Risk of Rain 2 was published by Gearbox Publishing, and Gearbox Entertainment bought the Risk of Rain IP outright in 2022. The first Gearbox Software-led Risk of Rain 2 DLC, Seekers of the Storm, is on the horizon, and as it resurfaces after a few quiet years, the game's new design lead is optimistic about Gearbox's plans for the IP.
"I love that Gearbox has allowed us to have this small team to capture that indie feel," design lead Bruno Fontanetti says in an interview with 12DOVE. "I feel like if we had expanded into a huge team, it would have been harder to carry on the spirit of this thing."
Risk of Rain was created by the two co-founders of original developer Hopoo Games and has since become a modern pillar of roguelikes, especially after Risk of Rain 2 grew into such a co-op hit. One of the first things Gearbox did with the IP was plan a free-to-play mobile spinoff at an external studio which honestly didn't look terrible but ended up getting canceled before it was finished, which didn't fill a lot of Risk of Rain fans with confidence.
With Seekers of the Storm, Gearbox can demonstrate its dedication to Risk of Rain 2, easily the biggest game in the series, and its handling of the IP as a whole. Fontanetti, who wears several hats on the new, slightly larger but still small Risk of Rain 2 dev team, says the company has been supportive and engaged and has plans for the future.
"I am super excited for the franchise going forward," Fontanetti affirms. "What Gearbox has allowed us to do and create so far has been incredibly exciting and fun for the team. Every day has been this huge privilege, and it's just a load of fun to work with this IP particularly and the people that are on it. I feel like the future is bright for Risk of Rain and I think fans are gonna really enjoy what we've been working on. I can tell you Gearbox is very interested in continuing this franchise and making more stuff that the fans are going to enjoy. They've really allowed us to continue that spirit."
