Torchlight developer Runic Games closes its doors

Runic Games, the developer of Hob and the Torchlight games, is closing its doors. That is what the Chinese parent company Perfect World Games has decided. However, in a farewell message on the studio’s website, the founders state that “the world hasn’t heard the last of them.”

The news was first reported by Kotaku, even before a statement appeared on the Runic website. The parent company says the Runic Games shutdown is part of its commitment to focus more on “games as a service.” Runic Games “will still remain in Perfect World’s studio portfolio,” it adds. What exactly that means is not clear, because in the statement from Runic Games itself, studio head Marsh Lefler states that other studios can contact them if they are interested in developers. What will become of the promise that they will hear from the studio is not clear at the moment.

Runic Games was founded in 2008 in Seattle. Their first game came out in 2009 and was called Torchlight. It was a Diablo-like game, which was liked by many players. Part two in the franchise added multiplayer features, among other things, and received an even better rating than Part 1, based on the Metacritic score. Their latest game, Hob, a puzzle platformer, came out less than two months ago.

Motiga, another Perfect World studio in Seattle, is also undergoing a major layoff. There remains only a ‘core team’ of developers. According to the Chinese parent company, the two decisions are unrelated. Motiga released the free-to-play heroshooter Gigantic earlier this year.

On the practical side, all multiplayer services and facilities for the player community should continue to work despite the studio’s closure. The games will also remain available for sale.