‘Sleep tight, Hopoo Games’: Risk of Rain developer goes dark as key staffers join Valve

Logo via Valve / Risk of Rain artwork via Epic Games

Hopoo Games co-founders Paul Morse and Duncan Drummond have departed the Risk of Rain developer to join Valve.

The studio broke the news in a post on X and revealed “many other talented [team] members” have also been hired by Valve. That cohort will be “working on game development” at the Half-Life maker and Steam owner.

It’s unclear how many Hopoo staffers have joined Valve in total, but it’s enough for the studio to cancel upcoming project codenamed ‘Snail’ and bed down for the long nap.

“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,” wrote the studio.

“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.”

Hopoo Games historyHopoo was established in 2012 and found success with Deadbolt and Risk of Rain, with the latter eventually becoming a bonafide franchise that spawned a sequel and a remaster. The studio sold the Risk of Rain IP to Gearbox Entertainment in 2022 for an undisclosed fee.

Valve is currently developing a MOBA shooter called Deadlock that attracted almost 90,000 concurrent players despite only being accessible via closed beta. The project was supposed to be something of a secret despite being incredibly easy to access, but Valve formally unveiled the title after player and press interest surged.

It’s unclear what projects Hopoo employees will be working on at the company. Game Developer has reached out to Hopoo for more information.

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Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.