Valheim

Valheim is a co-op survival game from Iron Gate, a small independent studio. It first appeared in Steam early access on February 2, 2021[2], and reached its 1.0 release on September 9, 2026, five years and seven months later[3]. Four weeks after launch it still ranked ninth on Steam's most played chart for October 5 (UTC), with a daily peak of 165,451 concurrent players[12]. Of its 557,679 Steam reviews, 522,098, or 93.6%, are positive[13]. This review reflects the game as of October 6, 2026.

The tenth world, where dead Vikings wake up

You play a Viking dropped into the tenth world, an afterlife from Norse myth. The Steam store page describes a co-op exploration and survival game for one to ten players in a procedurally generated world[1]. Each new world has different terrain, and a server holds up to ten people[1][4].

The structure stacks up in a clear order. You gather materials, build a shelter, craft weapons and armor, and hunt down regional bosses. According to the store page, defeating these bosses, known as the Forsaken, is the only way to progress[1]. Regions are called biomes, and each one has its own environment, resources and enemies. Finding new materials unlocks new recipes for crafting, building and cooking, and the food you eat changes your health and stamina bonuses[1].

That structure grew over more than five years. Iron Gate's press page lists the major updates in order, from Hearth & Home in September 2021 through Mistlands in November 2022, Ashlands in April 2024 and Call to Arms in August 2025[5]. On Steam you can play solo or in online co-op, with full controller support and Korean among the supported languages[1].

A final biome where you shovel before you build

The centerpiece of 1.0 is the Deep North biome. The patch notes say the snow lies so deep that you need to clear it before you can build, and that frozen seas and ponds call for careful footing[3]. The Jotun are invading, a new grappling hook helps with heights, moose can be tamed and ridden, and a new boss, Kall Fimbulbringer, waits at the end[3].

The abbreviated notes list a lot of material: more than 40 weapons, more than 10 creatures and more than 80 buildable pieces, plus four armor sets, more than 30 crafting materials and more than 20 foods[3]. Older areas changed too. The outer edges of the world can hold alternate versions of earlier biomes, and the merchant Haldor sells inventory upgrades[3]. Achievements debut with this release. All hair and beard styles are available from the start, and the game runs on an upgraded version of the Unity engine[3].

What early buyers and new buyers each get

The price went up with 1.0. Iron Gate's FAQ set the new price at $29.99, noting that regional prices may differ[4]. On the Korean Steam store the list price is KRW 32,000, and it was 10% off at KRW 28,800 when checked on October 6[1]. The store page shows no in-game purchases, and the only paid add-on is the soundtrack, listed at KRW 9,000[1].

Anyone who bought during early access does not need to buy again. Their copy updates as usual and old saves stay in place[4]. In existing worlds, though, new biomes only generate properly in areas that have not been explored yet, so the developer recommends starting over[4].

Achievements start tracking from the moment you download 1.0. Following the FAQ's own example, someone who has already beaten the boss Eikthyr 500 times still has to beat him again to earn that achievement. Characters and worlds that used cheat commands are locked out of achievements[4]. Mods are not officially supported, so there is no guarantee they work in 1.0, and there are no console mods and no Steam Workshop[4].

Five fix notices in four weeks

Since 1.0, Iron Gate has shipped patches almost every week. Counting Steam announcements alone, there were five: September 11, 17, 18 and 25, and October 6[6][7][8][9][10]. The September 11 notice fixed heavy armor from the Deep North that could not be repaired, and added that a delayed Switch 2 patch had arrived, so all platforms could play together again[6].

The September 17 patch had a long list. It fixed a multiplayer bug where terrain changed by players or monsters could cause performance and portal problems or revert to its original state. It also added more keybinding options and an accessibility setting that toggles blocking instead of requiring a held button[7]. The next day brought a fix for duplicated terrain that was dragging down performance[8]. On September 25, Iron Gate fixed a bug that spawned far too many enemies during raids, along with achievements that would not unlock[9].

Patch 1.0.17 on October 6 is short but significant. It fixed a rare bug that could erase all objects in parts of the world when one large world save chunk file was split into smaller ones[10]. It also fixed errors caused by an invalid shield variant that was obtainable in version 1.0.15 on PS5[10]. Each notice says the patch takes a few days to reach every platform, and each adds that crossplay keeps working in the meantime[7][9][10].

Decide who you play with, and on what

Valheim works best when you have people to play with. Splitting the work, with one person building while another hauls materials, speeds things up a lot. You can finish it alone, but most of the time goes into building and gathering, so players looking for short, fast combat may find it slow. The FAQ also warned in advance that worlds with very large builds would not see much benefit from the 1.0 optimizations[4].

There is one thing to settle before choosing a platform. Crossplay works across all of them, but saves can only move between Xbox and PC when the game is launched from the Microsoft Store. There is no save sync between any other platforms[4].

In its September 30 post, Iron Gate said more content updates are in the works. It would not say what they are yet, and added that developer updates will now arrive only when there is news rather than every month[11].

Sources

[1] Valve. Valheim Steam store page (South Korea). Price, supported languages, description and soundtrack price, accessed October 6, 2026.

[2] Iron Gate. Valheim Release and Roadmap!. Steam announcement, February 2, 2021.

[3] Iron Gate. Valheim 1.0 Has Arrived!. Steam announcement, September 9, 2026.

[4] Iron Gate. Valheim 1.0 FAQ. July 1, 2026.

[5] Iron Gate. Valheim Press. Press kits by update, accessed October 6, 2026.

[6] Iron Gate. Hotfix 1.0.10 & 1.0.12. Steam announcement, September 11, 2026.

[7] Iron Gate. Patch 1.0.14. Steam announcement, September 17, 2026.

[8] Iron Gate. Patch 1.0.15. Steam announcement, September 18, 2026.

[9] Iron Gate. Patch 1.0.16. Steam announcement, September 25, 2026.

[10] Iron Gate. Patch 1.0.17. Steam announcement, October 6, 2026.

[11] Iron Gate. Word from the Devs: What a Month!. Steam announcement, September 30, 2026.

[12] Valve. Steam most played games API. October 5, 2026 (UTC) rollup, accessed October 6, 2026.

[13] Valve. Steam user review summary (appreviews, 892970). Accessed October 6, 2026.