Torchlight 3 Devs Acquired by Zynga
American company Zynga, known among other things for its famous browser-based game FarmVille, announced that it has decided to buy Echtra Games, the studio that created last year's Torchlight 3. The amount of the deal is unknown.
Torchlight III, released last year, was not particularly warmly received by the media and the players. It should not be forgotten, however, that the studio responsible for the title, Echtra Games, is headed by Max Schaefer, whose CV includes not only work on the entire Torchlight series, but also the first two installments of Diablo. The American company Zynga, which is responsible for the famous FarmVille, apparently found the experience of both the developer and his subordinates to be useful in the future. Therefore, the company decided to purchase Echtra Games for an unspecified amount of money (via GamesIndustry.biz).
According to a statement from Frank Gibeau, Zynga's CEO, this acquisition "will be instrumental in deeloping their iconic mobile licenses and franchises on PC and consoles." First up, Echtra Games will work with NaturalMotion (CSR Racing, Star Wars: Hunters) on "a new, as-yet-unannounced cross-platform RPG".
According to a Zynga representative, this situation will not result in any layoffs at Echtra Games. The question is, whether its members will still have the opportunity to work on Torchlight, or this chapter has closed for them definitively? So far we don't know.
