Why Early Access?

“We want to make a truly great game, and we believe working directly with our community is the best way to succeed with that. Valheim is already a pretty big game but we still have a ton of things that we want to add. Early Access is a way for us to receive valuable feedback that ensures the quality of the game is up to par, as well as to collaborate with our players on what they want to see in the game.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We don’t know. We’re currently working on our seventh biome, the Ashlands, and after that we have one more to complete (the Deep North) before we’ll consider the game to be version 1.0. It’s a pretty safe bet to say that Valheim will be in active development for at least another two years (counting from January 2023). Aside from the large biome updates, we also want to add smaller updates to fill out the game.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The basic functionality of the game will remain pretty much the same, except Biome-specific gameplay challenges. What we will add is a ton of more content in the form of new biomes, new enemies, new bosses, and new materials to find. We want to expand the crafting system with new crafting stations, and more recipes. We also want to add more types of weapons and build-pieces so you can further customize your viking stronghold, and make it withstand new threats. In addition, we also plan to add more unique locations and events for you to find in the world of Valheim.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Most planned core features of the game have been implemented. Single-player and multiplayer modes are fully functional and we have a separate dedicated server tool if you want a server running 24/7. There are currently six fully developed biomes out of a planned total of eight (plus the Ocean). There are hundreds of different items (weapons, materials, armor etc) in the game, to be found or crafted by the player. We have over 200 building pieces, and about 50 different types of creatures including monsters, animals and bosses.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“No definitive plans here yet, but it is likely that the price will be increased over the course of the Early Access period.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We currently use our Discord server as our primary ways to talk to our community. Players are welcome to suggest new features and modifications in the "Suggestions" chat channel. Upcoming changes are openly discussed with the community for early feedback. A closed test-group of players have access to the latest builds of the game and work closely with the dev-team. The test-group evaluates and tests new features and changes before they are released to a public test branch, available for everyone, and then ultimately to the live version of the game. We will continue to develop this process based on the needs and feedback of the community.”