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Dutch developer Engine Software is no longer making Terraria spin-off Otherworld.
Terraria developer Re-Logic has confirmed that Engine has been yanked from the project after what appears to have been a long and problematic development period, with little progress being made since the announcement of Otherworld in early 2015.
Our team had a clear vision for this game – one that we shared with all of you with much shared excitement – and, as much as we hate to say it (and in spite of all of the reforms we tried last year), the current state of the game is still equal parts far from that vision and well behind schedule,” Re-Logic said in a forum post.
As a result, we have made the decision to move on from having Engine Software continue development of Terraria: Otherworld. Re-Logic has possession of the game (code, art, sounds, etc) as it exists today, and we have been examining the array of options available to us to get TOW to a place to where we can confidently deliver on the vision and expectations we all have for this game.
After taking a good hard look at everything, we feel that a new and fresh start/direction is the only way Otherworld will ever reach its full potential at this point.”
Fortunately a new developer has already been named – Pipeworks, which handled the mobile and console ports of Terraria.
Based upon their really impressive work to-date with the Terraria re-write on console/mobile, coupled with an amazingly on-point proposal for completing Otherworld (after a thorough review of the game on their end), we have made the decision to bring Pipeworks on board as our new development partner for Terraria: Otherworld,” Re-Logic added.
Come whatever may, quality is simply not something we are willing to compromise on to make a quick buck. It may be painful in the short term, but our sincere hope is that it will pay off for everyone in the long term. Clearly, had we known this would be the scenario way back then, we would have held off on announcing the game until a later time – but such is game development. That said, we are really happy and confident with the new team and new plan – and cannot wait to get back on track.”
Sings of trouble first appeared last year, when Re-Logic admitted that large portions of Otherworld needed a good bit of rework” and that the lead designer and art lead had been replaced.
