GarageGames reforms from InstantAction's ashes

Torque engine owner GarageGames, thought dissolved when parent firm InstantAction closed last November, has reformed as a new company.

The new firm is a subsidiary of investment outfit Graham Software Development, which acquired the Torque middleware and associated business from InstantAction following its collapse.

The reborn outfit has 24 staff, and focuses on its proprietary cross-platform gaming engine. In recent years, Torque was exploring similar territory to Unity's engine.

InstantAction's Torque boss Eric Preisz takes the CEO seat at the new GarageGames, and has already announced a temporary price drop for the engine, to $99.

This may "open the door for indies to get in", he told Gamasutra, and hoped it meant a return to "older values" for the company.

As part of media tycoon Barry Diller's InstantAction, the Torque team had seen turbulent times – switching rapidly from browser games to Gaikai-like streaming tech to Facebook Guitar Hero clone InstantJam. GarageGames now plans to focus almost exclusively on the engine.

"Going forward it certainly is going to change, and we've had a lot of goals and initiatives to condense our products and create a better singular focus."

More details of the engine and its licensing are available on the reactivated Torque website.