The Underworld: Crime Does Pay

The Underworld: Crime Does Pay is a cancelled PC game by Phoenix Entertainment. It was to be a FPS-RTS hybrid from the criminal perspective.

Plot
Take charge of a small organized crime group in a modern city called The City. Have your underlings engaged in various rackets, from gambling, loaning, fraud, and theft. The goal is to rule the city as the lone Don on top.

Gameplay
Placing your underbosses in roles around The City begins the real time strategy part. Underworld was unique in that it allowed you to jump into that underboss to sort things yourself. Each underboss is unique with their own weapons, equipment, and skills.

There are two sides to manage: economic and combat. Each affects the other. With economics you can expand your empire with takeovers. With violence you can expand by force. This allowed for diverse gameplay: something for everyone!

The tech tree would determine how you would start your business and specialised business ventures. This will affect your skills at racketeering and interactions with cops. This tech tree seems to be randomly generated upon player creation.

Multiplayer was to be online PvP with you and another person or people duking it out.

Cancellation
The Underworld: Crime Does Pay was canned in early 2002 for reasons unknown. Maybe because they couldn't find a publisher, or the game was too ambitious, or lack of funding. Phoenix Entertainment has seemingly vanished without releasing a single game.

Timeline:
 * Summer 1999: development started
 * Q2 2002: development ceases