Torchlight devs not concerned with Diablo 3 release, congratulates Blizzard

Runic Games has released a statement in light of the recent Diablo 3 announcement by Blizzard last week.  The company that drew inspiration from Blizzard's popular franchise for its Torchlight game congratulated the Diablo 3 team for announcing the release date.

Calming fans concerns that Diablo 3's May 15th release may now spell doom for Runic Games and its planned sequel, Torchlight 2, the developers assured fans that they remain "committed" to creating a game they love to play.

"We know a lot of you are worried about us. We've heard what you're saying, and sure we've had similar discussions," Runic said in the statement.  "But we began making the first Torchlight in 2008 when development on Diablo III was already underway. We didn't let that be a reason that we couldn't make an RPG. We made the commitment to create a game we loved to play. That's what's important to us, and that's why we go to work every day."

"Our commitment is the same today. It doesn't matter what gets announced, or who gets elected, or if there's a zombie attack. (Well actually, in a zombie attack we might leave our desks, but only to smash them into weapons.) We believe that the best business model is to do what you love, to give it everything you've got, and to make something you'll be proud of."

Runic emphasized their commitment to creating the best possible game with Torchlight 2, and not just rushing a game out to beat a competitor.

"There will be unforeseen challenges along the way, no matter what business you're in. We've chosen to stay small with a total team of 32. We want to be the company that works hard and makes something we love. We know we have a lot of fans out there who've had a chance to play early builds of Torchlight II at conventions around the world, and are eagerly awaiting the sequel. We want you to have the best darn game we can make. We're pretty sure that we want this game out more than anyone (not just so that we can resume a normal sleep schedule!) – but we are going to do it right. That's our commitment to you, and to ourselves."

"We're happy for the team at Blizzard – it's been a long haul for them," the company concluded. "We are looking forward to our home stretch too."

Torchlight 2 is expected to arrive this year after being delayed from its original 2011 release.  The first Torchlight game, developed by Blizzard North co-founders and Diablo alumni Max and Erich Schaefer, launched in 2009 exclusively for PC before eventually migrating over to XBLA.