Torchlight 2 price is "as viable and as profitable" as selling a $60 box

Torchlight 2 will run you $19.99 when it releases this week, and Runic CEO Max Schaefer said just because the it's not retailing for $60 doesn't mean the firm won't make a profit.

Speaking with IGN, Schaefer said releasing a game through a digital service like Steam nets the developer the same monetarily as it would releasing it at retail.

“Back in the day, when we would sell a $60-dollar box, by the time the money came back to us, it would be maybe $14 dollars a copy," he said. "And that's what we get nowadays on Steam, selling a digital download version for $20. So from our perspective, we're as viable and as profitable as an independent developer used to be selling $60 boxes.

“We're bypassing the publisher and box distribution and that lets us bring a $60 game to people for $20. We don't want people to look at Torchlight as a cheap game, because we think it's competitive with anything out there. But we like the idea that we're at this price.

"It sets us apart a little bit. We also want people to buy a Runic Games product without even thinking about it, because they know it's always a good value.”

Torchlight 2 is out on Thursday, September 20.