Echtra Games has been shut down by Zynga four years after it’s acquisition, and close to 60 people working with the studio are likely to be impacted. This news was confirmed to IGN by Zynga, where the following statement was put out:
Zynga has made the difficult decision to cease operations at its Echtra studio, ending development on future titles and reducing roles. This decision is part of a strategic realignment of the company’s resources and priorities. We will work closely with impacted employees so they are treated with the utmost respect and consideration as we navigate this difficult process.
Zynga had acquired Echtra Games four years before, and was tasked with an original ARPG. However, we didn’t hear any further news or announcements on the progress on this, except for the announcement.
Echtra Games was founded by ex-Diablo guy Max Schaefer, who first created Blizzard North, and then moved to Runic Games to develop Torchlight, and finally, after that, founded Echtra Games. While working at Echtra, the original intent of an MMO based in the Torchlight universe morphed eventually into Torchlight 3, which was released in Oct 2020 for PC, Switch, PS4 & Xbox One.
The game, however was not received well by the gaming community, and currently sits at a 46.7% score on Steam; in stark contrast to Torchlight II, which sits at 91%, and Torchlight at 88%.
The shutting down of this studio marks yet another entry in the long list of project cancellations and layoffs: it was only yesterday that People Can Fly cancelled Project Gemini & Bifrost.
