Torchlight Frontiers is becoming Torchlight III

That’s right, Torchlight Frontiers is no more. In it’s place is a game that’s more of what fans were looking for. Torchlight III stands triumphant.

On the frontier

When Torchlight Frontiers was announced, it wasn’t with all that much fanfare. Let’s be honest, it’s not as ‘big’ of a game as somethign like Diablo. So it didn’t make that massive of a splash when it was announced that the game would be radically changing things up, and changing the series focus to online multiplayer.

As a fan myself, I wasn’t thrilled. I’m a single-player fan, and playing an aRPG online… well it wasn’t something that I would have done. At all. Apparently I wasn’t alone in that. Oh, and also it would seem that the oft-threatened ‘death of the single player game’ continues to be extremely exaggerated.

“When we started developing Torchlight Frontiers, we were focused on creating a shared-world experience,” said Max Schaefer, CEO of Echtra Games and co-founder of the Torchlight franchise. “During development, you often discover what type of product a game was meant to be and we found Torchlight Frontierswas meant to be a true successor to Torchlight I & II. 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.”

Max Schaefer

So what’s all this mean?

Basically, the changes make the now renamed Torchlight III a fully realized adventure either online or off. So those classic fans (like me) who want to click monsters till their dead in solo fashion are going to find this new revision much more to their liking.

It still sounds though, that online gamers will be able to pick up a torch with their buddies as well. So it’s kind of a balance between the two.

Torchlight III hits Steam for the PC this summer, with no word on possible console ports just yet. Scroll down to see the highlights, straight from the press release.

• Travel the Frontier: Players can explore the wilderness, party with friends, gather materials to craft loot, use magical maps to enter unknown dungeons, or show off their spoils in town! There’s always something to do in the new frontier.
• Build & Upgrade Your Fort: It’s time to rebuild! Players will enjoy their very own account-based fort,where they can upgrade gear, and make renovations to show it off to their friends and the world. The game allows them to build monuments of power, pet stables, and more!
• Choose a Relic:  Relics are objects of great power that grant players a suite of active skills and passive skills. Players can craft them, level them up and store them in their fort. The relic is an important part of a character’s strategy – choose wisely!
• Collect Epic Gear – Whether it’s armor, weapons, dyes, recipes, ember cores, or even new pets … there’s always more to find as adventurers battle through dungeons and take on dangerous foes. Every randomly-generated area can be replayed over and over again since each instance brings different items. Those who want even more epic gear can run maps from the Mapworks, or take on a contract to earn Fame and unlock elite items. 
• Pets are Back: Players can fight their way to fame and glory with loyal companions! Each of the many species comes in a myriad of colors and styles so adventurers shouldn’t settle for the first one they find. They can also make these pets stronger by adding skills, equip them with gear to make them hardier, and together battle enemies as a team. 
• Build Your Hero: With four classes to choose from, players can utilize class-specific mechanics to maximize damage and their odds of survival. Torchlight III lets them gather epic gear, select your Relic powers, and customize loadouts to create a unique combat style for their heroes.