Valheim 1.0 hits PS5 and Switch 2: price, crossplay, cross-save and the first hotfixes
Valheim left Early Access on September 9 and landed on PS5 and Switch 2 the same day at $29.99. Here is what shipped, how crossplay and cross-save work, and what the launch-week hotfixes changed.
Valheim 1.0 key art for the Deep North and the PS5 and Switch 2 launch. Image: Iron Gate Studio / Coffee Stain Publishing.
Valheim left Early Access on September 9, 2026, and the same build landed on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 that day. Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC owners got version 1.0 as a free update. The console debut and the 1.0 release are one and the same package: the Deep North biome, the final boss, full crossplay across every platform, and a new $29.99 price. Here is what shipped, what did not, and what to do first.
What shipped on September 9
Iron Gate Studio and Coffee Stain Publishing list eight storefronts for 1.0: Steam (Windows, Linux, Mac), the Mac App Store, Humble, the Microsoft Store, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2. The PS5 and Switch 2 versions are new. The Xbox version has existed since March 2023 and simply updated. Piktiv handled both new ports. Valheim is no longer on Xbox Game Pass; it left the service on September 30, 2024, so Xbox players buy it outright like everyone else.
The price is the same on every store: $29.99, up from the $19.99 Early Access price, with regional variation. Anyone who bought the game before launch keeps it and received 1.0 as a normal update. The player cap is unchanged at 1 to 10 per world. PS5 needs PlayStation Plus for online play; solo play does not.
Crossplay yes, cross-save mostly no
Crossplay is complete. A Switch 2 player can join a world hosted on Steam, a PS5 player can join an Xbox host, and dedicated servers accept all of them. Iron Gate confirms this in its 1.0 FAQ, and the Nintendo eShop listing flags cross-platform play as supported.
Cross-save is a different story. The only progression sync is inside Microsoft's ecosystem: an Xbox player can open their characters and worlds on PC if they launch the Microsoft Store version. Steam, PS5 and Switch 2 saves stay on the platform where they were created. Decide where your main character will live before you sink hours into it.
- PC (Steam, Humble, Mac App Store) to console: no save transfer.
- Xbox to Microsoft Store PC: saves are shared.
- PS5 and Switch 2: local saves only, but full crossplay with everyone.
Performance modes on Switch 2 and PS5
The Switch 2 build ships with three presets: Quality at 30 fps, Balanced at 40 fps and Performance at 60 fps. It also carries the features Iron Gate promised in February: a mouse mode using the Joy-Con 2, touch-screen menus, gyro aiming and HD Rumble 2. The eShop download is about 4.3 GB. Early reports of stutter in Performance mode are real. An Iron Gate developer said on Reddit that the cause is world-generation lag plus the game not holding 60 fps in busy scenes, and recommended Balanced or Quality, or handheld with variable refresh rate if you want Performance. More Switch 2 optimisation is promised.
Iron Gate has not published a frame-rate or resolution breakdown for the PS5 version, and the PlayStation Store listing does not name performance modes. The store page confirms DualSense vibration and trigger effects. Treat any specific PS5 fps claim as unverified until the studio says so.
Content and the launch-week patch
All nine biomes are in: Meadows, Black Forest, Swamp, Mountains, Plains, Ocean, Mistlands, the Ashlands from the 2024 update, and now the Deep North. The Deep North is the frozen final region, with deep snow you must clear before building, frozen water that cracks underfoot, and a new Jotun boss, Kall Fimbulbringer, at the end of the progression. Iron Gate's own tally for the 1.0 patch is more than 40 weapons, four armor sets, two capes, two trinkets, more than 10 creatures, more than 80 build pieces, more than 30 crafting materials and more than 20 foods. New tools include the snow shovel, grappling hook, moose saddle and ember charges.
Under the hood, 1.0 moved to a newer Unity version, added draw-distance settings, reworked the hammer and serving-tray menus, rebalanced Ashlands spawns, and unlocked every hair and beard style. There is no new Ocean biome content. The FAQ is direct: post-launch work will be bug fixes and quality-of-life patches, not new biomes.
Two hotfixes arrived on September 11. Hotfix 1.0.10 went to every platform (Xbox labels it 1.0.11 but it is the same build) and fixes the biggest early complaint: Deep North heavy armor can now be repaired. It also fixes snow-clearing bugs, tunes Greydwarf Shaman damage and healing in the Deep North, and adds missing creature and snow audio. Hotfix 1.0.12 is Steam-only for now: a Forge of Potential recipe leak, a zone-loading crash, item stands eating upgrades, legacy player IDs on ban lists, cart passage through the Timberwood drawbridge, and an opt-in to restore achievements for players who used dev commands. Iron Gate says 1.0.12 is crossplay-compatible and the console equivalent is coming.
What new players should do first
- Start a fresh world. Old worlds load, but Iron Gate warns unexplored areas may generate incorrectly.
- Build a workbench and a roofed bed in the Meadows before your first night. Rested status is the single biggest early buff.
- Kill Eikthyr, the first of the Forsaken, to unlock the antler pickaxe. Everything else gates on that.
- Eat three different foods at once. Health and stamina scale with variety, not quantity.
- On Switch 2, drop to Balanced until the optimisation patches land.
We’re proud to announce that #Valheim 1.0 is out now! Gather your friends, sharpen your axes and check out the patch notes below. We’ll see you in the tenth realm!
— Valheim (@Valheimgame) Valheim on X
The short version
Valheim 1.0 is on PS5 and Switch 2 for $29.99, and Xbox and PC got it free. Crossplay works everywhere; cross-save only works Xbox to Microsoft Store PC. The Deep North and its boss are in. Switch 2 has 30, 40 and 60 fps modes, with the 60 fps one still rough. Two hotfixes have already landed, and more are promised. Full patch notes are on the official Valheim site, the platform FAQ is here, the hotfix notes are here, and the store pages are on Steam, the PlayStation Store and Nintendo.com.