Rolando 3 cancelled; free-to-play sequel a possibility

Fans of ngmoco’s popular iPhone platforming game Rolando won’t be getting the long-awaited third instalment in the series. Originally scheduled for a November 2009 release, ngmoco CEO Neil Young has confirmed in an interview with IGN that Rolando 3 is no longer in development, citing disappointing sales of Rolando 2 and a changing business model as the driving forces behind the decision.

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Fans of ngmoco’s popular iPhone platforming game Rolando won’t be getting the long-awaited third instalment in the series. Originally scheduled for a November 2009 release, ngmoco CEO Neil Young has confirmed in an interview with IGN that Rolando 3 is no longer in development, citing disappointing sales of Rolando 2 and a changing business model as the driving forces behind the decision.

The success of ngmoco’s free-to-play titles Touch Pets Dogs and Eliminate Pro have prompted the company to shift its development focus on free-to-play experiences only, says Young. “When we made the decision to go free-to-play, we said to ourselves, ‘Look. If we can’t make the game free-to-play, we’re not going to release it.’ And Rolando 3 as it was envisioned at that time was not a free-to-play product, so we’ve just taken the time to try to figure out how to do that franchise really effectively in free-to-play space.”

While ngmoco has not stated specific plans for future Rolando titles, Young tells IGN that a free-to-play version of the title is a distinct possibility; “we’re thinking about it, and at the appropriate moment we’ll deliver a new Rolando experience that takes full advantage of everything we’ve learned from the free-to-play world.”

Jim Squires is the Editor-in-Chief of Gamezebo. Everything you see passes his eyes first, so we like to think of him as "the gatekeeper of cool stuff." He likes good games, great writing, and just can't say no to a hamburger. Also, he is not a bear.