Gab Hernandez 
Hopoo Games, developers of the Risk of Rain series, recently announced they would now work directly at Valve but does this mean the games are shutting down?
Risk of Rain is a classic indie success story. Made by two students from the University of Washington on GameMaker, Risk of Rain has since become a massive hit. As Hopoo Games, the duo has developed a sequel, a new IP with Deadbolt, and an unannounced project that was sure to have captivated fans of the developers.
Valve had different plans for the talented people at Hopoo Games. In September 2024, Hopoo Games announced a partnership with Valve wherein they would directly work with the famed studio. However, they also announced that production on their unannounced project, codenamed Snail, ceased. Some fans wonder what this means for the Risk of Rain franchise.
Is Risk of Rain shutting down?
Risk of Rain will continue getting support from Gearbox Studios without Hopoo’s involvement.
In November 2022, Gearbox officially acquired the rights for the Risk of Rain franchise. Hopoo Games also confirmed a new team at Gearbox Studios would handle Risk of Rain 2 development moving forward.
The first-ever Gearbox-made Risk of Rain 2 DLC, Seekers of the Storm, was controversially launched in August 2024. Balance issues and game-breaking bugs meant Seekers of Storm got middling to negative reviews from fans. Duncan Drummond, co-founder of Hopoo Games, empathized with the new team’s growing pains.
Drummond states Gearbox is still headed in the right direction and assured fans that the new team is passionate about the game. It’s worth noting that Hopoo Games developed Risk of Rain Returns, a remake of Risk of Rain, under Gearbox. However, they have no involvement with the series, and Gearbox will develop Risk of Rain and all its titles moving forward. While this means that Risk of Rain isn’t shutting down, that doesn’t mean that things are sunny now.
Fans are mixed on Hopoo Games partnership with Valve
The Hopoo Games and Valve partnership has fans split on social media.
Many are excited about what Hopoo Games can offer Valve as they begin to make new games again. However, the cancellation of Hopoo Games’ projects disappointed many longtime fans. Based on the tweets, Hopoo Games won’t be releasing any original IP anytime soon.
The same thing happened with Campo Santo, the studio behind Firewatch. After Valve’s acquisition, many key figures in the studio began exclusively working on Valve projects. Campo Santo’s upcoming game at the time, In The Valley of Gods, was put on hold indefinitely and removed from all socials.
Fans hope Hopoo Games will bring great things to Valve’s upcoming projects.
