Half-Life 3 Speculations Spark Again as Risk of Rain Original Devs Join Valve's Game Dev Team

Hopoo Games, the studio behind the critically acclaimed Risk of Rain series, has embarked on a new journey as key members, including co-founders Duncan Drummond and Paul Morse, join Valve's game development team.

Hopoo Games Joins Valve's Game Development Efforts

Studio on Indefinite Hiatus, Project Snail Put on Hold

Risk of Rain's original developers at Hopoo Games have announced that several team members, including co-founders Duncan Drummond and Paul Morse, will be transitioning to work at Valve, the renowned company behind Counter-Strike and Half-Life. This move, shared via a thread on X (formerly Twitter), has led to a temporary pause in Hopoo Games' ongoing projects, including the anticipated game "Snail."

While Hopoo Games integrates into Valve's game development efforts, the permanence of this transition remains uncertain. However, according to Drummond's and Morse's LinkedIn profiles, the studio continues to exist, with their roles at Hopoo Games still listed. "We're incredibly grateful to Valve for their partnerships over the last decade and are excited to continue working on their amazing titles. However, this does mean that we are halting production on our unannounced game, 'Snail'," the studio stated. The announcement concluded with a heartfelt message, "sleep tight, Hopoo Games," signaling the halt in development on project Snail.

Founded in 2012 by Drummond and Morse, Hopoo Games first gained recognition with Risk of Rain, a captivating roguelike where players must escape a hostile alien planet. The success was followed by Risk of Rain 2 in 2019. In 2022, Hopoo Games sold the Risk of Rain IP to Gearbox, which has continued to expand the series, including the recent Risk of Rain 2: Seekers of the Storm DLC. Despite some criticism, Drummond expressed confidence in Gearbox's direction, stating on X that "Gearbox is heading in the right direction."

Valve's Deadlock in Early Access While Rumors of Half-Life 3 Spark Up

Neither Valve nor Hopoo has revealed what the team will be working on specifically, but Valve's current project, the MOBA hero shooter "Deadlock," is in its early access phase. Additionally, persistent rumors about the development of Half-Life 3 have led fans to speculate that Hopoo Games might contribute to this long-awaited sequel.

The speculation about Half-Life 3 was fueled by a recent update to a voice actor's portfolio mentioning a mysterious "Project White Sands" linked to Valve. Although the project was quickly removed, it reignited fan theories about the sequel. As reported by Eurogamer, fans have connected "white sand" to Half-Life 3, noting that "White Sands is a park in New Mexico," which relates to Black Mesa, a fan-made remake of Half-Life set in the Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico.