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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Yes. On September 3, 2024, Hopoo Games said co-founders Duncan Drummond and Paul Morse, along with many other team members, would work on game development directly at Valve. Hopoo did not disclose how many employees were joining, name their project, or say they were assigned to Deadlock. The studio also said it was stopping production on its unannounced game Snail.
What Hopoo Games announced
Hopoo’s statement, reproduced by Engadget on September 3, 2024, named co-founders Duncan Drummond and Paul Morse and said “many other talented members” of the studio would work on game development directly at Valve Software. The announcement did not give a headcount, so the size of the group is unknown.
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Were they hired to work on Deadlock?
The reviewed contemporary reporting did not identify the Valve project the former Hopoo members would work on. Suggestions that they might be working on Deadlock were speculation, not a confirmed assignment, as PC Gamer’s coverage makes clear. The announcement establishes that the group was moving to game development at Valve, not which game they would develop.
What happened to Hopoo’s game Snail?
Hopoo said the move meant it was stopping production on Snail, an unannounced project. That is the status the studio reported at the time; the available coverage does not establish whether development later resumed. It is therefore more precise to say production was stopping than to describe the game as permanently cancelled.
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Did Valve acquire Risk of Rain or Hopoo Games?
No such acquisition was reported in connection with the hiring announcement. The distinction matters because GamesIndustry.biz reported in 2022 that Gearbox acquired the Risk of Rain franchise rights. That franchise transaction is separate from Hopoo’s 2024 announcement that founders and other team members would work at Valve. The announcement does not say Valve acquired Hopoo Games or the franchise.
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What remains unknown
- How many Hopoo team members moved to Valve.
- Which Valve project they were assigned to.
- Whether Snail resumed development after Hopoo said production was stopping.
- The former employees’ subsequent roles or status.
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