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."
A Zynga spokesperson told GIBiz that there would be no layoffs following the acquisition.
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