Updated November 11, 2026. Applies to Valheim 1.0, live patch 1.0.21 (October 28, 2026). Every date below comes from Iron Gate's own announcements in the Valheim Steam news feed and on valheim.com. Where we estimate a window, we say so, and we show the math.
Valheim left Early Access on September 9, 2026, with the Deep North. Since then the same question keeps coming up on r/valheim: how often does this game get updates now, and is there anything left on the roadmap? A thread asking exactly that, "How often are the updates to this game?", was posted on November 11.
Here's what Iron Gate has actually said, what it has shipped since launch, and what the last five years of updates tell you about when the next big one could arrive.
Quick answer: Yes, Valheim is still being updated after 1.0. Iron Gate shipped 7 patch posts (8 version numbers) in the 49 days between launch (September 9) and patch 1.0.21 (October 28), and wrote on September 30 that "there are more content updates coming". There is no public roadmap and no announced date for the next content update. Iron Gate cancelled its only public roadmap in June 2021. Since Early Access began, big content updates have landed 166 to 365 days apart (median about 262 days). If that pattern holds, the next one would fall somewhere between late February and September 2027, but that's our arithmetic, not an announcement. Valheim has no paid content DLC. The only Steam DLC is the soundtrack.
Is Valheim still being updated after 1.0?
Yes, and at a fast clip. In the first seven weeks after launch it put out seven patch posts covering eight version numbers (1.0.10 and 1.0.12 shared one post), all with public notes:
| Patch | Date | Headline changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Sep 9, 2026 | Deep North biome, 40+ weapons, 4 armor sets, 10+ creatures, 80+ build pieces, achievements, upgradeable pockets |
| 1.0.10 (all) / 1.0.12 (Steam) | Sep 11, 2026 | Deep North heavy armor can be repaired; devcommand to opt back into achievements; crossplay restored on all platforms |
| 1.0.14 | Sep 17, 2026 | New keybinding options, toggle-to-block accessibility setting, skip-intro toggle, Switch 2 GPU performance; Jotun Puffs and Magecaps no longer respawn |
| 1.0.15 | Sep 18, 2026 | Fix for duplicated terrain that cost performance; both Jotun warrior types drop medium and heavy armor moulds; more Writhan spawns |
| 1.0.16 | Sep 25, 2026 | Deep North terrain edits no longer revert; fix for far too many enemies spawning, mostly in raids; achievement fixes |
| 1.0.17 | Oct 6, 2026 | Fix for a rare bug that could erase all objects in parts of a world; PS5 invalid-shield fix |
| 1.0.20 | Oct 15, 2026 | Trophy drop chance now scales with a monster's star level; rare-drop luck no longer resets between sessions; Forge of Potential exploit fixed |
| 1.0.21 | Oct 28, 2026 | Storms no longer blow inside your house; Baked Poteitr, Kale Chips and Oven Pancake move to the Food Preparation Table; achievements no longer tied to difficulty |
The gaps between those patches were 2, 6, 1, 7, 11, 9 and 13 days. As of November 11 it has been 14 days since 1.0.21, the longest quiet stretch since launch. That isn't a warning sign on its own. Iron Gate said in the 1.0.21 notes that at least one more fix is waiting on a bigger change: crafting-achievement progress at a shared Frost Foundry "requires network incompatible update and is coming soon™". A network-incompatible patch has to hit every platform together so crossplay keeps working, which is slower to ship.
For the full change list of the current build, see our Valheim 1.0.21 patch notes breakdown.
Is there an official Valheim roadmap for 2026 or 2027?
No. Iron Gate has not published a roadmap since it pulled the original one in 2021, and it has not named or dated any post-1.0 content update.
Before launch, the Valheim 1.0 FAQ was even more careful: "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." Three weeks after launch, Iron Gate firmed that up.
The closest thing to a roadmap is this line from the Word from the Devs: What a Month! post on September 30, 2026:
"We can promise you that there are more content updates coming, though exactly what that content will be, we can't reveal just yet. Simply rest assured that there is more in the works for Valheim, and we will be sure to announce it when we have news!"
The same post said the Word from the Devs blogs "will no longer be monthly". So don't expect the monthly teaser drip that ran through Early Access. The next real news will probably arrive as a one-off announcement.
What happened to the original 2021 roadmap?
At Early Access launch in February 2021, Iron Gate published a four-update plan for that year: Hearth and Home Improvements, Cult of the Wolf, Saga Worthy Seas, Even More Ships, and Voyage to the Mistlands, plus an "If Odin wills it" list that included moon phases, tar pits and a sandbox mode.
It didn't survive the year. On June 10, 2021, the roadmap update post said: "As we're sure lots of you suspected, we won't be able to deliver four updates this year." Iron Gate took the roadmap down, shipped Hearth & Home, then went straight to the Mistlands and put "the smaller updates" aside.
That history is why the studio no longer promises dates. Plenty of it shipped anyway, in a different order. Tar pits arrived in the Plains, combat got the Call to Arms overhaul, and the Mistlands landed in December 2022.
When is the next Valheim update?
No date has been announced. The best guide is how Iron Gate has worked for the last five years. Here is every major content update since Early Access began, with the gap since the one before it. All dates are the default-branch release posts in the Steam announcement feed:
| Content update | Patch | Default branch date | Days since previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Access launch | n/a | Feb 2, 2021 | n/a |
| Hearth & Home | 0.202.x | Sep 16, 2021 | 226 |
| Frost Caves | 0.207.20 | Mar 1, 2022 | 166 |
| Mistlands | 0.212.7 | Dec 6, 2022 | 280 |
| Hildir's Request | 0.217.14 | Aug 22, 2023 | 259 |
| Ashlands | 0.218.15 | May 14, 2024 | 266 |
| The Bog Witch | 0.219.13 | Oct 29, 2024 | 168 |
| Call to Arms | 0.221.4 | Sep 9, 2025 | 315 |
| 1.0 / Deep North | 1.0 | Sep 9, 2026 | 365 |
Across those eight gaps the shortest was 166 days, the longest 365, the mean about 256 and the median 262.5. Counted from September 9, 2026:
- Shortest gap (166 days): around February 22, 2027.
- Median gap (~262 days): around late May 2027.
- Longest gap (365 days): around September 9, 2027.
Read this as a planning window, not a prediction. Iron Gate could ship something smaller and sooner, or take longer, because nobody knows how big the next update is.
The early warning sign: the Public Test branch
You may get some notice. From the Frost Caves to Call to Arms, all six Early Access content updates went through Valheim's Public Test branch on Steam before they reached everyone:
| Update | Public Test opened | Default release | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frost Caves | Feb 16, 2022 | Mar 1, 2022 | 13 days |
| Mistlands | Nov 22, 2022 | Dec 6, 2022 | 14 days |
| Hildir's Request | Jun 16, 2023 | Aug 22, 2023 | 67 days |
| Ashlands | Apr 22, 2024 | May 14, 2024 | 22 days |
| The Bog Witch | Oct 15, 2024 | Oct 29, 2024 | 14 days |
| Call to Arms | Aug 20, 2025 | Sep 9, 2025 | 20 days |
So when a "(Public Test)" patch post appears in the Steam news feed, the full release has usually followed within 2 to 3 weeks.
It isn't guaranteed, though. 1.0 itself skipped Public Test. Iron Gate's 1.0 FAQ answered "Will there be a Public Test Branch for 1.0 before release?" with "No. We want everyone to get to experience 1.0 at the same time!" There has been no Public Test patch since 1.0 launched, but that only tells you nothing is in public testing. It doesn't tell you what Iron Gate is building internally.
To join a future test on Steam, right-click Valheim in your library, open Properties, then Betas, and enter the access code Iron Gate publishes in each test post (it has been yesimadebackups). As the code says, back up your world and character first.
What will the next Valheim content update add?
Nobody outside Iron Gate knows, and the studio hasn't hinted at a theme. Treat any "leaked" feature list with suspicion. Here is what's actually confirmed:
- No new biome is announced. The Deep North shipped at 1.0 as the final biome on the world map, and its boss, Kall Fimbulbringer, ends the main story.
- Bug fixes and balance will continue. The September 30 post says Iron Gate will keep "looking over both bugs and balancing tweaks".
- At least one network-incompatible patch is pending (the Frost Foundry achievement fix flagged in 1.0.21).
There is also non-game Valheim news for 2027. Iron Gate has teased a Valheim concert, with "one in Stockholm and one in Paris – next year", and a comic book, "Another thing on the horizon for next year".
If you want new content between official updates, community mods are the main option on PC. Our best Valheim mods for 1.0 guide covers what works on the current build. Valheim has no official mod support, and the 1.0 FAQ says "there will also be no mod support for consoles for 1.0", so console players depend on Iron Gate's own updates.
Does Valheim have DLC or a season pass?
No paid content DLC, no season pass and no battle pass. Every update since 2021, including 1.0 and the Deep North, has been free for owners.
The only DLC on Valheim's Steam page is the Valheim Soundtrack (released October 29, 2021, list price $7.99). The base game's list price is $29.99 on Steam since 1.0. Iron Gate's 1.0 FAQ confirmed that people who bought during Early Access were not charged again.
Iron Gate hasn't said whether future content will be free or paid. Its track record is five years of free updates.
Is Valheim dead in 2026?
No. On November 11, 2026 (around 14:20 UTC), Steam's own player-count API reported 36,689 people playing Valheim at that moment. The Steam store page lists 477,259 user reviews. Iron Gate shipped 8 patch releases in 7 weeks after launch, and Valheim was nominated in three Golden Joystick Awards categories: Best Multiplayer Game, Best Indie Game and PC Game of the Year.
The platform list is wider than ever too. Valheim is on Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and since 1.0 on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2, with crossplay between all of them. Our crossplay guide explains how to group up across platforms.
Should you start a new world now or wait for the next update?
Start now. If the update pattern holds, the next content update is months away, and nothing announced would make a world started today worse.
Your existing worlds keep working too. The 1.0 FAQ says of existing saves: "Nothing. Your old saves will still be where you last left them, and you can continue to play with them if you like." The catch is for world generation. New recipes, systems and fixes reach every world, but new biomes and locations only generate in unexplored areas. That's why the Deep North needed fresh northern land in old worlds. A future map addition would likely work the same way, but Iron Gate hasn't confirmed any such content. Our guide to moving an old save into 1.0 covers how that works.
If your old run felt too grindy, change the rules instead of waiting for content. The world modifiers and difficulty settings let you raise resource drops up to 3x, cut raids down or switch them off, and relax which items portals block.
How do you track the next Valheim update?
Use the primary sources. Fan sites and video titles often call a hotfix a "new update".
- Steam news for app 892970. Every patch and Public Test post lands here first. In Steam, follow the game to get them in your activity feed.
- valheim.com/news. The same patch notes, with permanent URLs.
- The Public Test branch. A new "(Public Test)" post is the clearest sign a big update is close.
- Our patch notes page, refreshed when a new build ships.
FAQ
Is Valheim still getting updates in 2026? Yes. Iron Gate shipped 1.0 on September 9, 2026, and released patches 1.0.10, 1.0.12, 1.0.14, 1.0.15, 1.0.16, 1.0.17, 1.0.20 and 1.0.21 by October 28. On September 30 the studio wrote that "there are more content updates coming".
When is the next big Valheim update coming out? There is no announced date. Past content updates arrived 166 to 365 days apart, which would put the next one between roughly February and September 2027 if the pattern repeats. Watch for a Public Test patch: the six Early Access content updates reached it 13 to 67 days before the full release, though 1.0 skipped it.
Is there a Valheim roadmap after 1.0? No public one. Iron Gate cancelled its 2021 roadmap in June 2021 and has only said more content is coming without naming it.
Will there be a new biome after the Deep North? None is announced. The Deep North shipped at 1.0 as the final biome, and its boss, Kall Fimbulbringer, completes the story.
Does Valheim have paid DLC? No. The only Steam DLC is the Valheim Soundtrack. Every content update, including 1.0, has been free for owners.
What is the latest Valheim patch? Patch 1.0.21, released October 28, 2026. It stops snow and ash storms from blowing inside your house, moves three Deep North foods to the Food Preparation Table, and fixes achievements that were wrongly tied to difficulty.
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