Torchlight 2 Announced, Features Multiplayer

Runic Games revealed today that they're hard at work on a sequel to action RPG Torchlight. Torchlight 2 will be released digitally in Spring 2011.

T2 introduces multiplayer to series. You can team up with friends over the Internet or a local area network. A peer-to-peer matchmaking feature will allow you to find strangers to quest with.

The full list of features is below. No platforms were announced. The first game was released for the PC and Mac. As Runic told me in an interview last fall, they're a pretty small studio and their experience is primarily with the PC so they'd probably farm out console versions to another company.

Update: Runic told Joystiq that the initial release will be on PC, with a Mac version following at an undisclosed date. No console iterations are currently planned.

• Multi-player – Play with your friends over a local area network, or over the Internet. A free matchmaking peer-to-peer service lets you make new friends for exciting co-op play.
• Customizable Characters – Players create and customize a character from one of four classes available and choose an animal companion. Through cosmetic, class, and gender choices, skill path decisions, and the treasures they acquire, each character can be custom-tailored to each player’s needs.
• Moddability – Torchlight II will release with an updated version of TorchEd, the Torchlight editor. Players have the option to create their own mods, adding even more content to the world. You and your friends can download the same mod and play together!
• New User Interface – Torchlight II boasts an entirely new, improved user interface, designed to be easier than ever for new players to pick up and play. Thanks to this intuitive interface, players have immediate access to a rich and varied world, with little experience necessary.
• Overworld Areas – Torchlight II has large randomized overworld areas to explore with weather, time of day cycles, and random events that provide players with even more content to experience.
• Random Dungeons – Delve into randomly generated dungeons within the game at any time for extra experience and rare loot. Dungeons in Torchlight II have even more branching paths to explore with friends filled with random events, rewards and dangers.
• Retirement System – Once characters are sufficiently leveled up, they can “retire” and bestow specific benefits and perks onto new characters.
• Pets – Players choose a pet to accompany them. Pets level up along with the player, and help in battle, learn spells, carry items, and perform a variety of support services.
• Fishing – Fishing returns in the sequel! Players can take a break from the high-energy pace of adventuring to relax by one of the many fishing holes and see what they can catch. Fish have unique benefits for the player and pet, while a number of other rewards can also be discovered.