Valheim Teases Two Upcoming Expansions On One-Year Anniversary
To celebrate the survival sandbox title's one-year anniversary, Valheim developer Iron Gate Studio has detailed the upcoming Mountain and Mistland updates. The early access title had a successful launch back in February 2021, with its atmospheric open world drawing in large crowds of Norse survivalists. The title's last major expansion was Valheim's Hearth & Home update, released in September 2021, which improved several systems such as health, food, stamina and shelter.
Similar to other survival sandbox titles like Minecraft, the Norse-inspired world of Valheim is procedurally generated with each new game. Playing as fallen Vikings, players must craft tools and build shelter in order to survive the harsh wilderness and its wide variety of deadly threats. A skill-level system allows gamers to improve their abilities over time, with the ultimate goal of Valheim being to summon and defeat five monstrous bosses. While the Hearth & Home update overhauled the game's blocking system and introduced new food items, smaller updates like Valheim's new armor and swamp threat patch have continued to improve the experience even further.
Valheim entered early access on February 2, 2020, so Iron Gate Studio is celebrating the game's one-year anniversary on the Steam forums. A detailed post from the developer thanks fans for their support and summarizes Valheim's extremely successful first year. The studio also reveals that the Mountain update, previously teased on the forums, is nearing completion. The expansion will add a network of claustrophobic caves to the mountains of Valheim, though what players can find within still remains a mystery. Following the Mountain update, a Mistland expansion will introduce a unique new biome complete with its own inhabitants and mechanics.
While Iron Gate Studio continues to expand Valheim's survival experience, the game's fans have also made their own changes and improvements in the form of mods. These projects can range from simple tweaks to massive additions, with one player's Valheim NPC follower mod adding an entirely new mechanic to help players survive and thrive. The mod, called the Fantasy Followers Pack, adds six unique companions to the game complete with their own skills, weapons and armor. Crafting a special totem allows layers to summon these followers, ensuring that the mechanic is balanced and built right into Valheim's established world.
Valheim was one of 2021's most successful indie games, and it appears that Iron Gate Studio is just getting started. The upcoming Mountain and Mistland updates will add entirely new areas for players to explore, complete with their own inhabitants and mechanics. Valheim took the gaming world by storm last year, and the title's second year may be an even bigger hit.
Valheim is available on PC.
Source: Iron Gate Studio