The upcoming spring update will be the last from developer Echtra Games as it hands Torchlight 3 back to publisher Perfect World Entertainment, the owner of the Torchlight intellectual property.
In a “bittersweet” message posted on the official website earlier today, Torchlight (and Diablo) co-creator and Echtra CEO Max Schaefer announced that the spring update “marks the end” of the Torchlight journey for the developer.
Echtra Games was acquired by Zynga a few months back and as such, Schaefer and his staffers are “moving on to new (and exciting) things” while “passing the baton back to” Perfect World.
There is no telling if Torchlight 3 will be receiving any more content updates under its new leadership. Perfect World, for what it is worth, will likely keep itself busy with basic stability and maintenance updates for the time being. If there are any content plans in the works, the publisher will probably make an announcement soon, at least as an assurance for the player-base.
Echtra Games was founded specifically for future Torchlight games but sadly, it appears that Torchlight 3 will be the last installment in the franchise, at least from the original developers.
As for the spring update, Echtra Games will be leaving Torchlight 3 with the introduction of a new class called the Cursed Captain who can summon undead pirates, use powder kegs and collect doubloons. Also, the Cursed Captain can use capes, a new class-specific armor item.
Torchlight 3 was released in October 2020 to a rather indifferent reception. Transitioning from a massively multiplayer Torchlight Frontiers to a linear design similar to past Torchlight games did not come without self-inflicted wounds.
In our review, we pointed out that “Torchlight 3 lost what made past Torchlight games so fun and carried forth what past Torchlight games should have fixed.” The good thing though is that Echtra Games will be leaving Torchlight 3 in a far better state than at release.
