Gaming giant Zynga acquires Torchlight III dev Echtra Games to expand cross-platform efforts

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By Zachary Boddy
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Echtra Games is giving their cross-platform expertise to Zynga.

Zynga Echtra Acquisition Image
Zynga Echtra Acquisition Image (Image credit: Zynga)

What you need to know

  • Zynga is a gaming giant that has created many popular mobile and social platform games over the years.
  • The company has plans to expand onto other platforms with their titles, and has acquired a ton of talent to do so.
  • The latest acquisition is Echtra Games, the developer of Diablo-like ARPG Torchlight III.
  • Zynga and Echtra Games are already working on an unannounced cross-platform RPG.

Today, gaming giant Zynga announced their latest acquisition: Echtra Games, the developer founded by Diablo and Torchlight co-creator Max Schaefer, which recently released Torchlight III. From Frank Gibeau, CEO of Zynga, "Max and his team at Echtra Games are responsible for some of the most legendary game properties ever created, and they are experts in the action RPG genre and cross-platform development. I'm excited to welcome the Echtra Games team into the Zynga family."

Zynga is most-known for their efforts in mobile and social platforming games, and have released hit after hit on those more-casual platforms. However, Zynga has plans to expand with cross-platform titles, like with the recently announced Star Wars: Hunter arena battle game coming to the Nintendo Switch. Echtra Games has a ton of talented developers and proprietary technologies, and can greatly bolster Zynga's efforts in this space.

Echtra Games is already working on an unannounced cross-platform RPG title with Zynga's NaturalMotion studio, showcasing that this partnership has been in the works for a while now.

"Echtra Games is delighted to be joining the Zynga family," CEO of Echtra Games, Max Schaefer, said. "We share Zynga's vision that cross-platform play is an essential part of the future of RPGs and interactive entertainment and are eager to apply our vast experience and talents to this effort."

Zynga's strategy has been incredibly successful on the wildly different mobile gaming platforms, so it'll be interesting to see how their efforts to expand with cross-platform games evolves. With Echtra Games (and other acquisitions Zynga has made over the last two years), their chances are greatly increased.

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Zachary Boddy
Zachary Boddy
Staff Writer

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.