Skip to main content

Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Valheim's first major update, Hearth & Home, out 16th September

Here's a cinematic trailer.

Valheim's first major update comes out 16th September.

Publisher Coffee Stain Publishing and developer Iron Gate Studio confirmed the date for Valheim Hearth & Home, and released a new cinematic animated trailer, below, during Gamescom Opening Night Live.

Watch on YouTube

The hugely successful open-world co-op survival game gets a raft of new content with this update.

As you'd expect from its title, one of the themes of the update is food. It also enhances the core base building and survival mechanics, Iron Gate Studio said.

As already revealed, the update adds new cooking extensions to introduce spice racks, butcher tables and pots and pans.

Watch on YouTube

There's a reworked food system, too, that adds new recipes and has an improved health and stamina system.

Watch on YouTube

Iron Gate Studio said the new food system will have a big impact on the core combat experience. Speaking of combat, there are more changes to shields and blocking mechanics.

Watch on YouTube

Expect loads of new build pieces, including a treasure chest for Vikings to store their gold, brand new window hatches and darkwood materials.

Valheim, initially developed by just five people, is a monster hit on Steam, where it launched in early access form in February. Since then, it's sold over 8m copies, hitting a peak of over 500,000 concurrent players.

Read this next