Free content update celebrates the roguelike’s two-year anniversary of hitting Steam Early Access and four million copies sold on the platform, coming soon to consoles
FRISCO, Texas – March 25, 2021 – Hopoo Games and Gearbox Publishing today released the Anniversary Update for Risk of Rain 2 as a free download on Steam. The classic survivor Bandit returns from the original Risk of Rain. Also included is the legendary boss Grandparent, more items, additional skill variants for the other survivors, a huge drop of lore entries, and much more. The update is a “thank you” to fans for supporting the game since its Steam Early Access debut two years ago, coming soon for consoles and Google Stadia. Risk of Rain 2 has more than four million copies sold on Steam alone and received ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ from over 137,000 Steam Reviews alongside an 85% on Metacritic. The update also kicks off a temporary sale on Steam, discounted by 25% from $24.99 to $18.74 through March 29 (9:59 AM Pacific Time).
Check out the Anniversary Update trailer here.
Here’s what’s new:
- Bandit and a New Boss! The fan-favorite classic returns from the first Risk of Rain with a new bag of tricks! Armed with a shotgun, dagger and smoke bombs, the Bandit stabs, blasts and slashes with the best of them – but can they withstand the might of the legendary Grandparent?
- Character and Stage Updates: More skill variants mean that every character now sports three variant skills, with additional gameplay enhancements for Commando, MUL-T, REX, Captain, Loader, and Mercenary. !SPOILER WARNING! The final stage has also been redone from the ground up, including new objectives, challenges, and a new Lunar Chimera monster type !SPOILER WARNING!
- New Stackable Items: Constantly cut nearby enemies with a slow spinning ball of death, or take an egg and receive healing when you’re attacked – just two of the latest additions in the game’s arsenal of more than 115 items. New challenges and unlockable skill variants add new strategic potential, while new lore entries flesh out the universe of Risk of Rain 2.
- Largest Logbook Update Ever: Browse past runs and lifetime player stats – like favorite survivors, progress to completion, and favorite equipment – in the Logbook alongside 88 new lore entries.
- Quality of Life Improvements: New items, new challenges, bug fixes, performance optimizations, improved AI pathing, and more!
Hopoo Games shared more about the new update, their journey, and the future expansion in a new Dev Thoughts #20 post.
“This Anniversary Update is a huge ‘thanks’ for our fans who have been with us since the beginning, an opportunity to revisit a lot of the things we couldn’t finish up for the official launch,” said Paul Morse and Duncan Drummond, co-founders of Hopoo Games. “We’re now looking ahead to achieving console parity and finishing up the first major expansion later this year. The forecast is looking sunny for those updates, so stay tuned!”
Risk of Rain 2 is a fast-paced, co-op roguelike shooter developed by Hopoo Games and published by Gearbox Publishing. Players can team with up to three other friends, play as 10 unique Survivors, and trek through more than a dozen stages to escape the alien planet. With unlockable alternate abilities, tons of items to discover on runs, and equippable Artifacts to shake up gameplay, no two runs are ever the same.
Risk of Rain 2 is available on Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, Nintendo Switch™ and Google Stadia. Stay tuned to Risk of Rain 2 on Twitter for announcements for the upcoming Anniversary Update for console platforms.
Complete patch notes can be found on the Risk of Rain 2 Steam hub.
***EDITOR’S NOTE: Press assets for Risk of Rain 2 are available here. Assets for the Anniversary Update are available here.
About Hopoo Games
A small team who started out as two students from the University of Washington, Hopoo Games made their mark with the award-winning indie success, Risk of Rain in 2013, followed by Deadbolt in 2016. Now a team of indie veterans, they launched the hotly anticipated sequel to Risk of Rain titled Risk of Rain 2 in 2020. Learn more at hopoo.tumblr.com.
About Gearbox Publishing
Founded in 2016, Gearbox Publishing was established with the goal of helping developers around the world bring their products to market while retaining their unique creative visions. The mission began with the critically-acclaimed Homeworld Remastered Collection for PC, and has since been followed by many partnerships that include tiny Build’s Hello Neighbor, System Era Softworks’ Astroneer, Compulsion Games’ We Happy Few, Norsfell’s Tribes of Midgard, Hopoo’s Risk of Rain 2, and Counterplay Games’ PlayStation 5 launch title, Godfall. Gearbox Publishing remains committed to its mission to entertain the world and become the most developer-friendly publisher in the industry. Learn more at www.gearboxpublishing.com.
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Media Contacts
Gearbox Publishing
Steve Prince
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+1-214-783-2599
TriplePoint for Risk of Rain 2
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+1-415-955-8500