Terraria: Otherworld was going to be a spin-off game with a variety of experimental ideas that would set the gameplay apart from the original Terraria. Unfortunately, it looks like we're never going to find out what those experimental ideas are all about because Terraria: Otherworld has now been canceled.

"Our team has a clear vision for this game – one that we shared with all of you with much shared excitement – and, in spite of all of our efforts, the current state of the game remains equal parts far from that vision and beyond behind schedule from our initial planning when we shared Otherworld with all of you three years ago," reads the official announcement. "Progress has absolutely been made during that time – but unfortunately, a very thorough status review of the game versus its intended design showed both the Re-Logic and 505/Pipeworks teams that things were quite a bit further away from the finish line than we had imagined."

"We know that the cancellation of Terraria: Otherworld will not be happy news to anyone. It is FAR from a happy moment for us either, when we look at all the time/effort/resources that we poured into the project. However, we feel strongly that we owe it to our community and loyal customers to uphold the standards that both you and we expect and to focus on delivering the best possible games that we can for you all to play."

"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 in regard to our future games. T:OW will never come to pass, but its lessons learned and ideas generated will absolutely yield dividends for everyone."

So while it's quite sad to see Terraria: Otherworld get officially canceled, there is a good chance we'll see some of its influence in the upcoming Terraria 2. Very little is known about Terraria 2, however, so don't get too excited just yet as we might have to wait for a couple of years before finally getting to play it.

As for the original Terraria, worry not as there is a whole bunch of content still in active development! Much like Terraria 2, the majority of it is completely shrouded in mystery, but rest assured that Update 1.3.6. is well underway.

You can read the full announcement, as well as follow any further updates, over at the Terraria forums.