It’s the time of the year for major acquisitions, apparently. This time, it’s Zynga and the company purchased is Echtra Games, the developer of Torchlight III. The amount of money exchanged hasn’t been disclosed, but this is supposedly a sign that one of the world’s most successful mobile developers is hoping to make inroads into the console market.
Even if you’re not recognizing Zynga’s name, you’ve definitely heard of one of their games. They’re the company behind Farmville and Words with Friends. According to reports and the word of the company’s own executives, Zynga is trying to grow into the console and PC market, and it’s not as if they don’t have the capital. Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau said in a statement, “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.”
Unlike other companies Zynga has acquired, Echtra’s experience is primarily in the console and PC gaming market. But a word that keeps getting thrown around with regards to this acquisition is “cross-platform.” Echtra is supposedly working on an RPG for Zynga now, and “cross-platform” could mean that it’d be playable on both the console and PC and mobile platforms. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Zynga saw the success of Genshin Impact and decided to try making a similar kind of game.
There’s no word on what kind of RPG Echtra is working on for Zynga — it could be another Torchlight game for all we know. What little info we do have is that Echtra is partnering with Natural Motion, the creators of the Euphoria engine used in Red Dead Redemption. Natural Motion is also pitching in on Zynga’s other venture, a free-to-play mobile title called Star Wars: Hunters, due out later this year.
Source: Hollywood Reporter