Risk of Rain Returns is 'a whole new game' and final farewell from Hopoo Games

The outstanding 2013 roguelike action-platformer Risk of Rain is coming back in a "beautifully remastered" form called Risk of Rain Returns, which is set to arrive sometime in 2023 with new survivors, secrets, artifacts, expanded multiplayer services, and all sorts of other additions and improvements.

"Don't think of this as just a lick of paint on an old classic," Hopoo community manager Jonathan Cheetham said in today's announcement video. "Risk of Rain Returns completely overhauls the original and introduces a ton of new content. It has an upgraded code base so we will be able to continue to update and add to the game with features that weren't previously possible."

Cheetham confirmed that all the content from the original Risk of Rain will return "with glorious new HD pixel art," and the audio effects and music have also been updated and expanded. New survivors have been added, while existing survivors have been given brand new abilities to unlock; there are also new enemies, stage variants, and items, some brought from Risk of Rain 2 and others brand-new for the remaster. There's also an all-new game mode, "revamped multiplayer so there's no more messing with router settings like in Risk of Rain 1," and "countless rebalancing and gameplay tweaks."

"Risk of Rain Returns is a whole new game and an upgraded experience from the original Risk of Rain," Cheetham said.

Cheetham also addressed the elephant that's been in the room for the past month: Gearbox's ownership of Risk of Rain. The Borderlands studio purchased the game in November, which led to immediate predictions of doom and gloom from fans. But Cheetham said the series is in good hands.

"Gearbox has been the trusted publisher of Risk of Rain 2 for many years now," he said. "They have a love for Risk of Rain that matches our own and are the best fit for taking the franchise into the future."

Hopoo Games will have complete creative control over Risk of Rain Returns, which Gearbox is publishing; after that, it becomes a full-time Gearbox show.

"We know the IP is in excellent hands and we can't wait to see what the future brings for Risk of Rain with Gearbox at the helm," Cheetham said.

Risk of Rain Return is set to come out sometime in 2023. It doesn't have a specific release date yet, but as a complete shot in the dark, I have to think that November 8—the 10th anniversary of the original Risk of Rain—might be a pretty good bet.