Earlier this month, publisher 505 Games acquired Infinity Plus Two, the Australian studio that created the match-three / RPG hybrid series Puzzle Quest. This morning, 505 games announced Puzzle Quest 3, a free-to-play sequence that occurs 500 years after the original.
A direct follow-up to the 2007 surprise hit Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, Puzzle Quest 3 will once again see players traveling the world of Etheria, competing in 1 on 1 battles against fantastic creatures, combining gems to collect resources, used to cast powerful spells and abilities. The official announcement mentions a “3D game world”, which is new to the series, as well as some kind of gameplay twist that is not explained. I suppose we’ll find out more as we get closer to the initial mobile and PC release. Here is a teaser trailer.
As one of the biggest and most passionate fans of the original game, I am very cautiously excited as hell. I worry about what it means to switch to free-to-play mode. How will monetization be? Collectible characters? Buyable power-ups? I shudder to think. On the other hand, it is a numbered sequence and not another licensed free-to-play spin-off as Marvel Puzzle Quest, and is being developed by the original studio, so I’m hopeful.