The game takes place in the crime-ridden city of Troi in a world where insects have evolved into the dominant life form and humans have degenerated into "hominids."

The game was the brainchild of Mike Levine and Larry Ahern, two former and longtime employees of LucasArts best known for their contributions to that company's library of classic graphic adventure titles.

The LucasArts legacy is evident in Insecticide's detective missions, which are designed as miniature graphic adventures complete with inventory puzzles and dialog trees.

Southpeak itself published a retail version of the first episode as part of their "PC Classics" budget line in early 2010 without any explanation about the story's unfinished state.

Ahern revealed in a 2012 interview that Part 2 was cancelled due to "a whole host of complicated financial, technical, and marketing issues", and the fact the game did not sell well.