Hey Folks,
We wanted to update everyone on the progress of Survivors of the Void’s console versions. First, we want you to know it’s still our top priority. We’re making strong progress, but it’s taken longer than any of us had expected.
The reason this has been such a time-consuming undertaking is that this isn’t a traditional port situation. We’re rebuilding every console version of Risk of Rain 2 from the ground up so that we’ll be able to unify the codebase across all platforms. This will significantly enhance our ability to fix bugs, deliver performance improvements, and release updates in the future.
We appreciate how patient all of you have been. We want to make sure the next time we give you a date, we get it right. When we’re confident we’ve achieved the quality you expect from us, we’ll give you the exact date it’ll be released. In the meantime, we promise you more transparency moving forward.
We understand that you have questions. So we wanted to answer some of the biggest ones in a Q&A.
Thanks for your understanding and support,
The Risk of Rain Team
Q&A:
When will you announce the release date?
We are singularly focused on creating a version of the game that lives up to your expectations for Risk of Rain 2, so the quality of the build is going to determine when we’re ready for release. We don’t know exactly when, with 100% certainty, we’ll reach that quality bar. We’ve given you dates before and have been wrong. We realize that is frustrating and don’t want to do that again. We really appreciate your patience, and we’ll get it in your hands as soon as we can.
When will we know more?
Giving you all an update has taken longer than we hoped, and moving forward we’ll get you them more often. Sometimes that information will be about exciting things we hope you’ll love. And when challenges show up, we’ll share those too. You’ve all been very patient with us, and we deeply appreciate it.
How high a priority has getting Survivors of the Void to console players been for you?
This has been a very high priority for us. We could have and should have done a better job more regularly communicating all of the hard work the team is doing on this project. That’s on us. Going forward, we promise to be more open and transparent, and we will do a better job of keeping you all updated on our progress.
Did you always know it would take this long to deliver the console version of Survivors of the Void?
Our intention was always to bring Survivors of the Void to consoles not long after its PC release. However, it has taken us longer than we had expected when we kicked off that process to make that happen. We really appreciate your patience over this past year. Our team has been working hard to bring you the best console version possible. The one thing we’ll never do is sacrifice quality in the name of speed, so we’re giving the team the time they need to deliver a great experience on consoles.
Why did you choose to completely rebuild the console code before releasing Survivors of the Void on console?
Historically, Risk of Rain 2 players on console have not had the same quality of experience as players on the PC version of the game. Taking the time to rework the code at a fundamental level gives us the best foundation for delivering future content and creating a better experience on consoles. Releasing Survivors of the Void on consoles prior to taking this step would simply be kicking a can and allowing ourselves to settle for an experience unfit for players. We completely get the urge to want it sooner. We wish you could have it sooner too.
Why is porting Survivors of the Void to consoles this complex?
To start with, this isn’t a traditional port situation. As we have added more content over time, a different code base for each platform emerged, which wasn’t the best way to make updates or fixes. So, we decided to put in extra work to unify things. The time spent now is time that will not need to be spent when making changes and improvements in the future. Thanks for being so patient, and we’ll let you know as soon as we have more to share.
Why was work started on developing Risk of Rain Returns when Survivors of the Void for console hadn’t been completed yet?
Risk of Rain Returns is being developed by Hopoo and the consoles are being rebuilt by our team at Gearbox. They are two separate development teams, and the resources put towards one game are not in any way taking resources away from the other.
Has this delay impacted the development of any future Risk of Rain 2 content that may or may not be in progress?
Our priority has been on unifying the code base so that we can not only get Survivors of the Void out for our console community as soon as possible and at the quality you all expect, but also make future content more easily able to be rolled out to the entire community. We will make good on our commitment to getting everyone in our community across all platforms all on the same page before we look ahead to future content.
Will there be any chance of a delay to the Survivors of the Void console version again, even after you announce the release date?
We’ve gotten it wrong before, and we promise you that we will not do that again. We will only announce a new date when we have the final build in our hands that lives up to Risk of Rain’s standards.
Does this work you’re doing to unify the code base mean that all future Risk of Rain 2 DLCs will be simultaneously delivered to players on all platforms?
Our ultimate goal would be to ship content simultaneously, but unfortunately there are many factors (some beyond our control) that could get in the way. The work to unify the code base is supremely important, but it wouldn’t be honest to say that it’s a silver bullet solution. Whenever possible, we are striving to release content across platforms in as narrow a window as possible.
You mentioned more transparency in the future. What does that look like?
It means you’ll get updates from us more often. Sometimes that information will be exciting things that we hope you’ll love. And when challenges show up, we’ll share those too. One way or another, you won’t be in the dark about what we’re working on.
When can we expect something like a roadmap for future Risk of Rain 2 content?
We’re pretty excited to think about the future. But we can’t deliver something like a roadmap until we get everyone on the same page. Our priority right now continues to be getting a console build that all of us can be proud of, and that hopefully you will love. You’ve all been very patient with us this last year. We deeply appreciate it. We’ll let you know as soon as we have more to share.