Torchlight Frontiers is now Torchlight 3
And it's out this summer.
Action role-playing game Torchlight Frontiers launches as Torchlight 3 on Steam this summer, its developer has announced.
This change amounts to Frontiers returning to the premium model of Torchlight 1 and 2 with a new focus on linear progression and the classic act structure.
So, you can play online or offline, with access to all playable content. Torchlight 3 ditches the shared, persistent and dynamically generated world Frontiers was set to offer, as well as the in-game real-money store.
"Longtime Torchlight fans will be happy to hear that the game features the same mechanics that set the original series apart from other ARPGs on the market," reads the official blurb.
"After selecting from Torchlight 3's unique character classes, players will choose a pet to accompany them on their new adventure: a fluffy alpaca, a swift owl or a loyal canine retriever. From there, they will explore forests filled with dangerous creatures and participate in thematic quests to earn powerful rewards."
The developer is Echtra Games, Inc., which is headed up by Max Schaefer, co-founder of original Torchlight developer Runic Games. (Runic Games closed in November 2017.)
"When we started developing Torchlight Frontiers, we were focused on creating a shared-world experience," Schaefer explained.
"During development, you often discover what type of product a game was meant to be and we found Torchlight Frontiers was meant to be a true successor to Torchlight 1 & 2. Based on this and extensive feedback from our alpha testers, we decided it was time to take the game back to its roots and model it after the classic Torchlight games that ARPG fans have come to love. We'd like to thank our dedicated player base for supporting us and providing such insightful feedback during early development."
The news comes just two months after Torchlight Frontiers was delayed into 2020 after an initial 2019 release window was missed. Closed alpha testing begins on 29th January.