If you fancy having a gander at the Torchlight II beta, this weekend may bring your chance. Starting today, developer Runic is hosting a short stress test, and will be doling out heaps more invites. In light of what happened to that other clicking game when it launched, careful preparation is probably sensible.

Read more: Torchlight II launching on PC this summer »

Undeterred by the launch of the clicking juggernaut that is Diablo III in a fortnight, Runic Games has opened pre-orders for its own action-RPG, the charming Torchlight II. You can slap your $20 down now, or club together with three chums for the $60 four-pack.

Read more: Free Torchlight on Steam too »

Torchlight gained attention for scratching the Diablo itch, but it became a hit in its own right. With Diablo 3 on the horizon, Torchlight 2 is continuing to forge its own path in the dungeon-crawler space. The sequel iterates on the first game's sharp style, adding a more living world and new classes to occupy them.

Read more: Hands-on with the Engineer and Embermage »

Torchlight 2 has been pushed out of this calendar year, according to Runic Games co-founder Travis Baldree. Citing the need for extra polish time and the desire to run a beta before launch, Baldree says the extra time will "ensure that the quality level is consistent all the way to the end."

In the meantime, Baldree suggests playing a few other games like Skyrim and Battlefield 3. "Those are awesome games," he said. "When Torchlight 2 goes live, we want it to be awesome too - all the way through."

Read more: Development time remaining 'relatively small' »

Runic Games has announced that Torchlight II will release at the same price point of the original game. It will be $19.99 when it comes to downloadable services later this year. Given the response toward the first game, it only makes sense to imitate success.

"It's always been our goal to provide exceptional value for the price," said CEO Max Schaefer in the announcement.

Read more: Details of the new 'Embermage' class »

While the Xbox Live Arcade edition of tip-top action-RPG Torchlight has been very successful, developer Runic Games faces serious obstacles with the sequel on Xbox 360. CEO Max Schaefer has told Eurogamer that technical limitations mean Torchlight II would need to be redesigned if it were to be released for the console.

Read more: Torchlight's triumph, Two's troubles »

Every other week between now and E3 2011, developer Runic Games has pledged to share new bits of information for its upcoming sequel Torchlight 2. On Friday, the dev showed off a number of new screens and detailed the tech that powers the game's randomly generated areas.

According to the recent blog post from lead designer Patrick Blank, Torchlight 2 features two types of new outdoor areas: Passes and Overworld areas. Each section is substantially larger than even the biggest levels found in the original game and include "random dungeons, random events, and lots of exploration for players." On the blog, Blank reveals the largest area in Torchlight was made up of "6-7 chunks," whereas the first Overworld area in Torchlight 2 is made up of "18-23 chunks." Read more »

Runic Games currently expects to launch its much-anticipated action-RPG sequel Torchlight II in summer--possibly in July--the indie developer has revealed.

The game was initially announced as launching in spring 2011, a release window later revised to spring or summer. Now, it's been revealed that development on the Xbox Live Arcade edition of the original Torchlight--launching on March 9 for 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15)--has caused the sequel's release to be expected no sooner than summer. Read more »

2011 is shaping up to be a great year for video games. Here at Shacknews we've pored over the treasure trove of titles coming this year and each picked out a select few games to highlight. It's up to Garnett to close it out with his most anticipated of 2011.

Guild Wars 2: Guild Wars earned a loyal following for being the online multiplayer RPG that wasn't trying to be World of Warcraft (WoW). Buy the game, create your character, and play with friends without forking over a monthly fee. Adventures all took place in instances, unique versions of the world created for your group, as opposed to the massive world of WoW. And the game did a nice job of creating both a rich set of PvE quests and PvP arenas. Read more »

Torchlight II will be getting online co-op play and that is just awesome. Runic hasn't yet decided how many players the game will support in this mode, at this time, however. In an interview with VG247, Runic honcho Max Schaefer explains:

We haven't set the party maximum just yet. The sweet spot, just from playing in the office, is 1-4 players. There's no technological reason why we can't increase that, but once you get up to, like, eight players, it gets ridiculously crowded if you're at all in the same area.

Your reward for sitting through fifty seconds of Torchlight review quotes in the first Torchlight II trailer will be a delightful look at Runic's action RPG sequel in motion, including co-op monster-bashing both below ground and out in the sunshine.

Torchlight II is scheduled to be released "initially as a digital download" on PC in spring 2011, followed by a Mac edition a bit later. Read more »

Torchlight 2 is already sounding like a much larger game than the original. "People felt a little claustrophobic with the structure - Torchlight is just one town and a series of dungeons underneath. So the obvious remedy for that is to make big overworlds and different cities, so we're doing that," explains Max Schaefer, CEO of developer Runic Games in an interview with Gamasutra.

Read more »

Torchlight developer Runic Games has announced a sequel to its fine action RPG, which will be released for download in 2011 complete with multiplayer support.

Torchlight II will go above ground to the continent of Vilderan--though "deep ominous caverns" are still promised--"with weather, time of day cycles, and random events." Read more »