Risk of Rain 2 update brings a new Survivor, Boss and more

Hopoo Games and Gearbox Publishing today announced the free Anniversary Update for Risk of Rain 2 is now available on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 owners can also enjoy today’s update through their system’s native backwards compatibility. Players on Nintendo Switch can anticipate the update soon.

The Anniversary Update features the return of classic survivor Bandit 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.

Check out the Anniversary Update trailer here:

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.
• 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 their latest Dev Thoughts #20 post.  Paul Morse and Duncan Drummond, co-founders of Hopoo Games had this to say:

The Anniversary Update is a huge ‘thank you’ for our fans who have been with us since the beginning as well as an opportunity to revisit a lot of the things we couldn’t finish up for the official launch.  We have a lot of exciting things coming and we can’t wait to share more with you soon.

Risk of Rain 2

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 over 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.

The Anniversary Update for Risk of Rain 2 is now available on Steam, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Google Stadia. The update will be available for Nintendo Switch players in the future. Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 owners can also enjoy today’s update through their system’s native backwards compatibility.