Zynga has acquired Torchlight III developer Echtra Games for an undisclosed fee in pursuit of a “cross-platform play future.”
The San Francisco studio was founded in 2016 by Max Schaefer, who’s best know for co-creating the Torchlight and Diablo franchises at Runic Games and Blizzard, respectively.
The company was previously owned by Torchlight publisher Perfect World, which tasked it with creating the third entry in the action RPG series.
The deal will see Zynga gain access to Echtra’s propriety cross-platform development tools and technologies, strengthening its production capabilities as it works to expand its roster of cross-platform titles.
The studio’s first task under the Zynga banner will be to develop an “RPG for cross-platform play” with the help of Zynga NaturalMotion.
“Max and his team at Echtra Games are […] experts in the action RPG genre and cross-platform development,” said Zynga chief exec, Frank Gibeau. “This acquisition will be instrumental in growing our iconic licenses and brands from mobile to PCs and consoles, while helping to further expand Zynga’s total addressable market.”