Bottom line, this is a great move for the folks over at Runic. Steam is a fantastic platform for distribution. The millions that log into Steam every day will give plenty of eyes a chance to feast on Torchlight. The pricing of the game puts it in a unique spot to grab more than a few "impulse purchases" along the way and then combine that with Steam's alert that one of your friends is currently playing a particular game. This demonstrates how successful the platform is. I cannot tell you how many games I have purchased simply because my friends have been playing them non-stop that I had to have it too. It's like a positive word-of-mouth campaign without Runic saying a thing.
Then, looking at the long term plans Runic has announced for Torchlight, you can easily see why they are distributing through the Steam platform. Besides the long reach of distribution, Steam also has a very robust community, especially in terms of user-generated content. With the release of the game editor along with the single-player edition, the modding community surrounding Steam will eat this up. It is unfortunate that they ran out of time and were unable to leverage Steamworks, but any other way you look at it, Torchlight's release on Steam will be a big victory for the folks over at Runic Games.
You can pick up Torchlight on Steam and through the Torchlight website for $19.99 on October 27th.
|
Torchlight will be Available on Steam Beginning October 27th
Steam users, rejoice! October 13, 2009 – Seattle, WA - Runic Games, Inc. ("Runic Games"), a specialized developer of PC-based entertainment software in the United States, is thrilled to announce today that its upcoming action-RPG, Torchlight, will now be available on Steam starting the first day of launch, October 27th. For more information or to download the game from Runic Games’ official web site, please visit http://www.torchlightgame.com/ Runic Games had previously announced during PAX that Torchlight would be exclusively available for the first 30 days through Perfect World Entertainment’s portal with availability on Steam thereafter. “It’s important for us to make Torchlight as widely available as possible. Steam is an enormous outlet that many players use exclusively – we’re big fans ourselves – so we are really happy that it will be on Steam starting day one,” says CEO Max Schaefer. Torchlight will be available for digital download on October 27th, through Steam and www.torchlightgame.com. About Runic Games, Inc. Runic Games is a developer of PC-based entertainment software, designing games that focus on quality, approachability, and fun. Runic Games is staffed by a team with experienced members, including leads on "Diablo," "Diablo II," "Diablo II: Lord of Destruction," "Fate," "Hellgate: London" and "Mythos." Runic Games is located in Seattle, Washington, United States. |
