With over 1 billion downloads, Temple Run and it’s sequel, Temple Run 2, are the very definition of mobile gaming success.
It’s even better that husband and wife developers and co-founders Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova are such incredibly nice people. Their startup, Imangi Studios, has found the gold at the end of the rainbow, and they’ve no intention of stopping.
“Frozen Shadows” is the latest (and largest) free update to the franchise yet, giving you new characters like Guy Dangerous and Scarlett Fox to run through a brand-spanking-new ice world. You’ll also get new artifacts, winter costumes, and an absolutely terrifying new demon monkey to run from. Yikes!
“We’re really trying to expand the Temple Run universe,” Shepherd told us on the phone, “in much the same way as a novelist or storyteller would.”
The original Temple Run was Imangi Studios’ first mega-hit, after a string of great yet not hugely successful mobile games like Harbor Master and Little Red Sled. Our review of sequel Temple Run 2 (released two years ago) praised the improvements while still lauding the original gameplay mechanics, ones that virtually created the 3D endless runner genre.
Rather than release a third game in the series, the team is looking to reveal its most ambitious add-on, yet. It will extend the universe to new players and give long-time fans a ton of extra things to play with. The new environment is a cold, arctic world and players will get to ride an ice luge made out of a giant frozen demon monkey skull. There are new characters, new obstacles, and new costumes to earn and equip.
“This is the first in a series of world expansions we have planned for Temple Run 2 over the next year,” said Shepherd. “Frozen Shadows is like a completely new Temple Run game in a free update.”
You can get Temple Run 2, including the free new expansion, in the App Store right now.
