It looks like we won't be seeing Torchlight II, the sequel to the sleeper hit action-RPG, until next year. Runic Games president Travis Baldree made the announcement on the official blog earlier today.
Despite attempts to complete the game by the end of 2011, they just didn't have enough time to create a polished product to their standards.
"We've come to the realization, however, that getting a game of this scope up to the quality and polish level we want to achieve is going to take a little longer; especially since we want to run a small beta before release to ensure that our launch is smooth." said Baldree. "The first Torchlight was released in record time, but it had plenty of issues that a little more development could have resolved. We didn't have the resources at the time to give Torchlight that treatment. Right at this moment though, we do have those resources for the sequel, and we feel strongly that we should apply them to make this the best game we can make and hopefully one that you'll enjoy and continue to want to play in the future."
Though Torchlight II has been in development for well over a year, Baldree stresses that the remaining time it needs to finish is "relatively small".
Torchlight was a pretty neat game and I'm looking forward to seeing what the sequel will bring, especially since they have a lot more resources available to them. Take a million more years, Runic! Let's see what you GOT!