After releasing the phenomenal Risk of Rain Returns and letting Gearbox take control and development of Risk of Rain 2 - for better or for worse -?? Hopoo Games' next project was a big mystery. Now, however, that mystery is being put on hold as studio heads take on roles at Valve.

More specifically, Valve is essentially subsuming a significant chunk of Hopoo Games. This includes Hopoo co-founders Duncan Drummond and Paul Morse, as well as a host of "many other talented members" of the development team. It is, perhaps, important to note that Hopoo's statement outright states that the people joining Valve will be specifically working on "game development," so logic dictates their work probably won't have anything directly to do with Steam proper. It might have something to do with Half-Life 3, though. Right?

Hopoo Games developers leave the studio to start working at Valve

Naturally, now that a significant part of Hopoo Games' workforce is leaving the studio to work for Valve, it would be extremely difficult to continue the production of any ongoing titles. To that end, the unannounced Snail project is no longer under active production, and will presumably be put on ice indefinitely. Virtually nothing was known about Snail up until now, short ??of the fact that Hopoo was working on it, so it's not likely to have gotten too far down ?the production pipeline.

For fans of Hopoo Games' output, there is some hope on the horizon. Notably, the studio's current final statement on Twitter says that Hopoo "will continue to [make games] for years to come," while implying that it's only currently being put on ice for the foreseeable future. The obvious expectation is that, had this been a full-on closer, Hop??oo Games' statement would've been a bit more conclusive.

With Snail effectively cancelled and a huge part of the Hopoo crew now a part of Valve, it seems this is it for the beloved studio for the time being. As for what the future holds, that much nobody can say. It sure would be cool to have a Risk of Rain 2 type of game set in the Team Fortress universe though, right?

Speaking of which, this news does make Risk of Rain 2's current state all the sadder. Notably, Gearbox messed up the release of Risk of Rain 2's new DLC by pushing out a horribly underbaked update alongside it, breaking the base game along the way. Hopoo staff did say they "still believe that Gearbox i??s heading in? the right direction," but it's not a great look regardless. Here's hoping Gearbox will be able to clear things up and bring ROR2 back into the positiv?e limelight, so as to celebrate Hopoo's legacy.

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Gearbox Publishing celebrated 10 years of Risk of Rain today with an announcement for Risk of Rain: Hostile Worlds, a free-to-play action ??RPG roguel??ike for mobile devices.

The game looks to bring the usual fast-paced, run-and-gun combat of Risk of Rain to a new perspective. Hostile Worlds uses an isometric camera to display the action. The mobile RPG also embraces the new changes visually, showcasing a more cartoon-ish style with chibi-esque Survivors and perhaps even animated cutscenes. Gearbox notes that Hostile Worlds includes a lo??t of familiar characters and foes while staying true to the series' ??lore.

Risk of Rain mobile charges into battle with more Survivors

Beyond the look and new angle, the big takeaway is that this mobile Risk of Rain will let you swap characters on the fly. The game lets you pick three Survivors you can change whil??e in "mid-combat to exploit enemy vulnerabilities." It sounds like your odds of survival will only improve by unlocking the best Survivors w?ho complement your team's playstyle. There will also be co-op support for you and up to three others.

But even that might not help. The publisher promises that Risk of Rain: Hostile Worlds will still be pretty?? tough with "heart-pounding bullet-hell gameplay" and "colossal adversaries."

Naturally, since this is a F2P mobile game, there will be some live-service trappings. Neither ??Gearbox nor developer Frima Games makes mention of what their free-to-play model looks like yet. But the game will feature "continuous" updates to keep "the fun rolling." I expect we'll see new Survivors and items getting piped into some in-game store. Gearbox hasn't yet rev??ealed any costs, and the game's release date is still up in the air.

There is a website, though, and signing up for the newsletter will unlock a Survivor called Mercenary during the game's launch. Risk of Rain: Hostile Worlds will b??e available on iOS and?? Android mobile devices.

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The publisher will be the steward of it moving forward

The Risk of Rain series is under new ownership. As part of the financial update from Embracer Group this week, Gearbox announced they'd acquired the IP for Risk of Rain and its sequel Risk of Rain 2.

Gearbox Publishing was the publisher of Risk of Rain 2. Now,? it seems the company is taking the reins of the fran?chise.

"After years of passionate publishing work on Risk of Rain 2, we have developed a deep love and respect for the IP," reads a statement from Gearbox on the Risk of Rain 2 account. "We are eager to prove ourselves as worthy custodians by continuing to bring you world-class content and?? ensuring a bright future for this genre-le??ading franchise."

//twit??ter.com/RiskofRain/status/15932425552142417??96

Developer Hopoo Games, which made both Risk of Rain and its sequel, shared the news. Their statement describes it as "some excellent news for any Risk of Rain fans."

And to be clear, while Gearbox did purchase the IP, the publisher did not purchase Hopoo Games. So no, this does not mean the Risk of Rain devs have officially joined the increasingly massive number of stud??ios under Embracer Group.

It does, however, leave Risk of Rain 2 in a strange place. In Gearbox's statement, the publisher says it's working hard on bringing the Survivors of the Void DLC to consoles. There's also a "very special passion project" that Gearbox and Ho?poo are working on together, to be shared soon.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ-aR--gScM

When it rains, it pours

Hopefully, this lets Risk of Rain 2 move into stable hands while Hopoo chases something new. That seems like ???a best-case scenario. And ultimately, I'm glad Hopoo Games has a chance to work on a passion project, too.

Both Risk of Rain games are among my favorite rogue-style games, and Risk of Rain 2 in particular really impressed me with how it moved the original's action into the 3D space. They're excellent games. Fans seem a little worried about what this means for the future, and I don't blame them. But either way, we've still got the classic Risk of Rain 2 to fall back on.

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