The story isn't new in the gaming world: a big buyout is done on a budding studio just to see it pulled apart by the parent. Echtra Games, the torchbearers for Torchlight III, now come under this sad umbrella courtesy of being acquired by Zynga.
Zynga took over Echtra Games back in 2021, moments after Torchlight III landed. The team, filled with experience, got to work right away on a brand-new, still unannounced action role-playing game. They spent approximately four years writing this over-the-top, mysterious project.
The sad tale of what went wrong with the game is sealed in mystery. What is known is that Zynga has made the decision to close down the very studio they acquired. For "change of strategy," this type of phrase leaves more questions than answers.
Now, this is not just any studio house. It housed around 60 talent personnel in Echtra Games. Max Schafer was the colonizer of this team, a name probably familiar to many. He is a veteran of Blizzard North and one of the minds behind the formation of the legendary Diablo series. If that was not enough, he also co-founded Runic Games, whose marvelous titles came from the first two Torchlight games.
It is a serious blow to the team, but it is also a letdown to fans who were probably expecting the next deliverance from a studio with such pedigree and led by a Diablo creator. The now-promising unannounced RPG will probably never see the light of day.
