Zynga snaps up Torchlight 3 developer Echtra Games

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The mobile publisher wants to bring its 'iconic licenses' to PC.

torchlight 3
(Image credit: Perfect World Entertainment)

Prolific mobile games publisher Zynga has acquired Torchlight 3 developer Echtra Games for an undisclosed sum, GamesIndustry.Biz reports.

Following the acquisition, Echtra will be collaborating with fellow Zynga studio NaturalMotion on an unannounced, cross-platform RPG. But according to Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau, it also sounds like the studio will help give the mobile- and social-heavy publisher find a foothold on PC gaming.

"Max and his team at Echtra Games are responsible for some of the most legendary game properties ever created, and they are experts in the action RPG genre and cross-platform development," said Gibeau. "This acquisition will be instrumental in growing our iconic licenses and brands from mobile to PCs and consoles, while helping to further expand Zynga's total addressable market."

Formed from the ashes of now-defunct Torchlight 1 and 2 developer Runic Games, Echtra brought many of that studio's staff on board to develop last year's Torchlight 3—a mechanically-sound if dreadfully uninspired action-RPG that, at the very least, managed to salvage a serviceable hack 'n' slasher out of its roots as an online live-service game.

"There is fun to be had here, but Torchlight 3 still feels like it's in early access," wrote Luke Winkie in his review. "Probably because, in some ways, it's dealing with the growing pains of a mid-development pivot in scope. It isn't easy to make a retail RPG out of the scattered debris of a free-to-play quarter-eater. Perhaps Torchlight 3 will go down in history as a cautionary tale."

Natalie Clayton
Natalie Clayton
Features Producer

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.