The wait for Terraria: Otherworld is ongoing, but in the meantime it's well worth catching up with the first game, which is 40% off today on Steam's daily deal. 

If you don't mind doing a lot of mining, Terraria is a expansive, absorbing open world sandbox game, and one of the best games to come out of the Minecraft craze. While '2D Minecraft' is an easy way to capture the game's essentials, under the surface it's actually a really cool sandbox RPG with exciting weapons and armour, and huge apocalyptic bosses.

It's also great in multiplayer, and there's a busy modding scene. It's a lot of game for £4.19 / $5.99.

It's been a couple of years since the announcement of Terraria: Otherworld, the followup that is not a sequel to the 2011 crafting-and-survival game Terraria. Developer Re-Logic hasn't had much to say about it since, but today it took to its forums to share some "important news." The good news is that the game is still in the works; the bad news is that co-developer Engine Software has been dropped from the project for reasons unknown, and that means it may take a little (or maybe a lot) longer than expected to get things done. 

"Our team had a clear vision for this game—one that we shared with all of you with much shared excitement—and, as much as we hate to say it (and in spite of all of the reforms we tried last year) the current state of the game is still equal parts far from that vision and well behind schedule," Re-Logic wrote.

"As a result, we have made the decision to move on from having Engine Software continue development of Terraria: Otherworld. Re-Logic has possession of the game (code, art, sounds, etc.) as it exists today, and we have been examining the array of options available to us to get TOW to a place to where we can confidently deliver on the vision and expectations we all have for this game. After taking a good hard look at everything, we feel that a new and fresh start/direction is the only way Otherworld will ever reach its full potential at this point." 

Pipeworks, which has been working since last year on the console and mobile version of Terraria, has now been brought on as the "development partner" on Otherworld. The two studios will "examine the entire game, from top to bottom, to see how it fits with our high expectations and core vision for this project," and while Re-Logic didn't commit to updated release timing, it did warn that the "quiet period" will likely go on for awhile longer while Pipeworks gets brought up to speed. It also promised that "a full refresh of all of the Otherworld public-facing locations" is on the way—even the Terraria: Otherworld logo is changing. 

"Come whatever may, quality is simply not something we are willing to compromise on to make a quick buck. It may be painful in the short term, but our sincere hope is that it will pay off for everyone in the long term," the studio said. "Clearly, had we known this would be the scenario way back then, we would have held off on announcing the game until a later time—but such is game development. That said, we are really happy and confident with the new team and new plan—and cannot wait to get back on track." 

Re-Logic said it would share more "very soon," but added that it "will not delve into some areas out of either respect or confidence or the unknown."   

If Minecraft were on the Super NES, it might look something like Terraria, Re-Logic's lovely crafting sandbox RPG that launched around six years ago on PC. While the popularity of most games dwindles over the years, Terraria's fanbase has only grown in size, so it comes as little surprise to hear that it's sold over 20 million copies since its release.

Interestingly, 8.5 million of the 20.5 million copies sold have been in the last 18 months, since version 1.3 was unleashed on PC. That update is coming to consoles and mobile platforms shortly, the announcement post reveals, so if you're not playing it on PC you'll soon be able to tinker with Terraria's latest evolution, which has been gestating on desktops and laptops for a year-and-a-half now.

In the years since its release, Terraria's NPC, enemy, boss and biome counts have ballooned massively, while extra modes, events and other bits have been added to the ever-expanding sandbox too. If you're one of its 20+ million players, you might want to take a look at our Terraria mod roundup.

Earlier this month Terraria and Dungeon Defenders 2 announced crossover plans which would see Re-Logic's open world sandbox merged with the land of Etheria. They've now come to fruition courtesy of Terraria's 1.3.4 update.

Bringing with it loads of new items and enemies, the "Dungeon Defenders 2 Cross-Over Invasion" is a so-called multi-tiered event that adds The Tavernkeep a new NPC from the Dungeon Defenders universe who swaps exclusive currency, gained from the new invasion, for Etherian loot and gear. The update also adds a new Blizzard weather event, while Summoner players can now direct their minions to attack specific targets.

Ten new enemies have descended on the collaborative world, as well as two new invasion style mini-bosses and one proper boss. Full details on the update can be found this-a-way, however here's what's new on the the items and accessory front:

• Four new sentry summons, each of which has three tiers of potency
• Ten new weapons
• Eight new armor sets
• Five new accessories
• Two new pets
• One new light pet
• Three new boss masks and trophies
• Two new decorate furniture items
• One brand new “Personal Safe” style furniture item, in the style of the Piggy Bank and Safe
• A brand new currency which can be spent with the Tavernkeep for much of the above

Update 1.3.4 also adds the usual smattering of bug fixes.