Valheim players have been starving for an update to the virally popular open-world survival/sandbox game. Since Valheim launched in February earlier this year, developer Iron Gate AB has been overwhelmed by the game's success. That's coincided with a scaling up of Valheim's development team, as well as its plans for content updates. Now Valheim players' patience has paid off. The Hearth & Home Update for Valheim has officially arrived and is available to download now.

The Hearth & Home Update is Valheim's first major content update and while its name may imply a focused target for new content, it actually paints a very broad swathe. Yes, Hearth & Home introduces a large amount of new furniture and craftable items for building, while reworking systems like food and cooking. But it also touches on rebalancing every weapon in Valheim, introduces pet taming, reworks Valheim's blocking and shield systems, and has teased a dark secret left for players to discover.

RELATED: Valheim Hearth and Home Update Making Changes to the Tower Shield and Blocking

In a surprisingly short list of patch notes, Iron Gate details some of the new content introduced to Valheim in the Hearth & Home Update. To start, 10 new food items have been added, though Iron Gate curiously notes that there are actually 12. Seeds for Birch and Oak trees, as well as onions, have been introduced. New weapons include the Crystal battleaxe, Silver knife, and da butcher knife, as well as the Bone tower shield and Iron buckler.

Regarding new furniture and building materials, there's a new Darkwood style of building pieces for shingle roofs, beams, and decorations. Assorted furniture that's been added includes a stone throne, as well as viking hot tub for players to relax in together. There's also a new Crystal tier of walls to build for added protection. Key new crafting structures to build include a Cartography Table for sharing map data, an Oven for bread and pies, the Obliterator which destroys items, and an Iron cooking station necessary for cooking meat.

There's notably some content, and perhaps a lot of content, that hasn't been included in Valheim's patch notes for the Hearth & Home Update. Iron Gate has spoken on the topic before. It has said it wants players to discover new content on their own. It's unclear how much lies in wait for players with the new update, but it's certain to be exciting. The end of Valheim's new teaser trailer should give a hint.

While Valheim players are certain to be busy crafting and expanding their homes for months going forward, it's also time to ask that all-important question: what comes next? Valheim remains in Early Access on Steam, meaning Iron Gate still has plans for more features and content before the game officially launches. A previously-released roadmap hinted at what Iron Gate is calling the Cult of the Wolf Update next. Stay tuned for updates on that.

Valheim is available now in Early Access on PC.

MORE: Valheim: Best Locations For A Base & Why To Build There