Valheim’s Ashlands update will feature volcanic skeleton realm

Devs share plans for what’s to come

Valheim, one of the biggest indie game hits of the recent years, will receive another substantial update. After launching the huge Mistlands update late in 2022, players can look forward to exploring the Ashlands, another new biome, hopefully some time in 2023.

The developers envision a volcanic region, a “land of the dead” as they call it in a new blog post. In contrast to most other biomes in the game, which are split into different islands, the Ashlands will be a larger, unified landmass towards the south of the map.

Showing off early concept art of some of the residents of this area, it quickly becomes clear what the developers mean by land of the dead: Burnt skeletons called the Charred seem to haunt the place, their red eyes and glowing cores evoking a connection to the volcanoes. Some of them are armed with one or two swords, others wield a magic staff, some of the bodies sporting a second head.

Speaking of heads, a monster called Morgen has three skulls embedded in its toothy mouth, which seems held together by stripes of raw flesh. Its limbs seem like a mix of human and insect, with bone and chitin mixing together. You don’t want to encounter that thing when it’s dark. Or ever.

A volcanic area may also require new gear to explore it, since it would likely be pretty hot there.

Iron Gate states that it would be more transparent about the development of the Ashlands update than it had been about Mistlands, giving more regular insights into how the project’s progress.

Speaking of progress: Since Ashlands is still in pre-production, the devs have promised a few smaller updates in the meantime, sharing plans to add a new NPC called Hildir, who comes with her own quests, as well as new clothes and customization options to the game.

Valheim will also release on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S in 2023.