The great value of the Xbox Game Pass service is only set to increase with the upcoming addition of Valheim to its game roster. Being available on other platforms since February 2021 in early access, the game is set to come to the popular Xbox service upon its full release next year.

The Viking-inspired Valheim has proven to be very popular amongst fans even in its early state of release, with the gameplay experience offered by the game only likely to improve more over time. Given the intense reach of the Game Pass service, as well as the already established hype and approval surrounding the survival title, the addition of Valheim to Xbox Game Pass is sure to be a match made in heaven.

The Basics of Valheim


Valheim is an upcoming survival adventure sandbox title greatly inspired by North mythology and Viking culture. The game sees players attempt to explore and survive in a procedurally generated world, gathering resources, building settlements, and fighting vicious monsters on their path to greatness.

Being a sandbox title, the game prides itself on its comprehensive crafting and building systems, with players organically discovering a huge array of crafting recipes as they explore the many diverse biomes of the "tenth world." Crucially, Valheim offers an engaging level of co-op, supporting up to ten players who can work together within a single world. The title is published by Coffee Stain and is being developed by Iron Gate, and received an extremely positive critical reception from its early access releases on Windows and Linux. Valheim has a rare 10/10 rating on Steam, giving credence to the level in which players have already fallen in love with the title, despite it still being in early development.

Why Valheim Will Do So Well on Xbox Game Pass


Valheim's console port has been a long time coming, with console players itching to get their hands on the game ever since it was first released in early access. The fact alone that the title is coming to Xbox is sure to command a huge audience upon Valheim's full release, but the fact that it is coming to Xbox Game Pass is only going to accelerate the game's console success even further.

The Xbox Game Pass has garnered an unheard-of level of success for Microsoft and has arguably changed the marketing meta for console gaming as a whole. To support this claim, it is largely reported that Xbox Game Pass has around 30 million monthly subscribers, and many within this huge consumer base will know of Valheim and will be keen to try the game once it releases next year.

This huge Xbox Game Pass player base only increases in importance when the co-op elements of Valheim are taken into account. With the gameplay of Valheim being at its best when playing and exploring with friends, the greatly increased availability of the title via Game Pass is only going to boost the amount of co-op gameplay that Valheim will see on the console.

With the high levels of co-op gameplay that will likely come from Valheim releasing on Xbox Game Pass, it can only be assumed that the longevity of gameplay will also increase. Not only will players be experiencing a more polished full-release version of what was already a very well-received game, but the experience will only be exacerbated by the wide-scale availability of the title via Game Pass and the co-op gameplay that it will foster.

Valheim is available now for PC and will be available on Xbox Series X/S in 2023.