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.