Will Valheim Dethrone Minecraft?

The future is looking bright for the open world sandbox adventure Valheim. The indie game in early access has sold over 5 million copies, and despite the limited content and bugs has enjoyed overwhelming success and excitement from fans. Because Valheim has become so popular in its current, unfinished state, many are wondering what the game will look like once it is fully released, and what impact it could have on other popular sandbox titles such as Minecraft.

Minecraft has been the cornerstone of randomly generated, open world games since its release in 2011. The versatile, low-resolution survival game holds more for gamers than what it may appear to. Minecraft is a playground for creativity, with the base game constantly being changed and molded using community-made mods. It also offers versatile gameplay which can change to fit almost any playstyle. The lack of a linear plotline allows for complete narrative freedom and can be enjoyed in single-player, small groups, or on massive servers. Minecraft’s flexibility has been a large part of the game’s success since its release.

While Valheim offers many of the same creative freedoms also seen in Minecraft, like farming and home building, it is unlikely it will overshadow the beloved, pixelated survival game. Valheim has a more specific setting, with a loose story and requirements to progress in the world. Valheim is a Viking survival game following a narrative of defeating gods and exploring biomes in its randomly generated world. Minecraft, however, doesn’t have a story. With no set plot, no requirements, and nothing but possibilities, Minecraft is a blank canvas which can become anything, depending on how the game is set up.

Valheim Could Change Before It’s Final Release

It is also possible that while Valheim is popular now, the finished game could look very different and be more restrictive. Minecraft is a fully-released game, occasionally adding DLC and updates to expand the already concrete content. Valheim is still in a flexible stage of development. It is possible the story could change or become more important to gameplay, new game difficulty modes could be released, or mechanics could change, taking away certain freedoms. Early access games tend to be unstable, and are sometimes abandoned by developers before they are finished. While it is unlikely Valheim will be put on the back-burner due to its popularity, it is hard to know what the finished title will look like, or when the completed game will release.

While the success of Valheim as a sandbox game could encourage other developers to push new boundaries in the future, it is unlikely its success will impact the popularity of games like Minecraft. The reason for this is while the games are similar, they have enough divergent gameplay to offer different player experiences. While fans of Minecraft may be trying Valheim out, it is likely both titles will continue being popular for open-world survival fans, and they will continue to develop on their own paths, each offering players a different set of benefits and options.

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