The survival sandbox game Valheim provided players with a 2021 roadmap chock-full of new content that was in the works for the game, but it seems like its overwhelming popularity may have put a wrench in those plans. With the recently-announced delay of Valheim's upcoming large update, what other changes will be made to 2021's roadmap?
Valheim became an unexpected smash hit when it was released in early access back in February, much to the apparent surprise of Iron Gate, the small team behind its development. Earlier this year it was the top-selling Steam game for two months straight, and in March it hit a milestone of 5 million sales, 1 million of which were acquired in its first week alone. The unique setting of Valheim helps to set it apart from other popular survival games such as Rust.
The first major update to Valheim, titled Hearth & Home, has been teased by the developers in small increments recently and will improve the game's building and cooking mechanics. The Hearth & Home update was just one part of Valheim's packed 2021 roadmap. However, it seems that due in part to the game's overwhelming success, a few changes are going to be made to Iron Gate's 2021 plans. What will the future of Valheim look like through the rest of the year?
Valheim's New 2021 Roadmap Will Be Smaller
In a statement posted on Steam, Iron Gate announced a delay to Hearth & Home's release. Initially, it was expected to come out in the first half of the year. Now it's on track to drop in Q3 of 2021, pushing the release window to sometime within the next few months. In light of the announcement, Valheim's developers have provided concrete details about the update for the first time. Hearth & Home will add new build pieces, cooking station extensions and foods into the game. A new food system will also be implemented that will make food choices more interesting based on playstyle, with focus given to the importance of choosing between boosting health and stamina. Plantable onions were also teased as part of the update, and the previewed features are by no means a complete list of what's to come.
Iron Gate also provided information regarding updated plans for Valheim's roadmap. The massive influx of players reportedly highlighted bugs that demanded immediate attention. Consequently, priority has been given to making Valheim's current game state as stable as possible. The roadmap was temporarily taken down in order to adjust it to reflect this, and developers stated that when it returns it will be much smaller than the initial 2021 roadmap. Iron Gate has also made the decision to release the game's next large update, Mistlands, directly after work on Hearth & Home is completed, putting aside smaller updates for the time being. In their statement, Valheim's creators emphasized that plans for the game are fluid, so fans should keep an eye out for the full release of the new 2021 roadmap and additional announcements moving forward.