we’ll be watching to see how this blend of open-world exploration, crime response, and investigation comes together.