Valheim Finally Leaves Early Access With the 1.0 Update and the Deep North Biome
Valheim has officially left early access. Five years after Iron Gate Studio’s five-person team launched the Viking survival game into early access in February 2021, the 1.0 update went live today, September 9, alongside a free biome expansion called Deep North that the studio is treating as the game’s narrative and mechanical finale. Valheim has sold more than 17 million copies since launch and was still pulling in over 22,000 concurrent players on Steam in early September, ahead of the update.
What’s New in Deep North
Deep North is a new biome set at the procedurally generated northern edge of every Valheim world, and it’s built for players who have already geared up in Mistlands-tier equipment, sitting above Ashlands in the game’s power curve. It introduces two new enemy types: Gammeltrolls, ancient trolls that hurl tree trunks at players, and Elakingar, rodent-like creatures found underground in a new dungeon type called Winding Tunnels. Traversal gets two new tools to match the frozen terrain, a grappling hook for scaling cliffs and an ice-skating mechanic for crossing frozen lakes. Iron Gate is also adding three new armor tiers and a full Nord weapon family, along with Ember Charges, consumable explosives needed to harvest materials from downed Gammeltrolls. The studio has kept the identity of Deep North’s final boss under wraps ahead of launch.
Deep North sits at the frozen northern edge of every Valheim world and is designed for players already kitted out in Mistlands-tier gear.
Price and Platforms
Valheim is currently priced at $19.99 on Steam, and Iron Gate has confirmed that price rises to $29.99 now that the game is out of early access. The 1.0 launch spans Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch 2, with full crossplay supported across all four. That puts Valheim’s console debut and its price increase on the same day as its full release, so anyone who has been waiting out early access on PC or holding off entirely on console now has a single, unified version to jump into.
A Five-Year Road to 1.0
Valheim’s early access run took it from a viral breakout hit, selling millions of copies within weeks of its 2021 launch, through major biome updates like Mistlands and Ashlands, to today’s finale. Iron Gate CEO Richard Svensson reflected on that scale, saying the studio never imagined Valheim would become so big, not even in its wildest dreams. Deep North closes out the roadmap the studio built the game’s world around, though Iron Gate hasn’t ruled out supporting the game further post-1.0. Early reviews have been strong, with the game currently sitting among 2026’s best-reviewed titles on Metacritic.
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Picture Source: Iron Gate Studio via Steam, Iron Gate Studio via Steam
