Risk of Rain developer cancels next project to join game development at Valve

Hopoo Games, the studio behind Risk of Rain and Deadbolt, has announced it will be joining Valve to work on game development.

The Seattle-based indie has cancelled its unannounced next project, a game named "Snail", as a result.

In a statement posted to X, Hopoo Games described the news as "exciting", and said its small team would continue to make games "for years to come".

However, the statement also reads as something of an obituary for the studio. It ends: "for now - sleep tight, Hopoo Games".

The news brings to mind Valve's 2018 acquisition of Campo Santo, the talented team behind cult indie fave Firewatch. The studio's in-development and much-anticipated Ancient Egyptian adventure In the Valley of the Gods was subsequently put on permanent hiatus, and nothing has been heard of it since.

What will the team behind Risk of Rain now be working on within Valve? Well, all signs point to the company behind Half-Life, Portal and Left 4 Dead currently having multiple projects in the works. There's Deadlock, the up-and-coming hero shooter Valve has been not-so-quietly testing on Steam for the past few months. But there's also signs of other projects in more familiar franchises - including, whisper it, a new Half-Life.

"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 Valve," Hopoo Games wrote. "We're incredibly grateful to Valve for their partnerships in the last decade, and are excited to continue working on their awesome titles. However, this does mean that we are stopping production on our unannounced game, 'Snail'.

"It's been an exciting and transformative 12 years. We feel lucky for the opportunities we've had, and deeply appreciate both our team and fans that have supported us and our games. We love making games - and will continue to do so, for years to come. We're excited to be working side-by-side with the talented people at Valve. But for now - sleep tight, Hopoo Games."

Would you drop development on a game named Snail to work on something that may be Half-Life 3? Yes, probably.