Borderlands studio Gearbox has now purchased the Risk of Rain IP after previously publishing Risk of Rain 2 for Hopoo Games, but the original devs say the hit indie roguelike will still get updates in the future while they pursue new IP independently.
12DOVE reached out to Hopoo co-founder Paul Morse for more details on what the sale of the Risk of Rain IP (again, not Hopoo itself) means for the series. Regarding Hopoo's contributions to Risk of Rain going forward, Morse could only say that he'll share more information in the future. However, he did shed some light on how the sale will affect Risk of Rain 2 players.
"Gearbox intends to continue making content for Risk of Rain 2 and will have more to share about the future of the franchise in the months ahead," he said, echoing a tweet from Hopoo claiming that this sale will lead to "more [Risk of Rain]." "We know that our friends at Gearbox are incredibly motivated to do right by the fans."
I also asked about the "very special passion project" which Gearbox teased in the joint statement announcing its purchase of the Risk of Rain IP. Morse confirmed that "this is a project being worked on at Hopoo Games internally and will continue to be so."
Perhaps most importantly, Morse clarified that despite selling its primary IP, Hopoo is not done making games. The studio plans to develop new, non-Risk of Rain games independently going forward, Morse affirmed.
This new IP won't be the studio's first non-Risk game – it released the 2D stealth-action game Deadbolt in 2016, three years after the first Risk of Rain – but it will be Hopoo's first new IP in at least a decade.
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