Co-op Viking survival game Valheim is the big title on Twitch right now. Although the game has been around in a pre-alpha state since 2018, it launched into early access on February 2, 2021. As an open-world survival title, players in Valheim have to craft tools, build shelters, and fight enemies to survive.
Although it's been less than two weeks since Valheim launched on Steam, the game has seen an incredible surge of popularity. Within a few days. it had sold a million copies and was the fourth most-played game on Valve's platform. Developer Iron Gate seems ready to capitalize on this success, with a bulky roadmap already set out for the rest of 2021.
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The first two updates that will be coming to Valheim later in 2021 are titled Hearth and Home and Cult of the Wolf. Of the two, Hearth and Home has the more self-explanatory title, and will most likely feature an expansion of the amount of building options available to players. Valheim's crafting system already comes with all the tools a player needs to make an authentic Viking longhouse, but there's always room for expansion. More decorations, structure types, and crafting options will help to make a house a home.
The second of the major updates, Cult of the Wolf, is rather more cryptically titled. Judging by the name alone, the update seems likely to either add new plot elements to the world, or new enemies to Valheim for players to overcome.
The third major update coming to Iron Gate's Valheim in 2021 is Ships and the Sea. There are no prizes for guessing what this update will involve, and it seems a fitting and exciting addition to the game. The Vikings were a people known for their seafaring abilities, and an expansion of the game's nautical options will help capitalize on that legacy.
Finally, the fourth major update on the roadmap of Valheim's new content is Mistlands, a brand new biome. There are currently six biomes for players to explore, ranging from oceans to mountains. However, all the biomes so far have been fairly mundane in terms of their geography. Players can expect the Mistlands to have a little more of the mystery that befits a Viking afterlife. All that fans know about the Mistlands so far is that they're filled with tall and ancient trees, wrapped in a mysterious cobweb-like substance.
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Not content with these four updates, Iron Gate's roadmap for Valheim also includes a section named "If Odin Wills It." This section covers small improvements that may or may not find their way into the game in 2021:
- Multiplayer Interactions
- Combat Improvements
- Moon Phases
- Tar Pits
- Vendor Inventory Expansion
- Svartalfr Brigands
- More Unique Locations
- Sandbox Mode
- Munin
While most of these additions are self-explanatory, there are some that are more interesting. The Svartalfr are also known as dark elves in Norse mythology, and are creatures that dwell in the realm of Svartalfheim. Their realm is also synonymous with dwarfs, though this is a less likely addition as there are already dwarfs in the game. Another interesting name on the list is Munin, which is the name of one of the two ravens that serve Odin in Norse mythology. It's unclear how the raven would function in Valheim's gameplay, but players already suspect that the Mysterious Cloaked Figure in the game is Odin himself.
For a game that had such an explosive and successful launch, it's extremely promising that Iron Gate already had a comprehensive roadmap ready to go from day one. Although there are no specific dates given for the updates that we've listed, players are already anxious to see more biomes, bosses, and boats added to Valheim in the future.
Valheim is available now in Early Access on Steam.
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