Valheim started in Early Access with great ambitions and has since been expanded with several updates. Time to take stock after 14 months!
Over eight million copies sold, more than half a million players on Steam at the same time – that’s Valheim. The indie title became a real hit after it launched into Early Access in February 2021. But with increasing success, fans’ expectations of the game are also known to rise.
Time to take stock: What has happened in the past 14 months in Early Access? Which updates have been released, which are coming in the future? And what is the mood in the community? These are the questions we address in this article
Valheim’s first year of Early Access
Already in June 2018, Valheim, originally developed under the title Fejd (Swedish for dispute/feud), went into alpha status. However, the Nordic survival adventure has only been playable for the masses since 2 February 2021, the day the Early Access phase started on Steam.
The success is impressive: In addition to nominations for Best Indie Debut and Best Multiplayer Game at the Game Awards 2021, Valheim even won the Game of the Year award from PC Gamer, which was not a matter of course given the many game highlights last year such as Forza Horizon 5, It Takes Two or Resident Evil: Village.
Player numbers skyrocketed on Steam, peaking on 18 February 2021, a day when 502,387 Vikings romped through the harsh gaming world at the same time, making it the 8th most played Steam title of all time.
The game was also a real guarantee of success on Twitch and the like, especially in the early days, when new viewers were to be won over: Over 200,000 streamers roamed through Valheim and gave the game a huge amount of attention.
Valheim no longer reaches the great numbers of the beginning, but much more important for the continuity of the game than a short hype is the obvious consistency. Around 25,000 players still play the game every day. With almost 300,000 reviews, the aggregate result is extremely positive.
There were also several updates: In addition to numerous smaller patches, which primarily dealt with fixing bugs, larger content packages were also released:
Hearth & Home: Besides new building parts, the food system was extensively revised. In addition, the combat system underwent some fundamental changes, especially the block system was affected. Those who had already tamed a lox could now use it as a mount. The package was rounded off by new areas and creatures.
Mountain Update: Just recently, on 1 March 2022, another major patch was released, which can be seen as a kind of precursor to the upcoming major update (more on that below). This time, the mountain regions have been extensively reworked, where you will find brand new dungeons. The ice caves are of course also inhabited by new enemy types. The rewards are new resources, which you will need for the new armour and weapon sets.
What new content is scheduled for release in 2022?
The development of Valheim is still running at full speed. The developers regularly check in on Steam with developer posts and inform the community about the planned content for the future. Therefore, a rough roadmap for the year 2022 already exists, which has the following in store for the fans:
The Mistlands: With the next major update, Valheim will get a completely new biome, namely the eponymous Mistlands. This area is actually already in the game, but is still stingy with content, there is hardly anything to do here. The terrain in the Nebellands is much more rugged and therefore more treacherous, but this is the only place where you can get new resources and flatten the new world boss. It is very likely that there will also be many other smaller and larger innovations. An exact release date has not yet been set.
Cult of the Wolves: This update focuses on one of the most central elements of Valheim, namely the world building. The patch is supposed to create even more diverse game areas. In addition, the combat system will be reworked. The cult of wolves, which gives the game its name, will come into play as part of the new side quests.
Ships and Sea: You can probably already guess, this is all about shipping. After all, a real Viking feels comfortable on unsafe waters. You should be able to decorate your boats. Further details are missing so far.
That’s not all: Apart from the above-mentioned major updates, the developers still have other features on the agenda, but there is no timetable for their implementation yet. These include interactions in multiplayer, different moon phases, a sandbox mode, more unique locations in the game world and much more.
This is the mood in the community
So, a lot has happened in Valheim in the past 14 months and the player numbers seem to be good at the moment. But what is the mood of the players apart from all these sober facts? We have asked around and found a thick hair in the Viking soup.
The slow development causes displeasure: The problem that many players have with the roadmap of Valheim is the fact that it already read so similar a year ago. Numerous features were already planned back then and so the feeling arises in the community that further development is proceeding at a snail’s pace. The Hearth & Home update was also perceived as too small in terms of scope, and even mods can only counteract the lack of content to a limited extent.
The result is increasing disgruntlement at the lack of new content. This is by far the most common criticism in Steam reviews, often from players with hundreds of hours of play on the clock who have now turned their backs on Valheim.
The basic tenor is strikingly the same: At the beginning, Valheim is a blast, a lot of fun and exerts a great pull thanks to the many unknown contents to be discovered. But after a certain point, the motivation falls by the wayside because the developers simply don’t deliver new content fast enough.
The year 2022 is therefore a fateful year for Valheim. Will the creators manage to prevent the impending change of heart with fresh content? Or is the survival hit already past its prime? The game is at a crossroads, but which turn it will take can only be answered in another year.
