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The multiplayer fantasy survival game Valheim is off to a very good start. After reaching a peak of over 360,000 concurrent players on Steam, publisher Coffee Stain has now confirmed the Norse-inspired game reached more than 2 million copies sold in under two weeks.

Valheim is currently in Early Access on Steam, having launched on February 2. At its peak for concurrent users, Valheim exceeded the numbers of Grand Theft Auto V and Destiny 2.

Developed by Iron Gate Studio, Valheim is developed by a team of 5 people, though it started as a passion project from a single person: Richard Svensson. Coffee Stain took notice of the game and signed Iron Gate to a publishing deal in 2018.

In a statement, Svensson said he did not anticipate the huge success of Valheim. The goal was to cover development costs, and with sales of 2 million, the company has done that and then some.

“I guess our future is safe for a while now,” Svensson said. “Valheim has not been rushed, it’s a product of more than three years of iterative development with features added and tested on a core team of early adopters. Also as a designer I don’t like to follow popular conventions but try to go my own way, this seems to have worked out.”

Coffee Stain executive Sebastian Badylak said, “The gods have truly favoured Valheim. We’ve been refreshing the sales report to get the latest numbers, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down.”

Coffee Stain started out as a developer, releasing games like Goat Simulator and Satisfactory, before opening up a publishing division in 2017. Coffee Stain also published Deep Rock Galactic, which has also sold more than 2 million copies.

If you’re struggling early on trying to survive in Valheim, we’ve rounded up some Valheim beginner tips that should help you out. These include the tips you need to build, repair, improve your skills, and acquire more resources.

Looking ahead, Iron Gate has lots and lots of plans for ongoing support for Valheim. You can see the full rundown of Valheim expansion plans here on Steam.

Overcooked: All You Can Eat is coming to Switch, PS4, and PC via Steam on March 23 for $40. A compilation of Overcooked and Overcooked 2, this version will offer all 200+ levels from both games, as well as all DLC, seven new levels, and a brand-new assist mode.

The entire package will run at up to 4K where supported and at 60fps, except for on the Nintendo Switch where the frame rate will be capped to 30fps. Overcooked: All You Can Eat also includes new accessibility options such as color-blind friendly chef indicators, a scalable user interface, and dyslexia-friendly text.

The assist mode adds the option to increase level times, boost scores awarded for each meal, lengthen recipe times, and the ability to turn off order expiration. A cute game about preparing meals, Overcooked’s real charm lies in how players need to coordinate their activities to put together increasingly complex meals in chaotic kitchen environments, avoid obstacles, and serve meals on time.

There’ll also be over 80 chefs to use in the kitchen, but everyone will probably want to prepare some meals as the Swedish Chef from The Muppets.

Launching first on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 last year, the collection of cooking content currently has a Metascore of 84. As for the original games, they both scored solid marks when they launched in 2016 and 2018.

“The fun and chaos of playing with friends is preserved in the sequel, as is the far less exciting reality of playing solo,” critic Kallie Plagge wrote in her Overcooked 2 review.

Silent Hill and Gravity Rush creator Keiichiro Toyama has given fans a glimpse at his new horror action-adventure project (and Bokeh Game Studio’s first game) by way of some never-before-seen concept art – and it’s looking suitably unsettling.

In a promotional interview posted on Bokeh’s YouTube channel, Toyama revealed a first clear look at his new studio’s upcoming project. The images, which you can view in the gallery below, give fans an insight into what Bokeh’s debut title may look like, and how Toyama is returning to his horror roots at the independent developer.

One image shows a skeletal insect-like monster erupting from a corpse, while others appear to be inspired by scorpions, squid, and perhaps the cordeceps fungus, which inspired the Last of Us’ Infected enemies. We also see one image of a sword-toting figure, which may hint at the unnamed game’s previously announced action-adventure approach.

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Speaking about the chief influences on the monstrous designs and the game overall, Toyama revealed that death game comics and day-to-day life have had a significant impact on the title’s creatures and vibe.

“I often read comics as a form of entertainment,” Toyama explained. “Recently, you see a trend for ‘death game’ type of content. These works tend to add entertainment to somewhat brutal worlds, so I naturally took that approach. The view I have of horror is the everyday life being shaken. Rather than just showing scary things, it should question our position and make us challenge the fact that we’re living peacefully.”

Japanese death game comics recently gained more western attention due to the release of Netflix’s Alice in Borderland – an adaptation of the manga of the same name, in which characters are seemingly transported to an alternate Tokyo and forced to participate in deadly challenges.

An insightful interview with our very own Keiichiro Toyama, who describes how he came into the games industry and what we have in mind for our new project.
我らがクリエイティブディレクター、外山圭一郎にフォーカスを当ててみました。 #BokehGameStudio #BGS https://t.co/EeTeoGc81W

— Bokeh Game Studio (@BokehGameStudio) February 15, 2021

Discussing what other elements Bokeh Game Studio was looking to include in its first game, Toyama insisted that he wanted fans to feel exhilarated despite the horror-driven aesthetic and narrative that the team would employ.

“I’m coming back to my roots, for example towards horror,” Toyama added. “However, rather than something deeply rooted into horror, I want to keep an entertainment note. While keeping elements from horror, I want players to feel exhilarated when playing the game.”

This latest tease comes two months after Toyama revealed that Bokeh’s maiden horror action-adventure game was likely to launch sometime in 2023. Speaking to IGN Japan at the time, Toyama said that the game would “appeal to fans of my previous work”, and that it should come to PC and “as many console platforms as possible.” Bokeh was announced in December, and brings together a number of Sony Japan developers as a new indie studio.

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In other Silent Hill news, a recent interview with series composer Akira Yamaoka was pulled after he seemingly teased that Konami was working on a new entry in the franchise. Konami denied that it had asked for the clip’s removal, with the uploader telling IGN that a “third party” had requested the interview to be removed.

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Tom Power is a UK-based freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter.

Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios has announced that The Panel from Hell will return this week, which will be livestreamed on February 17 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. The previous Panel From Hell revealed the release date for Baldur’s Gate 3, but this week’s edition will be more focused on the current development of the game and which features are coming next. Players will be able to see enhanced Tieflings, spells, improved cinematics, and revamped cows.

The stream will feature principal rules designer of Dungeons & Dragons Jeremy Crawford, creative director Swen Vincke, and guests Nick Pechenin, David Walgrave, and more, according to Larian. The main event of the stream will also be the “biggest patch note ever forged in the fiery pits of Larian” the developer added.

Much like the last big patch, this new update will also result in save games prior to its release being incompatible with Baldur’s Gate III once it has been released. Hopefully, there won’t be a repeat of when that patch had to be pulled from Steam after it introduced numerous game-breaking bugs.

“That said, we’re again branching out with the same solution as before,” Larian said in a pre-patch announcement. “If you’re already accustomed to this as a hardened Patch 3 veteran, then simply follow the same steps as before and skip the text at the bottom of this post, because it’s not new text and it’s quite long.”

If you’re interested in watching the stream, you can view it on YouTube, Twitch, and Steam on Wednesday.

The latest seasonal event for Animal Crossing: New Horizons has begun. It’s time to party with Festivale. This event centers around a colorful peacock character named Pavé, and it’s inspired by world celebrations like Mardis Gras.

Like most seasonal events, Festivale only gives you a limited time to claim your cosmetic rewards. But unlike some others, this one is extremely limited, giving you only a single day to participate. This time you’ll need to collect brightly-colored feathers that are floating through the air by catching them with your net, and then trade them to Pavé for the special rewards. You can also trade for feathers with other villagers, or craft rainbow feathers at a crafting table.

Any three feathers will get you a piece of Festivale furniture and a rainbow feather will get you a piece from the rainbow set. There are ten pieces to collect in all.

The Able Sisters are also selling Festivale-themed clothing, and Nook’s Cranny is selling furniture, as they both have been since February 1. This is the final day to purchase any of those items. But the visit from Pavé and his exclusive items are one-day-only.

This follows after limited-time items for the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day, and it overlaps with a special Lunar New Year event. We also expect to see another event in the coming weeks as the game welcomes cherry blossom season. Nintendo appears keen to keep supporting Animal Crossing for a while since it’s one of the company’s top-sellers. If you need a hand filling out your catalog, check out our guide to February’s bugs, fish, and sea creatures.