Puzzle Quest is sort of the “granddaddy" of match-3 RPGs, and after becoming a critical success on pre-smartphone portable gaming consoles the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP back in 2007, it wasn’t at all a surprise to see the series make its way to the iPhone in the still very early days of the App Store in December of 2008. While a natural fit for the iPhone gameplay-wise, the original Puzzle Quest on iOS was a pretty crappy port from a technical standpoint. Nearly two years later, and about 6 months following its launch on Xbox, Puzzle Quest 2 made its way to iOS and was a much better effort than the port of the first game. While it’s sadly no longer available, Puzzle Quest 2 lived a long happy life being one of the best match-3 RPGs on mobile.
Of course, that was more than a decade ago by now, so what the heck has become of the Puzzle Quest series in the time since then? Well if you could imagine me doing a sweaty Steve Ballmer impression: Spin-offs, spin-offs, spin-offs! Marvel Puzzle Quest is a free-to-play take on the formula that features all sorts of famous faces from the Marvel Universe, and it has by far been the most successful of the spin-off bunch, launching way back in 2013 and still going strong today. The Puzzle Quest brand has also visited the realms of Magic: The Gathering and Adventure Time, both to lesser degrees of success. We’ve also received an enhanced remake of the original game for Nintendo Switch back in 2019 titled Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns.
With ten years in the rear view mirror since the last proper Puzzle Quest entry though, may have wondered if and when another sequel would come. Today that question was answered with the following teaser.
You may have seen earlier this month that the developers of the original two Puzzle Quest games, Infinity Plus 2, was acquired by 505 Games, and Puzzle Quest 3 will be the first release by the studio under their new owner. The game will be free to play and multi-platform, and according to series creator and creative lead on the project Steve Fawkner, this new game will include the gameplay, story, and puzzle-solving the series is known for as well as “something unexpected that will appeal to both old and new fans." Story-wise Puzzle quest 3 will take place “500 years after the original Puzzle Quest, players will embark on a heroic journey across Etheria to discover the meaning behind the ancient Red Dragon’s dying words."
Puzzle Quest 3 will release across multiple platforms including mobile sometime later this year, and in the meantime you can sign up for updates over on the game’s official website.
