The popular Viking survival game Valheim comes to Xbox Game Pass for PC tomorrow (September 29), and in anticipation of that, developer Iron Gate Studio is rolling out crossplay so folks on Steam can play with those using Microsoft’s PC launcher. Presumably, this crossplay will eventually incorporate consoles, once Valheim launches on them. You can get the full notes for Valheim update 0.211.7, below.
"This patch includes full crossplay support, which means that you will be able to play with any other Valheim player, no matter where they’re playing from. If your friends get the game through a different platform, you’ll be able to join their game and show them the ropes. Or why not invite them over to your world and show them all your cool buildings?
Dedicated server hosts will need to enable crossplay if they want non-Steam players to be able to join, and the dedicated servers will then be joinable both with the regular IP address, and with the new join codes. As always, make sure your game has the same patch version as your friends’, or else connecting to each other might not work. You’ll find the version number in the bottom right corner of your main menu screen."
Detailed patch notes:
- Crossplay support added
- ‘Manage saves’ GUI added so that it’s easier for players to restore/remove saves & backups
- Minor network optimization for in-game hosting (Less demanding for the host when other players are in the game at the same time)
- ‘Join Game’ tab has been updated. Players can now add favourite servers, and see if a server is running, and if they support crossplay or not.
- Players can now use the parameter ‘-crossplay’ while running Dedicated servers to support crossplay. When using this parameter, the backend will be running Playfab instead of Steamworks. (A ‘Join code’ will appear when you join a Dedicated server supporting crossplay. Players can use this code to join the server. This Join code is regenerated whenever the server is restarted.)
- A new branch, "default_old", has been added, where you can play on the previous Steam version of the game in case your server hasn't been updated yet (Steam might need a restart for the branch to show up).
Valheim is available now on PC and is expected to launch on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in spring of 2023. The game’s next big expansion will be the Mistlands update, although it’s unknown when that will arrive.
