Still standing the test of time as one of the best RPGs ever created, Planescape: Torment is a genre gem – but it never got the sequel it deserved (and many fans still hope to see).
Sure, there was Torment: Tides of Numenera in 2017… but that doesn't exactly count, as it's more of a spiritual successor. An official Planescape: Torment 2 was actually on the table, though, believe it or not – Beamdog boss Trent Oster tells PC Gamer as much in a recent interview.
In fact, the studio "had some great meetings" with Wizards of the Coast, "and they were really into what we were doing," apparently.
"We were talking about how we could tie it in with a source book and everything. It was an exciting concept," Oster recalls. Wizards of the Coast ultimately decided not to financially invest, however.
"When we pitched it to Wizards, they were like, 'We don't have money for external development, we're not doing that right now.'" It's nothing new for the company, though, according to the Beamdog lead.
"Over time, Wizards has kind of gone through these cycles where they’re like, 'Oh, we'll do all the internal development.' And then, 'Oh my God, internal development's so expensive, we'll just license it all out. We'll let partners take all the risk.' [And then] 'Hey, wait, these guys made a ton of money, let's bring it internal again.'"
Sadly for the RPG veterans, it wasn't just Wizards of the Coast who didn't want to foot the bill.
"We searched around for funding, and nobody would fund it," as Oster describes. "Everybody we pitched at that time was like, 'Well, why would we spend our money making their IP worth more money?'" It's certainly disappointing to hear, especially as someone with a good couple of hundred hours in Planescape: Torment.
Sure, we've got Baldur's Gate 3 – but as a Dungeons & Dragons setting, Planescape just can't be beat… in my opinion, anyway.
The old game's storytelling remains peak even today. Heck, I think I hear "updated my journal" play through my head spontaneously still. Man, I really could use a sequel…
