Valheim hits one million players after a week in early access

Early access survival game Valheim has been downloaded more than one million times in just a week.

Developer Iron Gate Studio announced the milestone in a blog post earlier today, telling fans that its viking-themed title "has already surpassed one million sales in our first week in early access," with a peak player count of 160,000, making it Steam's fourth most-played game.

In response to the feedback it's received from players, Iron Gate says it's "hard at work addressing issues some of our players have reported to maximize the game experience," and that "we are super excited to continue working together throughout 2021, as we bring you tons of cool new content, improvements, and… ways to die, through the early access and beyond." A roadmap shared earlier this week, the developers hinted at four major updates, with more to come "if Odin wills it."

If it's passed you by, Valheim drops you - unarmed and dressed in nothing but rags - into a mysterious and surprisingly beautiful take on Viking mythology. From there, you'll have to forage and hunt to survive, gathering resources to help you fend off the worst weather (and monsters) that Scandinavian folklore has to offer. 

While that might sound imposing, there are plenty of quiet moments to sit back and enjoy a very detailed building system, and fans of everything from Runescape's broad skill system to Dark Souls' punishing combat can find something to enjoy.

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