‘Torchlight Frontiers’ Revealed, ‘Diablo’ Vet Max Schaefer Leading Project

Torchlight is back! This morning Echtra Games, Inc. revealed a new announcement trailer for Torchlight Frontiers, a shared-world action RPG set in the beloved Torchlight universe. Fans of the original two games will be elated to see the name back in headlines, and even more happy to see the trailer. Check it out above.

“Torchlight Frontiers combines the heart of the beloved Torchlight series with a shared, persistent and dynamically generated world. In true Torchlight style, players will team up with friends and devoted pets to hack and slack their way through a vibrant world, discover ancient ruins of lost civilizations and brave dungeons filled with riches and dangerous creatures.” It’s noted that additional details about the game, including launch and beta details, will be revealed a bit later.

For those of you wondering, the talent and that made Torchlight the gloomy, goofy hit that it was is all back to work on Torchlight Frontiers. This morning’s press release confirmed that Runic Games and Blizzard North co-founder Max Schaefer is leading development on the project, and his team is comprised of developers who were also close to Diablo and the original Torchlight games.

“Perfect World Entertainment has had a strong working relationship with Max Schaefer, dating back to the original Torchlight game, and we believe in his vision to evolve the Torchlight series,” said Yoon Im, senior vice president of publishing at Perfect World Entertainment. “Max has put together an all-star team of developers, and we continue to be amazed by the sheer level of talent and wealth of experience that they bring to Torchlight Frontiers. We’re proud to have Echtra Games as a part of the company.”

As for Schaefer, he’s confident that Frontiers represents a positive evolution of the Torchlight universe.

“Evolving the Torchlight universe into a shared world has always been a goal for the franchise, and I’m excited that we’re finally able to make it a reality,” said Max Schaefer, CEO of Echtra Games. “Torchlight Frontiers will be a living, breathing universe that will still feel uniquely Torchlight, while we add our own creative spin to the game. The team is building something truly special, and we can’t wait for fans to play it for the first time at Gamescom and PAX West.”

As a personal fan of the Torchlight series, I’ll be keeping a very close eye on this one. We’ll update you guys right away as soon as we learn more!