The developer Iron Gate Studio has recently released a new update for Valheimwhich introduces additional features such as frozen caves and optimization for Steam Deck. A little over a year ago, Valheim launched on Steam to great success, managing to exceed five million units sold within a month of its release. By the end of August, the survival title had nearly passed the eight million sales milestone.
Iron Gate Studio continues to support the project with regular updates, both big and small. In fact, the development team teased two major updates on the first anniversary of Valheim. A blog post to celebrate Valheim’s anniversary also noted that the studio has stepped up its efforts on Mistlands, another content expansion whose details currently remain under the radar.
Now, Iron Gate has just released a new Valheim update that unlocks Frozen Caves, dungeons filled with never-before-seen enemies: Bats, Cultists, and Ulvs. The best way to access the content is by right-clicking on Valheim in the Steam Library, clicking the Properties and Betas features, and then entering the code “yesimadebackups”. This process takes players to the “public testing branch”; hopefully frozen caves will join the base experience at some point. The latest patch also includes optimization for Steam Deck and controller support on PC. And while Valheim offers solid multiplayer features, those who prefer to go it alone will be pleased to know that it is now possible to pause the game during solo play.
Optimization for the Steam Deck couldn’t have come at a better time, given that the handheld will officially launch on February 25. Valheim could be the perfect experience, especially for players who prefer to spend a lot of their time on crafting features. However, users will have to decide for themselves the viability of Valheim in its mobile version.