Valheim developer Iron Gate was excited to announce the team’s expansion in a post on Friday. While the studio’s not quite ready to introduce its new developers, it introduced everyone to a different kind of team member.
The developers of Valheim announced through Steam that the studio purchased a horse and named her after their hit game. Valheim is technically a pony instead of a horse and not exactly stabled on studio property, but she is still an unusual thing for indie developers to have.
Valheim, the pony, is the result of collaboration between the Swedish studio and the Sköve Riding Club. Iron Gate donated the pony to the Club’s riding school, although the post promises that the team members will be taking trips out to see her. The studio was quick to specify that its pony ownership does not necessarily mean it will be adding horses to the game. Although considering the size of Valheim’s game world, that might not be a bad idea. The announcement also indicated Valheim the pony might appear in future posts about Valheim the game.
Speaking of the game, the post included info about recent patches and the upcoming Hearth and Home update. Version 0.153.2 went live a few weeks ago, bringing numerous small but much-requested changes. These include an overhaul of the harpoon mechanics and a graphical redesign of the trolls and other large creatures. The physics engine also got some attention, as did several graphical and gameplay glitches. Iron Gate also introduced a pre-saving message and several other minor changes.
The post also indicated that the studio is continuing work on Valheim’s Hearth and Home update. The update will significantly expand the game’s home-building system and the in-game food recipes. It will also be Valheim’s most extensive update so far, and is expected sometime in the next few weeks. Friday’s Steam post didn’t offer much new information on that front. It merely indicated that the team's satisfaction with its progress but isn’t ready to discuss a specific release date. The studio is more concerned with getting things done right instead of quickly, and there are several new features still in production.
The post ended with a guessing game, showing two heavily cropped images for fans to decipher. The first picture is arguably the more challenging one to figure out, showing a pixelated tan texture. However, the second image is very clearly the outer edge of a window frame.
Iron Gate also announced plans to host a public Q&A sometime in June. However, the studio appears to be still working out the details. These latest announcements come only a few days after Valheim surpassed 6.8 million copies sold.
Valheim is available on PC in early access.
Source: Iron Gate Studio via Steam