Torchlight MMO "won’t be the next thing we do," says Runic CEO

Torchlight 2 was released today, and while Runic has post release content plans for it, the studio may decide to do something different between now and the next Torchlight game.

Speaking with RPS, CEO Max Schaefer said once the team catches its breath and catches up on some sleep, it will have a look at what "makes sense" to do next.

“Whether that’s DLC for a while or a full-on expansion or maybe a tablet version [of Torchlight 2] – you know, the options are so wide open that we really want to have a good head on our shoulders and see what the landscape looks like before we make that kind of decision," he said.

“[An entirely new, non-Torchlight project] may actually be the thing we decide we want to do next, because we might be so tired of making Torchlight that we’re kind of burned out. Maybe we want to cleanse the system a little bit before we go back to Torchlight.

"I mean, we’re gonna go back to the Torchlight franchise, obviously. But we may do something else in-between. That’s on the list of things that sound kind of cool, and we have to evaluate down the line.”

These plans, it seems, don't include the Torchlight MMO - a title which Torchlight 2's multiplayer was to be a bridge towards.

“When we started the company, we had more imminent plans for it,” said Schaefer. “And we still want to, but now there are lots of other cool things to consider as well. I think what the Torchlight MMO would be is changing, because we definitely don’t want to make a traditional MMO.

"We don’t just want to make the standard MMO in the Torchlight universe. We want to change up the genre and put a unique stamp on it.”

Schaefer said the team and the market is also experiencing a bit of MMO fatigue, which is something Runic wants to shy away from.

"We want to get away from that, but still have the cool parts of an MMO, which is having lots of people interacting chaotically in a big world," he said. "I think EVE Online is a good example of a non-traditional MMO that’s obviously successful. It’s kind of hard to break the mold and make a new style of game, and kudos to the EVE guys for doing it.

"But yeah, it’s gonna have to be done, because MMOs are all a little too much alike for my tastes. It’s time to really break out of the box a little bit. I would say it’s pretty likely that it won’t be the next thing we do."

In the meantime, the firm plans to work on any launch issues which may ensue, and get the Mac version up and running as well.

Torchlight 2 is now available on Steam, and best of luck trying to log into a multiplayer server.