Temple Run 2, the follow-up the hugely popular Temple Run, is finally out and live in the App Store, where it is available for the iPhone and iPad for free. An Android version is due to hit Google Play and Amazon’s Appstore next week, Polygon reports.
The game follows the same form as its predecessor — which has been downloaded more than 170 million times — and the main characters run across all manner of landscapes as they flee the dreadful temple beasts that chase them. It’s a simple concept but it’s one that works well, as players use swipe based commands to jump, slide, turn and move out of the way of objects in their way.
Rumors of Temple Run 2′s imminent arrival began circulating yesterday and, after first hitting the App Store in New Zealand, the Imangi Studiosgame has now gone live in the US and the rest of the world. We’ve had a brief play with it and, if you enjoyed the original, this sequel is an essential download.
Unlike the previous version, the title is available for free. Instead of charging up front, the game relies on in-app payments — for items such as power-ups and coin doublers — to bring in money.
Temple Run has been one of the biggest mobile games success stories to date. It raced past 100 million downloads in August, doubling its numbers in just four months spurred on by Android. The game began on iOS but, after coming to the Google Platform in March 2012, it quickly racked up 1 million downloads in just three days — taking the game to a cumulative 50 million downloads days later.
Further proof of the game’s success came when Imangi inked a deal with Disney/Pixar to jointly develop Temple Run: Brave, which hit Android and iOS in June last year.
Elie Chahine 