Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 3 canceled

The inaugural Penny Arcade Expo - East opened its doors for a three-day gaming extravaganza in Boston today, but one of the first bits of news out of the conference isn't likely to sit well with attendees. Speaking to gaming blog Joystiq, webcomic creators Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins confirmed that there are no plans to release a third episode in the Penny Arcade Adventures downloadable adventure game series.

"There won't be an Episode 3," Krahulik told Joystiq. "We're actually not making a third episode of the game." Holkins went on to note that proceeding on Episode 3 would have interfered with developer Hothead Games' work on the EA Partners-backed DeathSpank. "They definitely could've done both games. I think they could've made DeathSpank and Episode 3, but I think Episode 3 would've suffered... So we'd rather not do it than do it half-assed."

After years of levying withering criticism of games through the often-acerbic gamer-focused Penny Arcade webcomic, Krahulik and Holkins entered the industry in 2008 with Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. Developed in conjunction with Hothead Games, Episode 1 received generally positive reviews. The second installment, released five months later, garnered an equally positive critical reception.

Holkins and Krahulik plan to conclude the game's storyline as an episodic graphic novel through the game's Web site. "Our main goal at this point is to make sure that people aren't left hanging on a narrative side, and to allow Hothead to do the best they can on their project," Holkins said.