Valheim world-destroyer bug is "roaming free"

Valheim
(Image credit: Iron Gate AB)

A Valheim "world-destoryer" bug is on the loose, according to developer Iron Gate. 

"If you are playing Valheim this weekend, please backup your world and characters," tweeted Iron Gate CEO, Richard Svensson. "The evil world-destroyer bug is still roaming free."

See more

"It's an evil bug, that we have yet to be able to reproduce even once :(. It seems to occur more often if you exit the game by ALT+F4, so try to use menu->exit instead," Svensson added.

For now, however, players are advised to locate their game files – "in windows Worlds & characters are saved in C:\Users\Username\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\" – and copy them, keeping a backup safely elsewhere just in case you're affected. 

If you've already lost data, try checking those folders, too, as you just might find older saves hidden away – look for the .db.old and .fwl.old files, and delete the .old to use them again (thanks, PC Gamer).

Valheim might've only just launched on Steam in early access earlier this month on February 2, but it's already sailed past one million players. In fact, it had a peak concurrent player count of just over 160,000 players, making it the fourth most-played game on Steam at one point in time. That's quite the astounding feat from Iron Gate's game.

As we detailed yesterday when the Valheim DLC roadmap   was revealed, if you're unfamiliar with it, it's essentially a Nordic survival game. You're dropped into a Norse map with nothing but the clothes on your back, and tasked to forage and survive, fending off enemies and creatures alike as you try and build up your very own settlement. So far, this formula has proven to be a massive hit with Steam players.

Looking for something new to get stuck into? Here are the best PC games right now.

Valheim tips | Valheim workbench | Valheim repair | Valheim seeds | Valheim merchant | Valheim biomes | Valheim roadmap | Best Valheim weapons | Valheim consoles | Valheim Elder summon 

Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.