torchlight-mmo posts

One year ago today, the folks at start-up game developer Runic Games released Torchlight, a downloadable fantasy action-RPG that was created by some of the folks behind Blizzard's first two Diablo games. Torchlight was a huge success for the developer; last August it revealed to Gamasutra that it has sold "well over" 600,000 copies.

That sales number is about to get even bigger. To celebrate the first anniversary of Torchlight's release, the developer is selling the game for just $10, a 50 percent discount, on its web site from now until 11 am Eastern time on Friday. And of course the team is working on Torchlight 2 which is due out sometime in 2011.

There's been some debate recently over just how big the market is for downloadable PC games in comparison to copies sold in retail stores. One study said downloadable copies of PC games have almost caught up with retail sales while another stated that retail sales still hold the vast majority of PC game units.

In a new chat at Gamasutra, Runic Games' CEO Max Schaefer stated that sales of its fantasy action-RPG Torchlight are now "well over" 600,000 units. However sales for the downloadable version of the game have topped the boxed copies by a ratio of almost four to one. Those numbers might be affected by the fact that Torchlight started as a downloadable game first, in October 2009, with a retail release coming a few months later in January 2010. Sales of Torchlight have trailed off by 10 percent every week, according to Schaefer but adds, "It still sells like crazy every time it goes on sale." The developer just announced plans for a sequel, Torchlight II, that is scheduled for a downloadable release in spring of 2011.

Big Download just got off the phone with Runic Games' PR head Wonder Russell who gave us a little more info on today's surprise announcement of Torchlight II, the sequel to 2009's sleeper hit action-RPG game. Russell told us that while the developer isn't yet ready to release screenshots of Torchlight II, she did confirm that a playable version of the game will be on display at Gamescom in Germany later this month and also at PAX Prime 2010 in Seattle in early September.

Russell also confirmed to us that the previously announced plans for a Torchlight-based free-to-play MMO game have been delayed as the development team at Runic Games is now working sole on Torchlight II. Russell said that the MMO project will be back up to speed once Torchlight II is completed.

In a little bit of a surprise, developer Runic Games has announced plans to release Torchlight II, the sequel to their critically acclaimed fantasy action-RPG. The original game sold more than 500,000 copies but many thought Runic Games' next project would be a free-to-play MMO based on Torchlight's fantasy world.

Instead Torchlight II, due for release as a digital download in spring 2011, will be a direct sequel to the original's fantasy action-RPG with the addition of co-op online multiplayer via a free matchmaking service. The game will also feature four customizable player character, new quests, new monsters and even a new feature allowing for characters to own pets.

It's no secret that developer Runic Games plans to follow up the success of their downloadable action-RPG Torchlight with an MMO that's set in the same fictional fantasy world. PCGamer's web site reveals, via Runic's president Travis Baldree, that the development team wants the MMO to play "as close to single player as we can get it.:" The title will be free to play but will support microtransactions for its revenue source.

The microtransaction business model is certainly gaining more and more supporters from both developers and players but oddly enough Baldree won't be participating in his own game's business plan, saying, "I will never, ever buy a microtransaction item. I'm that kind of player. And the game has to be enjoyable for me, too."