A murder has been committed in Bugis Town, and from today the public can try to solve it together with the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Homegrown gaming studio HIDDEN has launched A Study in Red: The Official Sherlock Experience – a 90-minute immersive game played across the shared space between Bugis Town malls (Bugis Junction, Bugis+ and Bugis Street) featuring the authentic heritage of the Bugis district.
It is the world’s first officially licensed Sherlock Holmes experience playable in the real world. HIDDEN secured the exclusive licence from the Conan Doyle Estate to bring the world’s first real-world immersive Sherlock Holmes experience to life, launched in Singapore, ahead of London, with HIDDEN named as the Estate’s preferred partner for global expansion.
“A Study in Red is the first Sherlock Holmes experience we have licensed to be played out in the real world — a live investigation inspired by our great ancestor, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original characters and stories, localised, and woven into a real neighbourhood and its real history. We selected HIDDEN through a competitive process as our exclusive partner for this format, and it is fitting that the world premiere takes place in Singapore, ahead of London. We regard HIDDEN as our preferred partner as this format expands globally, and we look forward to Holmes taking on new cases in new cities,” said Richard Pooley, Director, The Conan Doyle Estate.
Previous HIDDEN games had been delivered through WhatsApp, but A Study in Red marks HIDDEN’s first release on its own purpose-built web application, as new features required for A Study in Red outpaced what traditional chat interfaces could handle. HIDDEN began developing the experience from late 2025, with the script written jointly by HIDDEN’s teams in Singapore and New Zealand and in consultation with The Conan Doyle Estate.
“A Study in Red brings together two things we are deeply passionate about: Sherlock Holmes and Singapore’s rich heritage. Inspired by A Study in Scarlet, the story that first introduced the world to the great detective, we have woven its essence together with the fascinating and often forgotten history of Bugis to create something entirely new, yet still faithful to the original. Now, instead of reading it, you can step into a real-world Sherlock adventure as the main character of a thrilling murder mystery,” said Lim Yee Hung, CEO, HIDDEN.
Players work in teams of up to five, following a trail of clues across Bugis Town. Along the way, they will investigate crime scenes enhanced by augmented reality, uncover hidden evidence, explore immersive 360-degree virtual environments, receive calls from characters from the Sherlock Holmes canon, and use CCTV camera intel to unravel the mystery across Bugis.
A Study in Red draws on lesser-known historical facts of Bugis’ past. This research, including other archival sources uncovered by HIDDEN, features within the game.
“We are delighted to welcome A Study in Red to Bugis Town. Spanning our malls and the surrounding streets, the experience reimagines familiar spaces as part of a Sherlock Holmes mystery, offering our shoppers a unique way to explore the precinct,” said Angela Wu, Centre Manager, Bugis Town. “As a vibrant destination where shopping, dining and entertainment come together within a distinctive heritage-rich precinct, Bugis Town is always looking for new ways to engage shoppers and visitors. Through this interactive adventure, we hope to encourage them to discover new corners of Bugis and see the district from a fresh perspective.”
“The case may be fiction, but the experience is rooted in the real history of Bugis. As players work together with Sherlock and his crew to investigate the case, they also uncover the true hidden stories, people and places that shaped this neighbourhood. That is the magic of a HIDDEN experience,” added Lim.
A Study in Red opens to the public on 21 August 2026.
