It has been a while since we last checked up on Core Keeper and the progress they have made since releasing 1.0. As we start approaching the 1 year anniversary of this major milestone, it’s time to have a look back at some of the updates since then. Pack your bags, suit up, and polish up your gear, let’s get into what’s been added since 1.0.
Pop Quiz: What is Core Keeper?
Before we jump in, let’s do a quick refresher of what Core Keeper is and what’s been going on. Firstly, Core Keeper is a top-down, 2D voxel-based survival game where you are thrown into an uncharted underground world. Like other voxel-based survival games such as Terraria and Minecraft, gathering resources through mining and harvesting is paramount to surviving, allowing for more means to craft, harvest, and store away any resources you gather.
Start from the beginning with the beginning.
In August last year, Core Keeper released version 1.0, bringing the game out of Early Access. This is not to say the journey is over as the game continues to receive large updates after this release. Since then, we have received one Major Update and two Minor Updates, bringing with them plenty of new and exciting content, as well as a plethora of tweaks, changes, and bugfixes in all kinds of updates and stability patches. With that being said, let’s have a look at some of the big updates from then to now.
Major Update: Bags & Blasts
Kicking things off, we have the first major update, titled Bags & Blasts. As the name of this update suggests, it introduces new and improved mechanics regarding inventory management and explosives.
Pouches for specialized storage, bombs for specialized demolition.
For the inventory, we have a new set of items called Pouches. These little additions add new, specific slots to the inventory. Say you find yourself collecting all sorts of plants, seeds, and fruits. Now, there is a pouch just for these items and nothing else. Now, the inventory won’t fill up with so many plans, freeing up space for other items such as tools, ores, and valuables.
As for those explosives, this is greatly expanded upon with new weapons and a new skill tree. Start your adventure off with extra skill points in the explosive skill tree to specialize in all things demolition. To better equip yourself as an explosive demolitionist, we also have some throwable explosives such as grenades, and a plethora of new bombs to use.
Now, you would think this would be all the big content for this update. Far from it, because this update brings in a new boss: Nimruza, Queen of the Burrowed Sands. The broodmother of cicadas, she appears within the sands of The Desert of Beginnings. Specifically, in a new sub-biome called The Oasis. This new boss addition was foretold throughout Core Keeper’s early access stage with her brood scuttling across the outer reaches of the underground - could there be more bosses to come after her?
To round out this update, several additions were made to this update beyond pouches and explosives. With four sets of armor, a variety of new tools and goods, and new ways to craft, the game has become much more expansive and diverse. Speaking of expansive, those playing Mage and Warlock classes have been developed upon, improving the gameplay for those playing these classes.
As the first Major Update, this brings the game to a new development milestone. There’s plenty of new content to discover, more tools to use, and benefits for those looking to start fresh in a new playstyle. For those thinking they beat the game, it is time to go back and try out a new way of playing.
Minor Update: Abiotic Factor
A breach in containment has unleashed some new content onto Core Keeper. In this update, we get a crossover update featuring Abiotic Factor, a co-op survival with a science theme. Dotted around The Forgotten Ruins are scenes themed around Abiotic Factor decorated in furniture based on the game, with Electro-Pests lurking around exclusive to this scene.
A base decorated with some of the objects found within the breach.
This update doesn’t just introduce a new enemy and some decorative objects. A couple of new weapons and a set of armor can be found in these scenes. If you’re also finding yourself particular about the Electro-Pest, perhaps the Electro-Pet is just for you; A new pet to accompany you on your underground journey.
Overall, this minor update is more about the crossover. There are some small bugfixes and improvements to the button remapping window, but this update is good for those who are looking for a little extra content.
Minor Update: 1.1.2
As the dust finally settles on the major content updates, this minor update wraps up all that new content with a nice little bow.
I have an urge to collect them all.
To start things off, let’s look at all those pets that have been collected over time and sit sequestered away in a chest never to be used again. Never to worry again about those pets collecting dust, as Pet Beds have been added in this update. These Pet Beds allow for any spare pets to roam around the area, no need to decide which pet follows you or who is locked away.
On the topic of animals, Cattle are given some small changes. Namely, Cattle can come in more varieties of colour. Though this is a visual one, this still adds some more visual pizazz to your base. Beyond this, Cattle can have their breeding toggled, saving worlds and servers from too many Cattle if you go for a long journey underground.
Bosses received a balancing update. Initially, bosses would immediately restore to full health if they left the screen. This proved rather bothersome with how some people played, making boss fights last longer than they should. Now, a boss will regenerate health only if they are not engaged in combat, meaning a player could be a fair distance from the boss to catch their breath but the boss won’t reset to full health. Summoning Hydras has also changed, requiring a different crafting station to craft the scanners, certain summoning items now take specific ore bars, and the bosses will drop more gems on multiplayer servers, scaling up the rate of drops the more players there are.
Finally, all the little quality of life changes to finish off this Minor Update. Warlock and Summoner classes can look forward to a couple of new features to broaden their artillery in the form of a new weapon or off-hand item. Not to mention plenty of bugfixes that resolve even some of the persistent bugs in the game.
Where are we now?
This brings us to where Core Keeper is today. Having played around with the game as of these updates, it is safe to say that there’s more to come, but also that there’s plenty to do even in the early stages of the game. Core Keeper is dedicated to updating the game with even more content, still going strong after the 1.0 update.
Current progress, and the next major update to come later this year. Source: Core Keeper on Steam "A First Look at Core Keeper’s 2025 Content Updates" (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1621690/view/4442333890575598538)
Coming up later in the year, we should see a new Major Update bringing the game up to 1.2. What we will expect to see in this update is a mystery, so stay tuned for when more news comes out and when the update drops. Before that happens, why not create a server in the meantime to prepare? We make creating a Core Keeper server easy, and all you need to get started is an Adventurer Tier plan. In just a few clicks, you can create a new Core Keeper server.
Looking for some people to play with or discuss what’s to come with Core Keeper? Come hang out with us over on our Discord. We’re a friendly bunch, so join us to find new players, meet with like-minded players, or just have a chat about Core Keeper.