Hopoo Games, the studio that made the badass roguelike Risk Of Rain and the more 3D sequel Risk Of Rain 2, is closing up shop and taking jobs at Valve. They are no longer working on a previously unannounced game called “Snail,” the developers say on Xitter. Instead, the studio’s co-founders Paul Morse and Duncan Drummond (plus “many other talented members”) will take on a game development role with the Steam owners.
“It’s been an exciting and transformative 12 years,” say the developers. “We feel fortunate for the opportunities we have had and really appreciate both our team and the fans who have supported us and our matches.
“We love making games – and will continue to do so for years to come. We’re happy to work side by side with the talented people at Valve. But for now, sleep tight, Hopoo Games.”
This isn’t the first time a small indie team has been absorbed into the opaque Valve hivemind. Like our Eurogamer colleagues waysCampo Santo, the makers of Firewatch, have effectively canned their next adventure game In The Valley Of The Gods for studio work. Even though it still has a release date of December 2029.
Hopoo’s disbandment comes in the wake of poor reception to Risk of Rain 2’s most recent DLC. Although it should be noted that Hopoo Games are no longer the operators of that series, since they sold the rights to Gearbox in 2022 . And Drummond, for one, sympathized with the Gearbox development team now working on the roguelike, saying they “did the best they could with the time and resources they were given.”
We don’t know exactly what the (ex-)Hopoo audience will work on. We know Valve is working on the multiplayer shooter Deadlock, so that’s a possibility. Otherwise, there are probably other game ideas floating around the company, gaining or losing steam depending on the unpredictable internal psychic weather in Valve’s offices.
Working for the big V has a reputation for being a mystery, yes, but there have been plenty of glimpses into the unusual, non-hierarchical management structure. That includes a video survey by People Make Gamesa business manual that was 2012 leaked (which may be outdated by now), and more recent a marketing manager account which was there in its earliest days.