Duncan Drummond and Paul Morse, the co-founders of Risk of Rain developer Hopoo Games, have announced that they are moving to Valve to work on game development. Multiple other Hopoo staff are also moving to Valve, and the studio is ceasing development on its unannounced title.
“We’re incredibly grateful to Valve for their partnerships in the last decade, and are excited to continue working on their awesome titles,” said the announcement, which was posted by Hopoo Games on X (formerly Twitter).
Today, we have an exciting update: Duncan and Paul, alongside many other talented members at Hopoo Games, will now be working on game development directly at @valvesoftware !
— Hopoo Games (@hopoogames) September 3, 2024
“However, this does mean that we are stopping production on our unannounced game, Snail,” the announcement continues. What the news means for Hopoo Games as a whole is unclear. The post doesn’t confirm whether the studio is going on hiatus or shutting down completely, simply ending with, “But for now–sleep tight, Hopoo Games.”
Hopoo Games founders Duncan and Paul developed Risk of Rain together as students, and the studio developed a 3D sequel in 2020. The studio also developed stealth-action hybrid Deadbolt in 2016, and recently released Risk of Rain Returns, a remastered version of the original title.
Gearbox Software fully acquired Risk of Rain 2 in 2022, and has since released paid DLC Seekers of the Storm, which had a buggy release and currently has mostly negative reviews on Steam.
