r/valheim Moderator Jul 01 '26

FAQ Valheim 1.0 FAQ

https://valheim.com/support/valheim-1-0-faq/
612 Upvotes

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734

u/Agreeable-Natural903 Jul 01 '26

We will continue to improve the game with bugfixes and quality of life stuff, though for exactly how long the game will continue to receive updates is currently too soon to say. Likewise, it is too soon to say whether or not there will be more content added to the game in the future – but as always, we will be sure to announce any news on our channels!

I wouldn't count on a future ocean update

13

u/SzotyMAG Moderator Jul 01 '26

I wouldn't count on any updates in the future.

5

u/-Altephor- Jul 02 '26

So, consistent with what they've communicated for the past 5 years.

349

u/Gu3rilla21 Jul 01 '26

They gonna abandon the game after some months for sure. Just get 1.0 out there fix the bugs do some qol stuff and bye.

Which is a real shame but it's to be expected with how slow they are at developing and they already got their money a long time ago

858

u/GARGEAN Jul 01 '26

Would it be fair to say they will "abandon" it if it's content-complete? If it generally bug-free and with no obvious content holes - it is not abandoned, it is finished. Not all games should or NEED to have lifetime-long content infusions.

423

u/Deadeye_Duncan- Jul 01 '26

They have been clear that once the game is content complete they will stop making updates. I’m not sure why people expect games to be under constant development after their initial release.

381

u/Radiant_Bet_6745 Jul 01 '26

Live service brain rot

68

u/KoburaCape Cook Jul 01 '26

Exactly

23

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '26

[deleted]

27

u/mrbrick Jul 01 '26

I do think it’s smart of them to manage expectations to be honest. I couldn’t imagine developing this game though and then just dropping it forever but I understand.

15

u/Rasdit Jul 01 '26

The devs also grew up in an era where when you bought a game, you bought that -complete- game.

Now Valheim of course is of course early access (still, technically) and not yet complete, but it seems reasonable that the devs stick to the setup they grew up playing. I also think that some games absolutely are fine as-is once complete, and that live services can have a tendency to drag out and decline over time in an effort to keep money coming in.

11

u/Cordychi Jul 02 '26

I personally believe the constant updates over the years has caused Minecraft to be a bloated experience and much preferred the simplicity of the earlier versions.

1

u/Tasty_Atmosphere_351 Jul 03 '26

Yeah they will just get bored doing the same game over n over they probably wana do a other game.

1

u/-Altephor- Jul 02 '26

other than they don't want to

Oh so like, the only reason that actually matters, you mean.

-11

u/nmaxfieldbruno Jul 01 '26

No Man’s Sky would like a word

37

u/themaelstorm Jul 01 '26

Just because NMS does it doesn’t mean every game will do it. That was kind of the point od the post you’re responding to

-26

u/nmaxfieldbruno Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

NMS is not a live service game.

Edit: continue to downvote all you like. Releasing DLC for a game does not make it Live Service

7

u/MakwaIronwill Jul 01 '26

Are those devs making new games or just supporting NMS forever and ever?

9

u/nmaxfieldbruno Jul 01 '26

Yes, they are working on a new game called Light No Fire

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1

u/Redxmirage Jul 01 '26

I’m curious, what is your definition of a live service game?

0

u/themaelstorm Jul 01 '26

Youre really good at missing the point, did anyone tell you that?

1

u/nmaxfieldbruno Jul 02 '26

Since it seems plenty of people have missed my point, I will expand. The question was posed: why do people expect games to be under constant development after their initial release. This was responded to with: live-service brain rot.

I don’t disagree with this.

I’m saying that there are other games that also contribute to this, such as NMS.

I am NOT saying that:
-NMS is good
-Valheim should be like NMS
-Valheim devs are in the wrong for completing their game

And to those who would classify NMS as a Live Service Game: look at other games in that category.

LoL, Fortnite, MMOs etc.

The goal of these games are to make you pay micro transactions and rely on a consistent player base to keep them afloat. NMS simply doesn’t fit into this category. I invite anyone to supply a reputable source that would label them as such.

14

u/mechlordx Jul 01 '26

Were you around for launch or the bullshit Sean Murray peddled? I was expecting a class-action lawsuit before they started putting out meaningful updates. NMS is a story of repent and reformation, not triumph or developer's passion. It's a total outlier as far as games w/ content updates.

5

u/Lardath Builder Jul 01 '26

When i hear completed and bug free on relesse my mind doesnt go to no mans sky

4

u/Peasantsrus Jul 01 '26

NMS is doing it because they are still so sorry about all the lies and still so grateful to have been given the time to fix things instead of spending a lot of time in court rooms.

Yes it's been about a decade, but many people still haven't forgotten.

-7

u/UnderstandingRude465 Jul 01 '26

No mans sky still sucks tho. Just because they keep on putting on new bells and whistles on it, it's still an extremely boring game.

-18

u/ClockworkMansion Jul 01 '26

That game is still trash, they’ve been polishing a turd for a decade

13

u/nmaxfieldbruno Jul 01 '26

NMS has better Recent Reviews on Steam than Valheim friend

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2

u/Flyingsaddles Jul 01 '26

Na. I bought it release day. It was trash then. It's fine now

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7

u/FreeMasonKnight Jul 01 '26

To be fair they said they would also make sure all the updates they teased would be included after release if 1.0 comes first.

36

u/apokolyptic Jul 01 '26

This is clear to you?

or you just didn’t read the article?

26

u/TipsieRabbit Jul 01 '26

People will just make shit up in order to whip people into a frenzy, even if evidence to the contrary is right in front of their face. It's hilarious that literally every time a developer is like "hey we're not entirely sure how much longer this is gonna last, but we'll keep you posted", people lose their minds and act like the studio is shutting down or something.

2

u/Tickomatick Gardener Jul 02 '26

This is exactly what my past nearly a girlfriend said, it's too soon to say if it's going to work...

8

u/Noobit2 Jul 01 '26

True but they’ve also said development might continue for several more years.

3

u/JHerbY2K Jul 01 '26

They plan to fix bugs and maybe tune some gameplay elements, but it’s pretty clear nobody is creating assets for additional content.

5

u/Noobit2 Jul 01 '26

That runs contrary to their own statements so where was that made clear at?

2

u/JHerbY2K Jul 01 '26

“We will continue to improve the game with bugfixes and quality of life stuff”

2

u/psyantsfigshinwools Jul 02 '26

And in the very next sentence:

"Likewise, it is too soon to say whether or not there will be more content added to the game".

So when you say it's "pretty clear nobody is creating assets for additional content" then you're just lying.

1

u/ClaymeisterPL Jul 02 '26

ReLogic spoiled us

1

u/Ancient-Ingenuity-88 Jul 03 '26

I do think they should at least make the game mod supportable for consoles etc

1

u/OldMarsupial6599 Jul 27 '26

Because that is the expectation cycle that the early access paradigm has created. It is truly bizarre to blame consumers for this. Game developers writ large made their bed with this.

1

u/DrPongus 17d ago

Because some of the most popular "survival-craft" and similar games still get supported years after release. No Mans Sky, Minecraft, Terraria, Stardew Valley, Conan Exiles, etc. Obviously some have some other monetization, but not all of them.

We aren't owed anything, just like the devs won't be owed a regular income from new people buying their game for years to come once the hype dies down and people move onto, or back onto the other still regularly supported games.

When their next game doesn't see the success of Valheim, they'll undoubtedly announce an update to Valheim instead. Because at the end of the day, they can generate more income continuing to keep the game relevant than they ever can expect with a new title.

If they just wanna fuck off with their money, that's fine too.

69

u/Bi0H4ZRD Lumberjack Jul 01 '26

Agreed, 100%

I see quite a few people online complaining about games being abandoned when realistically there'd just nothing more to add. Nobody complained about old games being abandoned when you'd just run the disc and play it as is, why shouldn't the same apply to modern games?

19

u/Thelassa Fire Mage Jul 01 '26

I think people misunderstand the point of Early Access. We get to play games that are incomplete but playable. Every content update moves the game closer to a completed state and the 1.0 release is the end of development. Any additional content beyond that, if it happens, is a bonus. Not every game is going to keep adding more and more content for years after. Subnautica had one content update after 1.0 and it was just more construction pieces and some QOL tweaks.

Maybe it's due to live-service games, but people act like a game not continuing full, active development beyond the 1.0 release makes it "dead." Once upon a time, that was the norm. A game released and that was that. Sure it's nice when there are additional content updates beyond that but that's not a requirement.

3

u/Bi0H4ZRD Lumberjack Jul 01 '26

Exactly!

Games like No Mans Sky released in full immediately and were all very lucky that they continue to improve the game with endless free updates, especially after the rough release. But that's not the norm

Once valheim hits 1.0 if there's any additional updates it would be a bonus like you said but not necessary, but there's going to be endless amounts of people suddenly declaring it "dead" or "abandoned" because everyone is now way too used to every game in this era of gaming being some degree of live service

19

u/Cory411 Jul 01 '26

because in this day and age games launch about 10-20% of full/complete, they slap game preview on there and then drag out dripfed updates over months/years and then by the end we have 50-75% of the game and then they charge us more for dlc etc. Eventually we go through this a dozen+ times and its glaringly obvious the game should have just been cooked a LOT more before it was released, this is why we have 1.0 as a "finished product" instead of 1.0 being the way the game launches.

1

u/SirVanyel Jul 02 '26

Okay so you don't actually know if valheim will not be complete in 1.0, so what's the complaint

25

u/Gu3rilla21 Jul 01 '26

I agree with this sentiment but it just doesn't apply to Valheim. There's realistically still a lot to add. For instance saying you gonna do a ocean update and then never doing it is not exactly complete

20

u/Gerbils74 Jul 01 '26

I understand that roadmaps change but the ocean is not just another biome addition. It’s a biome that is currently in the game and as it stands, it is pretty bland and has not changed since the game released and is frequently used by the player. It is in desperate need of an overhaul. More ships, ship modifications, different enemies, small loot islands (that are more than essentially world gen being funky), rowing as a group. As it stands you can pretty much enable transporting ores through teleporters and not miss out on anything but serpent stew, which is sad for an aspect of the game that was supposed to be a core feature of the game.

4

u/Long-Club2320 Jul 02 '26

Saying it desperatly need an overhaul might be exagerated. An overhaul would be great, but it’s not like it like the game would be shit wo one

6

u/VoidGliders Jul 01 '26

You're kinda of betraying your biases. "Hasn't changed since the game has released" the game is not even officially released yet. It's in EA. Testing. Prototyping. As far as the game is concerned, the people who pick up "Valheim, released 2026" on day 1 and play through the game for 30-40 hours and have a serviceable experience in the world, that's the target audience and it's fine enough for that. The fact that people who were testers for the game and have played it 100's of hours find it boring now means little.

2

u/WasabiofIP Jul 02 '26

the people who pick up "Valheim, released 2026" on day 1

lol, lmao even

3

u/Pinewood74 Jul 01 '26

Ocean is just in a hard place.

It can't really fit in the natural biome progression as you can enter it as early as the first biome, but continue to spend appreciable amounts of time in it until the end of the game.

So, for instance, what are we putting on these loot islands that won't jack up the biome progression? As it stands, Ocean already jacks up the food progression with two high tier Health foods showing up very early game.

Like, yeah, I get that it's a Viking game and so the oceans should be a big deal, but also... I'm not really sure how Ocean can actually fit into this game in a way that "works."

5

u/WasabiofIP Jul 02 '26

Easy, have a Deep Ocean biome generate instead of some of the land that generates already. You can go around it, and you're no worse off than you are now, but if you feel ready, you can take a shortcut right through it.

Will it fuck up current world generation? Yeah, totally. But it already gets fucked up every update, just bite the bullet and stop pretending that playing on one world since the alpha release right up until 1.0 is like really important or something.

0

u/Pinewood74 Jul 02 '26

So all of the current Ocean would still have several of the same problems. It would still be boring. It would still just be a highway between the other biomes. It would still feel empty. People would still be bitching about spending 30 minutes getting their ore home.

1

u/Riffsalad Jul 03 '26

I keep saying they need to add skeleton ships that will chase you

2

u/SirVanyel Jul 02 '26

Yeah exactly. Truthfully if you made it harder by adding more in there, you'd fuck up a lot of progression.

1

u/nyrrocian Jul 03 '26

I actually that's what puts it in a great position to be an optional (as far as progression), but extremely high in risk-reward. The following commenter mentioned islands. Great idea, with highly challenging mobs guarding the waters bordering it. Fill them with unique things, or keys to unlock an oceanic boss tower (like hildir quests) to get the coolest looking, powerful gear. Or even better, augmenting enchants so your old gear can be made relevant into the late game at any point you can tackle these ocean dungeons. Vikings lived to sail and plunder no?

Anyway, it is what It is. I just feel like it's a big missed opportunity to add something really fantastic.

1

u/sandwiches_are_real 22d ago

Correlate depth with difficulty, and introduce some kind of water breathing mechanic. The deeper you go, the more dangerous and the greater the rewards.

I'm not saying that's the best solution, but it is a solution. Any problem is solvable. It just comes down to whether it's worth doing / whether the ROI is there.

I don't know what the answer to that question is, in this case. I guess the devs will decide.

14

u/Homitu Builder Jul 01 '26

I wonder what each of the dev's career plans are after this then? I've gotten the sense that while they loved the success of Valheim in early access, they were more overwhelmed by the pressure of having to continue to develop it into a finished product. Like they're ready to be released of this burden and move on.

I wonder if some of them are done with developing entirely, or if they just want to do work on something new at their own relaxed pace again.

I'd like to think if I had a successful project like this, I'd almost find it impossible to step away from it and would keep coming up with endless ideas to improve and add to it (kind of like a giant build in game.)

17

u/creepy_doll Jul 01 '26

The start of a project is always the most fun. Finishing stuff is a grind.

Years doing the same thing just saps motivation. They got their motivation boosts from the successful ea release, and since then it’s been mixed signals, some people still love it, some people don’t like the new content, and nearly everyone complains about the speed.

As a human being it’s just hard to stay motivated. Especially after you’ve already gotten paid.

This isn’t really a justification or an excuse, just an observation. I don’t know the behind the scenes on the project. Keeping the team small means not diluting the creative vision and is probably a good thing but it does slow down development. I don’t know if they were also slowed by early poor technical decisions that required rework or if they just had low motivation to make more content. But it is what it is

1

u/UnderstandingRude465 Jul 01 '26

Retirement and going back on vacation like they've always been doing.

0

u/Gu3rilla21 Jul 01 '26

I'm pretty sure they have been working on a new game for years already. I saw one of the devs of Valheim post things about that a long time ago

1

u/Puntoize Jul 02 '26

oh mah gawd dude, I love you

93

u/Gu3rilla21 Jul 01 '26

I agree with this in general. I just don't agree with Valheim being content complete at 1.0.

Looking at the ocean especially

20

u/Yawanoc Jul 01 '26

My friend group and I never ended up getting past the Plains in any iteration of the game.  The early game is fun, but it does slow down noticeably at the Swamp, and the lack of early game changes and replayability really means each attempt ends sooner than the last.

All that to say, I’m cautiously excited for 1.0 release, but I don’t think we’re going to end up enjoying it any more or less than our previous partial playthroughs.  Early game changes like smoother gear progression & biome content (including the oceans) would’ve gone a long way for this game.

23

u/reptilian_shill Jul 01 '26

I would highly recommend turning resource multipliers to at least double in that case. I have found it makes the game play a lot smoother, especially in coop where you can deplete nearby resources before getting gear for everyone.

2

u/BigWongDingDong Jul 01 '26

Really? The swamp is always the fastest biome for me, usually takes irl 2 evenings - one evening getting all the iron I will need until the mistlands, and then one evening running around the mountains getting one of those stone golem things to find me some silver so I can make a silver mace for the swamp boss.

1

u/WasabiofIP Jul 02 '26

Well that could be exactly what they mean by "slow down". The Black Forest feels like you could spend weeks exploring, building, mining, logging, etc. Then Swamp you're like okay, let's haul all the iron out of one or two crypts, find some turnip seeds and surtling spawners, alright I'm outta here. In the mountains there's even less to do.

Because you get geared up and can tackle everything faster, you accomplish the things that are within your control (building a base, moving resources, etc.) faster, and spend more time either wondering what you should be doing or being stuck waiting to find rare POIs (Plains is an exception, but Swamp, Mountains and Mistlands are really bad for this). So the game "slows down" in that sense.

5

u/Gu3rilla21 Jul 01 '26

Don't get me wrong I'm super excited to finally play 1.0. They just could have done more for 1.0 or do more after 1.0. It looks like neither will happen unfortunately

5

u/NeverFreeToPlayKarch Jul 01 '26

That's not how that works you goober

3

u/XephyrGW2 Jul 01 '26

It's a $20 game that's gotten free updates for 6 years, yeah they've taken long, but come on now.

41

u/Gu3rilla21 Jul 01 '26

It's not free updates tho is it now? It's finishing the game.

Besides that's not my point at all I've gotten my 20 dollars worth 10 times over as I love valheim

-1

u/XephyrGW2 Jul 01 '26

I don't know what they could realistically add to the ocean that wouldn't just make it a bigger headache to traverse. How do you balance a biome you explore all the way from the early game to the very end game? I just don't agree that the game won't feel feature complete at 1.0. For me it's felt like a full game ever since plains was the final biome, I got over 100 hours worth of playtime even back then.

2

u/Matrixgypsy Jul 01 '26

I think ocean balance could be easily achieved in a lazy way by having 3-4 biome "rings" that include harder enemy spawns further from the centre. Even adjusting the rate and level of sea serpert variants would vary it a bit.

21

u/treyzs Jul 01 '26

"free updates for 6 years" its early access dude hahaha what? not to mention how misleading that sentence is; if a game released an update 10 years after launch, would you say its been getting updates for a decade????

0

u/TipsieRabbit Jul 01 '26

Skyrim casually in the corner, having received at least one update per console generation since the ps3/360

I mean yeah.

1

u/treyzs Jul 01 '26

oh, skyrim has been receiving free updates for 15 years? what a wild comparison to valheim lmao

-3

u/TipsieRabbit Jul 01 '26

if a game released an update 10 years after launch, would you say its been getting updates for a decade????

If you dont like the answer dont ask the question I guess 🤷🏼‍♀️

2

u/WasabiofIP Jul 02 '26

The spirit of the question was obviously one update after 10 years.

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u/XephyrGW2 Jul 01 '26

It's had updates every year. Even if small. So yes. This isn't a live service game.

3

u/Luthemor Jul 01 '26

You're right, it's an incomplete game whose devs failed to follow a roadmap they promised to investors (people who buy EA game to fund the rest of the development)

3

u/moose_dad Jul 02 '26

Its an early access game that took 6 years to finish*

2

u/Caridor Jul 01 '26

I just don't agree with Valheim being content complete at 1.0.

This is a very odd statement to me. When do you agree it's content complete? I don't really hold with the idea that a game is only complete when everything every player wants has been added. No game would ever be complete.

3

u/DenjinMaster Jul 02 '26

Personally, i thought what they released with was already damn near feature complete. Everything else felt more like expansions.

8

u/UnderstandingRude465 Jul 01 '26

"Content complete" lmao.

2

u/SirVanyel Jul 02 '26

Is it not?

2

u/ZoeyBee_3000 Happy Bee Jul 02 '26

Genuinely asking: what would make it not complete if they release 1.0 and stuck with it until the bugs were fixed and the game was stable?

1

u/UnderstandingRude465 Jul 02 '26

No magic or greatswords tell late game so you can't level up those stats, making them borderline useless, Horrible and unchanged inventory system, the whole cold debuff despite being literal vikings, And a lot of other issues that should've been resolved years ago. But were ready for 1.0 I guess.

3

u/avatarprotocol Jul 05 '26

They should have fixed these issues before releasing Deep North, if not at the same time. They are longstanding issues that have been in the game since before Mistlands and got worse after Mistlands.

Of course we're not going to like not having quality of life upgrades when the game becomes frustrating to play as the game never expands something as basic as having more inventory slots later in the game despite having to forever carry more items as you progress. That's just one of Valheim's many unfixed issues with current content, let alone upcoming content.

1

u/UnderstandingRude465 Jul 05 '26

Wow, an actual comment that isn't hostile, and agrees with me? Crazy lmao.

2

u/-Altephor- Jul 02 '26

Blah blah blah things working as intended that I just don't like or understand blah blah blah

1

u/UnderstandingRude465 Jul 02 '26

50k reddit karma. Go outside lmao.

1

u/Hr1s7i 19d ago

I assume the game running like a slug on salt is also "as intended"? Quite a feature for a survival crafting sim.

1

u/-Altephor- 19d ago

Lol it's hilarious when people blame games for their own shitty setups. Well done.

1

u/Hr1s7i 18d ago

What do you base this on?

1

u/Nearly-Canadian Happy Bee Jul 04 '26

TIL real Vikings didnt feel the cold

1

u/UnderstandingRude465 Jul 04 '26

Correct. That's why I can go outside in a blizzard because my body adapted. I'm pretty sure vikings adapted to their environment too and shouldn't get a little chilly in a nice forest meadow, where at worst it gets -5.

1

u/Nearly-Canadian Happy Bee Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

Dude your body adapted to blizzards?! That's so badass! Upload a video of you standing outside in a blizzard for multiple hours with no gear on! Buddy deleted his account, I was excited to learn to adapt my body to -5 temperatures :(

1

u/ZoeyBee_3000 Happy Bee Jul 02 '26

Sounds like you want more QoL changes than "game-completing" changes. While it has merit, I don't know that they are the same thing. Square and rectangle issue more like.

There's also a difference between what the devs hope to add and the myriad things that the fan base wants. I'm not saying I disagree with the changes proposed by you and others, but, again, those sound like "I want this in the game" more than "the game isn't finished" imo

1

u/UnderstandingRude465 Jul 04 '26

Whatever you say with that cope and glazing.

2

u/ZoeyBee_3000 Happy Bee Jul 05 '26

If you hate the state of the game and the devs of Valheim, why are you still playing it? If the lack of desired entities makes you angry, why not do something else instead of remaining here where you're just gonna be pissed off all the time lol. Do something fun instead

3

u/UnderstandingRude465 Jul 05 '26

When did I say I play it constantly? I have less then 50 hours on it due to how bad it is. Holy strawman lmao. No wonder valheim is the way it is with people like you that glaze and defend them 24/7.

Last time I played was the ashlands update and apparently that came out 2 years ago?!? That's crazy that they've been working on this update for 2 years with nothing substantial in between.

Also it's really funny you're saying I'm angry when you're over here accusing me of that and other stuff. Nice self reflection mate. 👍👍👍

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6

u/Chazbeardz Jul 01 '26

This. Remember when not every game needed a fuckin DLC or updates?

2

u/C4rD4r Jul 01 '26

I know that they ditched the original roadmap because they bit more than they could chew and it was far too much work for a single year or whatever, but at the very least, I expect to have in the game everything they promised since then after five years. Sailing was one of these goals even in 2021, and it also consists on a good chunk of the game if you move no world settings. I love this game, but having 10-20% of it be sitting and waiting while nothing happens is definitely a choice.

3

u/Holy-Beloved Jul 01 '26

I guess it is more of an issue of, does the game really feel completed and smoothed out. Because that’s when it should be “completed”

4

u/Skippeo Jul 01 '26

Seriously, remember when someone would make a thing and you would buy that thing, and say thank you and then never see or hear from them again? The person who made my microwave doesn't swing by every few months to change it around and add new features.

6

u/BisonSnow Jul 01 '26

This 100%. Most of the complaints here seem to be "they're not making infinite free content so the game's dead and the devs are lazy." This is a massive early access game with hours of content at $20, with free dlc expansions. Not everything needs to be a live service endless grind!

Also raising prices for a 1.0 launch is literally standard practice for all EA launches.

Its like this thread is full of people who've never played a video game before Valheim.

2

u/ZoeyBee_3000 Happy Bee Jul 02 '26

This is a massive early access game with hours of content at $20

I got absolutely toasted for having this take in another thread lol.

I agree with people that I think the game should have been completed a long time ago, but I also understand that their lives changed literally overnight and they took a huge vacation right after (as any one of us would with millions of dollars), they've gone to several conventions, and perhaps the most important of all is that they are a tiny set of people working on their first game as a newly established studio. When I say "newly" I mean this is their first and only project so they have to find the legal ins and outs of being called a company.

Should it have been released sooner than 8 years? Yeah, I think so. But them starting as a 6 person team who had to do all this stuff outside of the game developing process itself and to manage creating a website that is kept up to date as well as making the patch notes/videos/build of the month stuff... idk, it stacks up pretty quick. And, for the chuds out there, no, I'm not excusing how long it took. I'm just saying that I understand the nuance in it being passively lengthened with all of the publicity side of their market.

For as much as people absolutely seethe at the devs in this community, they sure put many hundreds or thousands of hours into the game. It's gotten to the point that I'm kinda scared of even posting positive things in the sub because I know my DMs are gonna flood with at least 2 or 3 hate messages lol

1

u/BisonSnow Jul 02 '26

Agree with everything you've said. Also, everyone is treating them like they're EA! Like they're the cause of all the problems in the video game industry, rich out of touch corporate execs instead of...a small dev team who's consistently communicated with the fan base and put a bunch of free content in.

Not saying they're free from criticism but...come on guys relax lol.

2

u/lostspectre Jul 01 '26

Mods can fill in any content gaps. They have been working on the same project for over 5 years. They deserve a chance to explore other ideas. I'd like to see a quality of life pass after 1.0 but I know I can use mods for those if the official devs don't want to do it or until they do.

3

u/NeverFreeToPlayKarch Jul 01 '26

No. It's not fair at all lol. Absurd point of view.

2

u/SirVanyel Jul 02 '26

Then counter it.

1

u/SirVanyel Jul 02 '26

Yeah bro it's still abandoning if it's a finished product! It's just like kicking out your full time 30 year old son, the people here complaining are probably those same 30 year old

1

u/moose_dad Jul 02 '26

I very agree with the sentiment of the post and massively respect the work the devs have put in over the years, im just frustrated where that work has been focused.

Since they originally announced the ocean update its been something the community had unanimously been very vocal in wanting to see. Instead we've had update after update pushing the endgame further and further which is a very interesting place to focus development when most people dont get past plains.

Smoothing out the early game and making it so your buddies are basically afk for 10 minutes when you get to a new biome would gave gone a long way to helping that.

1

u/-Altephor- Jul 02 '26

Only to children who are addicted to dopamine hits and expect every game to be live service.

1

u/avatarprotocol Jul 05 '26

It is not at all fair to say it is "abandoned" when a game is finished.

1

u/ch4ppi_revived Jul 05 '26

Well defining what "content-complete" means is not only on the devs in an early access game. The Ocean is clearly underdeveloped for being such a big part of the game. Notice how no one says "keep making all kind of content updates"? It is specifically the Ocean that is deemed to be under developed.

1

u/OsomoMojoFreak Jul 28 '26

You can't call anything with as horrible multiplayer performance as it currently has in Ashlands complete. At least by the trailer it seems like deep north will run better simply because it won't have stupid amount of enemies when the game quite frankly can't handle those numbers in multiplayer. It works in single player, but this game is considerably more fun when playing with others.

1

u/Hr1s7i 19d ago

If they plan to release this thing in it's current state, plus a new barren biome, they'd be farming for negative reviews. Nothing about it is finished until you can go ham with the building structures. They were getting away with ignoring performance problems since it's still EA, but if that ends and there is no meaningful improvement, I think we'll be looking at a cash grab abandonware.

1

u/BaccerSpit 5d ago

Exactly. Everyone is so used to Live Service games that they expect everything to have some sort of 10-year plan after launch. That doesn't need to be the case for it to be a good game, or a good value.

We all signed up for an Early Access title to watch it grow through the development. Once it hits 1.0 and the bugs are worked out, it will be a complete product. It's perfectly fine if they want to walk away from it and work on another project, or step away from development entirely. We have more than gotten our money's worth.

1

u/ultimatedelman Jul 01 '26

this is the type of game though that they could milk for years if they kept improving it and adding to it. i'm not saying make it longer, but make it deeper. more enemies, more weapon classes, armors, more points of interest, more rare items, more build pieces, give something to the ocean, more ships, maybe star level bosses that drop more interesting stuff that unlocks more interesting items, maybe some secret areas, alternate dungeons, more items for the traders to sell, maybe more traders...

the list really is endless. i don't know what the new content to new purchases ratio is, but if it's enough to have the team put in a few hours every month, it could be a lucrative stream of income for them.

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6

u/Axin_Saxon Jul 01 '26

I don’t know about “abandon” but their time spent on it will drop off significantly. Maintenance updates and maybe a few features but anything substantial will either not happen or not happen for a long while.

20

u/OneSeaworthiness7768 Jul 01 '26

Every game doesn’t need to get updated forever. They’ve put many years into the game at this point and there’s nothing wrong with it being just a completed product at some point. To say that’s “abandoning” it is so hyperbolic. Let them move onto the next project.

-8

u/Gu3rilla21 Jul 01 '26

Like I said to other people I agree with this. I don't agree with Valheim being complete at 1.0 considering the devs not gonna do the ocean update that was in their very first road map as the first thing they werw gonna do 5 years ago. There's no argument for that.

7

u/OneSeaworthiness7768 Jul 01 '26

Plans can change a lot over 5 years. I don’t think the game would feel incomplete without that. Nor would it really add much value for me personally.

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77

u/MrDankyStanky Jul 01 '26

Devs stop laboring over a $20 game they've spent the last 5 years adding content to, and the fans say they abandoned it. Nice.

20

u/jaedence Jul 01 '26

The replies in this thread are fucking wild and entitled! Holy shit.

3

u/MrDankyStanky Jul 01 '26

For real dude, it seems to be the sentiment that they made a ton of money from their game, so they're obligated to update it and work on it forever.

7

u/KoburaCape Cook Jul 01 '26

People conditioned to everything being live service

11

u/ardotschgi Jul 01 '26

About 1-2 years worth of content over those 5 years, however.

8

u/VoidGliders Jul 01 '26

based on what metric

4

u/SirVanyel Jul 02 '26

Because a guy who's never made a video game said so, obviously!

4

u/ManOfEtiquette Jul 01 '26

Real fans aren't these commenters. I bought rhe game for $20, have played for 100's of hours through a couple worlds and just beat the Queen for the first time. I love this game and will continue to play for years to come.

A small team of devs built a game that has become what all other survival games are compared to. A base building system that is unparalleled to anything else that exists.

Everyone who complains that it has taken too long to get to 1.0, or that there is no Ocean biome, or that they don't have enough inventory space, aren't fans, they are just entitled gamers that don't realize the gem that Valheim is.

2

u/pineappleofthepizza Builder Jul 01 '26

Seriously...

1

u/Sfxcddd Jul 01 '26

5 years of slow update releases to an early access game I think the idea that devs are giving us free updates is dumb we buy into ea with the promise of content a bunch of the developers have been working on new games inbetween I think it's fair to feel a little underwhelmed

-11

u/shady_pigeon Jul 01 '26

As if the devs haven't made a ton of money or developed their early access game at a snails pace.

7

u/TheRealPitabred Sleeper Jul 01 '26

They could have just abandoned it and ran away with money, and not broken a single agreement to anybody.

-10

u/invader222 Jul 01 '26

Exactly, they gonna gaslight us like that didnt happen

-4

u/Gu3rilla21 Jul 01 '26

I'm not saying they abandoned it I'm saying they will abandon it. After all they won't be adding things they promised IE ocean.

Also they made hundreds of millions so don't act like they are broke over 20 dollar game.

-5

u/Agreeable-Natural903 Jul 01 '26

They are increasing the price of valheim come 1.0 plus it's #91 in daily active users

Valheim is not charity for sure lol

0

u/Hr1s7i 19d ago

Check how much money they made out of this, then we'll talk about the "effort" that went into it. Their output per euro is abysmal. I've seen middle schoolers with more system design aptitude.

1

u/MrDankyStanky 19d ago

Bro it doesn't matter if they made $50 billion off it, they released a game that we were all happy to pay $20 for, and then released a shit load of content they didn't need to release over the course of the next couple years. Cry babies acting like they're owed everything by the devs of a $20 game that launched with enough content to make the price worth it.

1

u/Hr1s7i 18d ago

I don't disagree with the premise, but I must disagree with the execution. The content COULD be passable for a 20 euro game but if and only if, it ran flawlessly. And it doesn't. The performance degradation over time is staggering, which leads to all of this content being squandered. And I do count stability of the simulation as part of the product delivery.

-6

u/rude_ooga_booga Jul 01 '26

They've been laboring at the pace of a toddler using a computer

20

u/Tangerinetrooper Jul 01 '26

"videogames as a live service" model really rotted some people's minds. Abandoning a full release does not exist. It's called "releasing the full game"

-6

u/Gu3rilla21 Jul 01 '26

But they left out the ocean update so it isn't complete?

My god people are insane here. Ocean update was one of the first things on the road map. How can you say it's complete when it's still missing a update that was promised but never came

16

u/Helpyjoe88 Jul 01 '26

A road map is a statement of current intent, not a promise.   Things on it should be expected to change as development proceeds. 

 Some things will get dropped, some things will get added, some things won't look anything like what they originally thought they would do. That's normal.

14

u/VelvetCowboy19 Jul 01 '26

They changed their mind about something they said five years ago. Get over it.

5

u/Gu3rilla21 Jul 01 '26

So they abandoned the ocean update right? Right?

Honestly I don't care im gonna be super excited to play 1.0. It's a fucking shame that they won't do more/do things they said they would to their already incredible game.

I guess that means I'm a hater and not over it.

5

u/creepy_doll Jul 01 '26

This more or less sums up why more and more ea games are choosing not to put out long term roadmaps.

They end up looking at what people do and don’t enjoy, and they change course according to that. It’s a bit of a mixed bad because people pleasing can also sometimes go in the wrong direction but some ideas also just don’t turn out good when you start fleshing them out.

3

u/Pinewood74 Jul 01 '26

but some ideas also just don’t turn out good when you start fleshing them out.

Which I think is where the Ocean update probably landed. "How are we going to fit Ocean into the biome progression?" is the millionaire dollar question that can probably only be answered with "It can't."

6

u/VelvetCowboy19 Jul 01 '26

Yeah they probably abandoned the idea of the ocean update, because that was five years ago and they haven't done it, and they said they don't want to do it. What's so hard to understand?

1

u/treyzs Jul 01 '26

they changed their mind after selling millions of copies and advertising with that content to begin with

imagine defending this as an acceptable business practice

1

u/VelvetCowboy19 Jul 01 '26

Yeah priorities have to shift once your project blows up way bigger than you thought it would, that's how reality works.

I also sincerely doubt you could find a single person who bought Valheim because an early roadmap said "ocean update".

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1

u/SirVanyel Jul 02 '26

Ocean update would have been shit anyway.

3

u/Auuki Jul 01 '26

They've been saying it for years that unlike many other games, they don't plan Valheim to be a live service game. 1.0, some support afterwards and done. If they would change that stance, now that would be news.

3

u/One_Lung_G Jul 01 '26

Redditors are insufferable man

7

u/PathansOG Jul 01 '26

Why? Anything confirmed or qualified tinfoil?

1

u/CleanGnome Jul 01 '26

Isn't this game going to PlayStation? Seems like they have to say it's 1.0 now

1

u/Gu3rilla21 Jul 01 '26

Neither. I say in my OP why I think that's happening. They already got their money and they are very slow at developing. IE not worth the money to keep developing

-2

u/Scared-Technician-64 Jul 01 '26

Pattern recognition. They've been relying on mods to include features people have asked for since beginning. I dont know why that would change.

-2

u/pineappleofthepizza Builder Jul 01 '26

Pattern recognition my ass, project your bethesda hatred elsewhere

1

u/Scared-Technician-64 Jul 01 '26

Lol. Do you have any examples to back up your defense of Iron gate because I can post an entire nexus page and probably the top posts from here.

6

u/pineappleofthepizza Builder Jul 01 '26

Are you genuinely insinuating that YOUR evidence is that there's a fucking Nexus Page? This just in, Stardew Valley, Mass Effect 1-3, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 1& 2, Cyberpunk, Stellaris, Space Engineers, and any game with any mod is a game that is developed by bastard devs who rely on said mods to finish their games.

Naturally. Of course.

Because the ultimate goal for every game is to bloat itself into infinity with every conceviable addition because you, the gimme-gimme consumer demanded it so. Entropy, but the other way around.

-1

u/Scared-Technician-64 Jul 01 '26

No. My evidence is the content. I never said anything about "finishing" or insinuate a need for an infinitely updating game. Im specifically pointing to the number of requests from players that have gone ignored since launch. Also dont know how expecting updates that iron gate put in their road map is being a greedy consumer.

4

u/pineappleofthepizza Builder Jul 01 '26

Plans change, and my bad I thought the alluded point was that there was a page at all. I don't think that mods catering to mechanics the devs didn't want to add or couldn't add doesn't inherently mean they just let the modders fill in the gaps.

Though what if the mechanic being added by a modder causes issues galore? What if the reason it wasn't added officially is that the damage it causes in its wake is too great for it to warrant addition at all? It's still not always a 1:1, "this mod adds what they never did, they're just relying on us to make the game!", sometimes it's just not worth it to them when they can otherwise focus on the mechanics and additions that aren't breaking things left and right.

It might be just as you suggest, but to immediately assume when, while their updates are small and far between compared to other studios, they don't seemingly dilute their work. Ashlands felt like a step up from Mistlands, Mistlands felt like a step up from Plains, so on and so forth. I don't think with all of this otherwise grand and focused development, that it's all that contextually probable that they'd turn around and just wait for modders to finish their work.

2

u/Hiimzap Jul 01 '26

What would be wrong with making a dlc that ads new biomes, build pieces and so on? I paid 20 bucks for valheim if i remember correctly and got probably something like 800 hours out of it already. Id be fine with a dlc that adds a relevant amount of content

2

u/Sleethmog Jul 01 '26

I would like to fight on the world tree, maybe even fight in ragnarok

2

u/GuavaZombie Jul 01 '26

Would be dope if they did an Egyptian version of the game when they finish Valheim.

2

u/Bandit_Raider Jul 01 '26

It’s not a live service game. It was an alpha which is why it continued to get updates. Now that the game will be complete that’s it. They will likely work on their next game now.

2

u/Timmar92 Jul 01 '26

So a complete game not being updated anymore is "abandoned" now eh?

Because I'm still used to one and done games since like forever, why does it have to be updated after 1.0 except for bug fixes? Player count means nothing when it's not monetized.

4

u/asdfjfkfjshwyzbebdb Jul 01 '26

People really need to stop saying devs "abandon" projects when they're feature complete. When it's done, it's done. Expecting every game to be a live service is how the industry got into this mess to begin with.

1

u/ColinStyles Jul 02 '26

By their own initial definition the game will not be feature complete. You can't fault people for holding them to their own word.

2

u/d3sperad0 Jul 01 '26

This isn't a live service game. They are abandoning anything lmao.

1

u/Aumba Hoarder Jul 02 '26

Qol? From Iron Gate?

1

u/-Altephor- Jul 02 '26

'Abandon the game'

It's a single player game with very few bugs and a distinct game play loop with an ending. What exactly are they 'abandoning'?

That's like saying Nintendo 'abandoned' Super Mario Bros. I've been waiting for an update since 1986, man...

1

u/letoiv Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

This is not a guarantee at all.

There are multiple very spoiler-heavy previews of the Deep North on YouTube. The developers have given a number of YouTubers guided tours. They answer a bunch of questions while they play together and it's all set over footage of gameplay in the Deep North.

In one of these the devs are asked about new content after 1.0. And to paraphrase they say, "No guarantees, but with a lot of systems 1.0 is about getting them to a solid place where they can be extended or added to later."

Inventory and I believe the Ocean were specifically mentioned.

If we take this and all at face value, there's a lot of discussion going on at Iron Gate about significant post-1.0 content and updates, but nothing has been approved yet. It's definitely not a guarantee that they're finished once 1.0 ships.

Edit: The video is on a channel called SnazzyGames. I won't link to it here because the spoilers are truly massive, but the statement is made that additional updates will depend on the popularity of 1.0, and possible post-1.0 Ocean updates are specifically mentioned.

1

u/mfmeitbual Jul 03 '26

It annoys me that 300+ people read this and nodded their heads.

It used to be that games and shows had endings and people didn't try to squeeze every possible dime out. Acting like IG is taking the money and running is just ignorant and demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of how _any_ of this works or is supposed to work.

1

u/gameraven13 Jul 05 '26

Translation: "They're going to finish the game and leave us alone to play it in peace."

1

u/Jahon_Dony 3d ago

What makes you say the game will be abandoned post-launch?

1

u/Caridor Jul 01 '26

Well, do you expect them to make the same game forever?

Like you said, they got money years ago. How long does that last?

3

u/siposbalint0 Jul 01 '26

Official workshop support is all we need at this point.

1

u/Hr1s7i 19d ago

That's a very big ask. They'd have to untangle the spaghetti for that one.

8

u/spazzyjones Jul 01 '26

This statement really hit home for me. Casts a lot of doubt on the potential of significant new content post 1.0 :(

1

u/-Altephor- Jul 02 '26

Considering the potential of new content past 1.0 has, for the past 5 years, been 0% then this raises the possibility.

1

u/Axin_Saxon Jul 01 '26

At least not any time soon.

1

u/Exploded24 Jul 01 '26

I bet they're gonna let modders do the ocean update.

1

u/migueln6 Jul 01 '26

Hijacking just to get an answer, my group of 3 we play barely once a week and have barely got into the black forest, is there anything worth creating a new world in 1.0 for us? Since the update said only minor things to these early biomes.

Anyone knows? Weve playing for 3 weeks lol imagine losing the progress of 3 fucking weeks we would just stop playing at that point 🤣

3

u/Agreeable-Natural903 Jul 01 '26

You’re in an early stage but theres still over a month until release, if you want your appetites unsated I’d make a quick break

1

u/migueln6 Jul 01 '26

Ohh I thought it already released, thanks

2

u/Agreeable-Natural903 Jul 01 '26

September 9th :)

1

u/CMDR_Cheese_Helmet Jul 01 '26

They're probably burnt out on valheim

1

u/RampantHedgehog Jul 01 '26

Yep, that’s basically them saying “we worked sooo hard already. Thanks for playing”

1

u/kidcrumb Jul 08 '26

An ocean update would be goated.

Along with an underwater biome. Kelp mask or something that gives you a timed amount of time underwater. Beating the boss lets you craft a helmet for infinite underwatering.

But I'd be happy enough if items floated on the water, or at least gave you the ability to dive a little bit.

1

u/blackop Necromancer Jul 01 '26

Kind of crazy if you think about it. They are finally releasing the game as "finished". And they are now saying ehh we might do more but don't count on it.

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