In many ways, spring 2021’s Cursed Captain update was the last big hurrah for the beleaguered Torchlight III — and it wasn’t even that big of a hurrah. This was the point when Echtra Games, the developer, ejected from the project and left it in the hands of Perfect World. So what’s happened to this online ARPG in the intervening year?
The answer is, pretty much nothing. Perfect World has kept the lights on since the May 2021 update — but little more than that. The game did get brought up last October when the Torchlight franchise was celebrating its 12th anniversary, though, and of course Perfect World itself was acquired by Embracer Group at the tail end of 2021.
Echtra Games hasn’t made a peep since dropping out of Torchlight III, its first — and so far, only — title. The studio was bought up by Zynga last year.
In terms of player numbers, the bad news is that Torchlight III only averages around 200 on Steam at any given time. The good news? That’s been the case for a while now, so at least the title has a dedicated small community chugging along. The even worse news? It’s still dwarfed by Torchlight II.
It should be noted that Microsoft is removing Torchlight III from its Game Pass program this week. But hey, it’s on sale on Steam if you want to go where angels fear to tread!
