Sure thing, here we go:
—
Wow, okay, so—Zynga just shut down Echtra Games. Yeah, the same folks behind Torchlight 3. I mean, I didn’t see this coming. Or maybe I did? Who knows.
Anyway, some bigwig from, uh, Take-Two told IGN that they’re doing this whole “strategic realignment” thing. I guess that’s corporate speak for, “we’re shaking things up.” Oh, and get this—Echtra was Max Schaefer’s baby. He’s the guy who helped start Runic Games and worked on the original Torchlight. Man, that was, what, 2012? Time flies.
So, Max left the old gig in 2016 and started Echtra, with Perfect World throwing their hat in the ring, too. Yep, Perfect World still owns Torchlight 3, in case you’re counting. Fast forward to 2021, and, bam, Zynga buys Echtra. They didn’t say how much they paid, though. Kinda makes you wonder, right?
Oh, and at Zynga, Echtra was busy with some secret cross-platform RPG. Not to mention, they helped with CSR Racing and tried to untangle the mess that was Star Wars: Hunters. I’m just curious if they had any sleepless nights over that one.
So Zynga, in what they dub a ‘tough call,’ decided to close the Echtra chapter. That means no more new games from them, at least not anytime soon. What a wild ride. They’ve promised to treat the staff right—I hope they mean it. Navigating job loss, especially now, is no small feat.
This industry’s a rollercoaster, and sometimes, it stops just when you’ve finally raised your hands. Crazy, huh?
