Home Gaming Shared-world spinoff RPG Torchlight Frontiers is no more, is being retooled to become Torchlight III

Shared-world spinoff RPG Torchlight Frontiers is no more, is being retooled to become Torchlight III

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If you’re a fan of action RPGS cut from the same cloth as Diablo, then you’re no doubt aware (or possibly even a fan) of the Torchlight series from developer Runic Games. Unfortunately, in 2017, Runic Games was closed, leaving the possibility of a third game in the dust. There was, however, a free-to-play online shared-world Torchlight game on the cards, being developed by Echtra Games.

That game is now being retooled into Torchlight III proper – and it’s not just a name change. Instead of the always-online free-to-play stuff, it’s being turned into a premium game. Hooray!

“Torchlight III will be released as a premium title,” the developer says. “For one box-price, you will own the game and be able to play the way that you want, online or off. Over the past year, we have gathered massive amounts of feedback from our Alpha testers. After reviewing this feedback, discussing with our internal teams, and receiving guidance from our publisher, we determined that this was the best course for the game. This shift helps bring Torchlight back to its roots and makes it the true sequel to Torchlight I & II that it was always meant to be.”

To that end, they’ll be removing any semblance of a real-money store from the game, and the whole thing will have a more traditional Act progression. “Players start at the Imperial Outpost besieged by goblin hordes. They then follow the trail of nether corruption into lands overtaken by Hyvid and finally reach the [redacted] Peaks and their cavernous underplaces ruled by the electrifying [redacted].” Mysterious!

Because of these changes, the game will now also be coming to Steam later this year, with a console release planned to follow.

Last Updated: January 28, 2020

9 Comments

  1. Alien Emperor Trevor

    January 28, 2020 at 14:42

    Awesome, I love the Torchlight games.

    Reply

  2. MechMachine

    January 28, 2020 at 15:07

    I remember the years when there was no Diablo 3, just deafening silence from Blizzard. We had Titan’s Quest. Never Played Torchlight. Is it a PC exclusive or does it come in a console flavour as well ?

    Reply

    • Jacques Van Zyl

      January 28, 2020 at 15:32

      Comes in console version as well and is a great and bright little game to enjoy.

      Reply

      • MechMachine

        January 28, 2020 at 15:32

        Cool. Might check it out.

        Reply

  3. Son of Banana Jim

    January 28, 2020 at 15:38

    I’m not complaining, that’s fantastic news; I wonder why though? Was the development too expensive? I think there might be an interesting story behind all of this.

    Reply

    • Geoffrey Tim

      January 28, 2020 at 16:05

      Largely based on feedback from the alpha testers; nobody was really, really gelling with the horizontal progression. The uh..publisher also seems to have guided it this way. Definitely a story behind it.

      Reply

      • Son of Banana Jim

        January 28, 2020 at 16:20

        Interesting – ? will be fun to see how it unfolds.

        Reply

  4. Hammersteyn

    January 29, 2020 at 10:54

    Played the second one over December. It’s like Diablo alright, with a tenth of the budget. Still fun, mildly interesting story.

    Reply

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