Valheim 1.0 update: what’s new and what changed in the old biomes

After five and a half years in Early Access, Valheim hit version 1.0 on 9 September 2026. Besides the final biome, the Deep North, the update brought new platforms, achievements, a new save system and a list of changes to the biomes you already know. If you’re coming back after a break, here’s what’s different, what the game costs now and whether you should start a fresh world.

When Valheim 1.0 launched and what it costs

Version 1.0 launched on 9 September 2026. Iron Gate announced the date on 7 June 2026 at the PC Gaming Show. The game is developed by Sweden’s Iron Gate AB and published by Coffee Stain Publishing, and it entered Early Access in February 2021.

The price went up with the full release. The official price is now $29.99, up from $19.99, with regional differences. On Steam in the EU it costs €29.99 (as of 26 September 2026). If you already owned the game in Early Access, you don’t pay again: your copy simply updates.

A few more numbers for 1.0:

• The game supports 1 to 10 players, and servers are capped at 10.
• The download is about 4.3 GiB on most platforms, around 3.0 GiB on Xbox One and about 6.5 GiB on the Mac App Store and Microsoft Store.
• Steam lists a Metacritic score of 90.
• The Ocean biome is unchanged in 1.0.

As for what comes next, Iron Gate promises bug fixes and quality-of-life work, but its FAQ says it’s too soon to say whether more content will follow.

The headline feature: the Deep North

The heart of 1.0 is the final biome, the Deep North, on the northern edge of the world. According to the abbreviated patch notes, 1.0 adds more than 40 weapons, new bombs and ammo, 4 armour sets, 2 capes, 2 trinkets, new tools, 80+ building pieces, 20+ foods, 30+ materials and 10+ creatures.

Up north you’ll find Jotun giants, a tameable Moose, snow so deep you have to shovel it, two new dungeons and, at the end, the final boss Kall Fimbulbringer. Our Deep North guide covers what’s where and how to progress, and the final boss guide explains how to reach the last fight.

New platforms and crossplay

From 1.0 you can buy Valheim on Steam (Windows, Linux, Mac), the Mac App Store, Humble (Windows, Linux, Mac), the Microsoft Store for Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2. The Nintendo release is Switch 2 only; the original Switch isn’t supported. The game has full controller support and is Steam Deck Verified.

Crossplay works across all platforms, so you can join a friend on PS5 from your PC. Cross-save doesn’t exist, with one exception: Xbox and PC, as long as you launch the PC version from the Microsoft Store. Joining a game on another platform is explained in our cross-platform guide, and the PS5 and Switch 2 versions have a separate console guide.

Valheim isn’t on Xbox Game Pass. It left the catalogue on 30 September 2024. Xbox.com lists it as cloud playable with Game Pass, but only if you buy the game.

Achievements, cinematics and the new save system

Version 1.0 added achievements for the first time, 53 of them on Steam. They only track progress from the moment you download 1.0, so boss kills from before don’t count and you’ll have to take down Eikthyr again.

Cheats block achievements. Most dev commands permanently flag your character and world, and items spawned with cheats show a “cheated item” label in your inventory. Since hotfix 1.0.12 there’s a special command to opt back into achievements. All the details are in our console commands guide.

There are new cinematics too: an intro and further sequences after you defeat key bosses, made with Brikk Animation. Under the hood, saving has changed. The world is now saved in chunks, and the first time you load an old world the game makes a backup.

What changed in the old biomes

1.0 isn’t only about the north. Here’s what changed in the biomes you know from Early Access:

• Black Forest: Bjorn spawns less often and has less health.
• Mistlands and Ashlands: gear from these biomes has higher durability.
• Ashlands: lower chance of several enemies spawning at once, and a tweaked delay between Charred spawns.
• Mistlands: Wisp Light, Wisp Torch and Mistwalker clear mist over a larger radius, and every Mistlands weapon now clears mist.
• World edges: alternate versions of earlier biomes can appear on the outer rim of the world.
• Rare drops: drop rates were adjusted so you don’t have to grind endlessly for a single item.

There’s a new upgrade path as well. Sixteen idols (Protection & Battle Idols) are scattered around the world; bring them to the hidden Forge of Potential to upgrade your gear. Haldor the trader now sells inventory upgrades, Deeper Pockets and Wider Pockets.

Building, characters and settings

• Every hairstyle and beard is available right in character creation, not just at the Barber Station.
• New building pieces: 67° roofs and walls that are 4 m tall, drawbridges (Drawbridge, Rustic, Timber), Timberwood and Scalewood pieces, a Wardrobe and furniture.
• New hammer and serving tray menus, plus an optional HUD window showing who placed a building piece.
• A new Draw Distance graphics setting (simulation distance).
• A Unity engine upgrade, faster world generation and memory and audio optimisations. According to the developers, large builds won’t see a big difference.
• Controller vibration: DualShock on Mac, DualShock and Xbox controllers on Windows, Xbox controllers on Xbox.
• Ukrainian is now an officially supported language.
• An EULA now applies to online play.

Should you start a new world?

The developers recommend starting over. Your old world does get the new content, but biomes only generate properly in areas you haven’t explored yet, and explored ground includes a radius of roughly 500 metres around everywhere you’ve been. If you’ve already roamed the north, the Deep North won’t look the way it’s meant to there.

Old saves stay and remain playable, which matters if you’ve sunk hundreds of hours into a base. The game backs up an old world the first time you load it. If you want the full Deep North experience, a new world is the safer bet.

Post-launch patches (1.0.10 to 1.0.16)

Since launch, fixes have arrived roughly every week. Patches 1.0.14 to 1.0.16 reach all platforms a few days apart, and crossplay keeps working in the meantime.

• 1.0.10 and 1.0.12 (11 September): the delayed Switch 2 patch arrived and all platforms are crossplay-compatible again. Heavy Deep North armour can now be repaired, a command to opt back into achievements was added, and server ban lists and whitelists work with older player IDs.
• 1.0.14 (17 September): Deep North battleaxes have the correct tool tier and fell every tree. Characters now save properly when you press Save on a server someone else hosts, and a cache bug that blocked joining remote servers is fixed. Switch 2 got several GPU performance improvements, and Mörkhalla got its proper music.
• 1.0.15 (18 September): moulds for medium and heavy Deep North armour drop more often from Jotun Warriors.
• 1.0.16 (25 September): monsters no longer spawn outside the arena during the Deep North boss fight, motion controls on PS5 and Switch 2 activate reliably, and localisations were updated.

More guides are waiting in the Valheim hub.

FAQ

Information verified on 26 September 2026.