Crap, just saw that over at Kotaku. Man that sucks.
Very sad, I heard the game was rough around the edges but still fun.
Shutting down Motiga as well.
Oh no! :(
This is terrible but not unsurprising news.
I thought Hob was fantastic and it’s one of my favorite games of the year but it had pretty abysmal sales.
Approx 45k (according to Steamspy).
A PCGamer article I came to link, though I see the word broke here already, in case there are more details to be gleaned.
(Thread, yep.)
Statement from Runic Games.
Hey everyone,
It’s been over nine years since a rag-tag team of 17 developers helped open Runic Games. We’ve been so lucky for the community that has supported us and made us successful. Thanks to that support, we have had the chance to meet and work with the best people in the world. Our team here at Runic has released three successful games, and over that time we have seen many changes; team members got married, kids were born, but the most important thing is that we have become a family.
I’m sorry to say that today will be Runic’s last day open. Our focus is on our family here, and helping them find a new place to call home. If you are in games and looking for some of the best talent in the industry, please email [email protected].
For those that love the Torchlight series, there will be some news coming. And for all our fans, our community and multiplayer services will keep running even after the studio’s lights go off.
It has been an amazing experience. To my family here at Runic, I know we won’t be far from each other, and I’ll miss seeing you all every week.
You haven’t heard the last of us,
Marsh Lefler
Studio Head
So why did Hob fail, lack of marketing? All the reviews said it was rather splendid.
Well I, uh, didn’t actually know it was released for whatever reason.
I think I remember one person on one podcast gushing over it, and that was it. Completely forgot it existed until today’s sad news.
Man, the XBox 360 version of Torchlight 1 was unbelievable. Loved that game.
So yeah, lack of marketing.
How so? If we’re going by very limited anecdotal evidence: It had a 2 year old thread here with some participation. I remember some talk about it on Reddit in a gaming forum. It was on the front page of Steam the week it was released (at least for me). Youtube people I follow were playing it. It just didn’t look like something I would be interested in.
I don’t think it was lack of marketing but rather the genre/type of game.
I think a lot of people said:
“I love Torchlight - I’ll definitely buy Torchlight 3!”
“Oh, they made this weird platformer called Hob? - Looks boring to me, I’ll skip”
Might have been hurt by being a Metroidvania of sorts that came out at the same time as Metroid. But I think mainly it was a pretty low profile game in a very high profile release window.
Hob was also a big departure from what the studio was known for, so much so that I’m surprised Perfect World let them make it. Leading up to release, nearly every question on their social media accounts was related to Torchlight 3.
It seemed after the initial excitement following the announcement, they never found an audience and struggled to secure decent press coverage. It’s a shame too because the game’s rather charming, and the OST is killer! I’m very sad that this is the end for Runic Games.
Travis Baldree shares some stories about Runic.
I’m so sad that Hob never got the attention it deserved. I’m replaying it at the moment and it’s truly a unappreciated gem. I just love the other worldly atmosphere. The level design is sublime and the music… ahhh beautiful.
Hob really needs a Nintendo Switch port as I think it would really shine on that platform.
I know Runic doesn’t want to sell any more copies of the game, but I’d still buy it if it came to Xbox.
Yay!
Hob is coming to Switch! :)