Zynga acquires studio behind Torchlight III

Game company Zynga acquires Echtra Games. That’s the developer of Torchlight III. After the acquisition, the team will work on a new closs platform RPG, in collaboration with NaturalMotion, another Zynga studio.

What Zynga will pay for the acquisition of Echtra Games has not been disclosed. Zynga says it will bring in development talent with the acquisition. The company emphasizes that the developers of the studio have previously worked on games such as Diablo, Diablo II and the Torchlight franchise.

Echtra Games is the studio of Max Schaefer, who was at the origin of both the Diablo and Torchlight franchises. Torchlight III was the first game of the 2016 founded Echtra Games. Schaefer also worked on the first two parts, then at Runic Games. That studio has been closed since 2017.

The team of Echtra Games will work at Zynga on a new RPG that will be playable on multiple platforms. It is not yet known which platforms these are. It may also be smartphones, because Zynga is mainly known for browser games and mobile games. Zynga had a lot of success in the previous decade with games like FarmVille and CityVille. The company’s current popular games include Zynga Poker and CSR Racing 2.

Echtra Games will collaborate with NaturalMotion for the new game. That is the Zynga studio responsible for CSR Racing 2. Substantive details about the RPG have not yet been announced. It is not yet known when the game will be released.

Torchlight III