Valheim's Hearth and Home update has been delayed, pushed back for a release in Q3 2021. The first of several upcoming Valheim updates, Hearth and Home was expected to come sometime in the spring or early summer, but the game's entire 2021 roadmap is being reworked.
Hearth and Home is set to add new features to Valheim's building and cooking systems, including new build pieces and new food items. A lot is still unknown about updates after that, and it will likely be quite a while before fans learn the details. Iron Gate AB temporarily took down Valheim's roadmap, putting it on hold while changes are made to account for the Hearth and Home delay. It's not clear when subsequent updates will launch, but the studio said it won't be able to release all four of those planned before the end of the year.
The main cause of the update delays is Valheim's high player count. According to Iron Gate AB, the studio never expected Valheim to achieve this level of popularity. While a good thing for the developer overall, the increase "highlighted a thousand new problems and bugs that needed to be fixed urgently." As a result, new content "has taken a backseat" while the team prioritizes player experience and the current state of the game, and Iron Gate AB wasn't able to focus development on Hearth and Home until May 2021.
Valheim Hearth & Home Delay: Popularity Is A Double-Edged Sword
An underlying factor in Hearth and Home's delay could be the size of Iron Gate AB. Valheim was created by just a handful of developers and programmers, which means updates are inevitably slower than a massive AAA team. Iron Gate AB noted its appreciation for the player base for its "patience and kindness" towards the small studio. Hopefully future updates will be more on schedule than Hearth and Home after the roadmap is rewritten.
Valheim has some cool plans for the future, but when those things will actually be added into the game is up in the air. New biomes, enemies, and mechanics are all on the horizon for unknown release dates, but sooner than later would keep a lot of players happy. Iron Gate AB mentioned it will be more transparent with coming content in the future, even to the point of showing off features that might not make it into a public build of the game.
Source: Iron Gate AB/Steam