The Torchlight ARPG series has had a varied history. The original game was developed by ex-Blizzard employees who worked on the Diablo series, and it was well-received. Then the sequel propelled the series into popularity and is still a fan-favorite to this day, with an excellent port on the Nintendo Switch. This is where things went wrong. Torchlight 3 had a lengthy and troubled development cycle, eventually entering maintenance mode after the dev gave up. And this doesn't even cover the failed Torchlight Mobile game initially announced in 2015 that made it to soft-launch before being canceled. But it would seem the series isn't dead yet, as XD Inc. has announced a closed beta scheduled for Torchlight: Infinite next week, a brand-new Torchlight game for mobile that's currently available for pre-registration on the TapTap.io store.

If you check out the trailer above, you'll get a quick glimpse of the characters and gameplay to be expected from Torchlight: Infinite. As you can see, the game sure looks a lot like a proper Torchlight title, offering similar cel-shaded environments and character designs that match the three mainline games. Of course, it's still early days, so there's currently no telling how well Torchlight: Infinite will be monetized. What we do know is that the game will land as a free-to-play release and that XD Inc. has already made claims that the in-game shop will be cosmetic only, with all gear earned through gameplay, which at least sounds promising.

While it's currently unknown if the game will make its way to the Play Store, it is listed on TapTap for pre-registration. Oh, and if you'd like to throw your hat in the ring for the closed beta, you can sign up on the game's website. The closed beta will begin on January 18th in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, though there's no word how many players will be able to get in. The sooner you sign up, the better, I would imagine.

So even though the first attempt at a mobile Torchlight game failed, and even though the third game in the mainline series failed, the brand is still alive and kicking, with a new mobile interpretation coming soon. While I'm a little trepidatious Torchlight: Infinite will turn out to be yet another bland F2P ARPG on mobile; it's exciting to know we very well could have a quality ARPG on our hands sometime in the future. So if you're curious and want to take a closer look before the closed beta next week, you can find the game on TapTap.io, with more info available on the official Torchlight: Infinite website, which is where you can register for the closed beta that starts next week.