Core Keeper News

Hi Explorers! We’ve got some important information about Core Keeper's Void & Voltage update to share with you today.

Due to an issue encountered during the final stages of platform submission and approval, we are unable to release Void & Voltage on the previously planned date. As a result, the Void & Voltage update will now launch in February 2026 on all platforms. We want you to know that the update itself is ready and we cannot wait to share this with you — the remaining factor is completing the required platform approval. We will confirm the exact release date as soon as everything is fully locked!

We know this is frustrating, and we really appreciate your patience while we work through the final steps.

Thank you for sticking with us.

We hope your 2025 has been full of joy, Explorers. We know ours has (in no small part, thanks to you!). As we approach the end of the year, things are winding down here at Pugstorm and Fireshine Games and we wanted to take a moment to wish you a merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a wonderful new year.

We’ve got plenty to look forward to in 2026, including our brand-new Void & Voltage update coming in January. There’s also plenty more Core Keeper fun on the horizon, but we’ll have more to say about that in the new year. For now, it feels like a great time to sit back and reflect on some of the wonderful things from the year gone by.

January 2025: The Core Keeper Digital Soundtrack went on sale on Steam! Created by the talented Jonathan Geer, the Core Keeper OST features 42 enchanting compositions that give our mysterious underground world the ambience you know and love. We also released our Lunar New Year seasonal update, adding the Folding Screen, Lucky Cat, and Potted Tree with Red Envelops to the game 🧧

March 2025: The month of Bags & Blasts! Our first major content update since our 1.0 launch, Bags & Blasts brought with it a whole host of inventory management features, a new explosives skill tree, new weapons, a new sub-biome, a brand-new boss, new cattle, a new pet, and MORE! Read the full patch notes here.



April 2025: We teamed up with the awesome folk over at Deep Field Games to bring you a Core Keeper x Abiotic Factor crossover! This included a new custom scene filled to the brim with GATE branded items, equipment, and consumables, as well as the cybernetically augmented Electro-Pest. Oh, and a much more cuddly Electro-Pet!

May 2025: A minor update that addressed some MAJORLY requested features in the form of Pet Beds, cattle colour variations, improvements for the Warlock/Summoner build, and more. We love it when we can bring our community’s requests to life!

August 2025: Dedicated servers received a cool new update, allowing PC gamers playing on different PC storefronts to get together in the same worlds. That’s right, it doesn’t matter whether you’re playing Core Keeper on Steam, Epic Games, GoG, or the Microsoft Store, you can now enjoy dedicated servers with your pals no matter what PC storefront you’re using!

September 2025: Our very first Reddit AMA! We had over 507 comments from our wonderful community and we did our best to answer as many as possible! We spoke about the future of the game and updates (we plan to continue building on the game’s story with free updates!), our ideas for future updates (we teased a lot of Void & Voltage content), and there was a big discussion about whether a hotdog is a sandwich (we couldn’t decide, but we know for sure that pizzas aren’t!). Check it out here.

November 2025: This was the month we announced the release date for our next major content update: Void & Voltage! We’re so excited for this one and you can find a brief overview of some of the new content on its way here – it was hard not to reveal EVERYTHING in the date-announcement post! A new boss, new biome, new sub-biome, and a bunch of new automation features are really cool…but we have to admit, we’re just super stoked about the new flamethrower!



December 2025: We wrapped this year up with a bang, raising over £30,000 for Make-A-Wish through the Core Keeper Survive-A-Thon charity relay. This was a 24hr livestream relay featuring talented creators from across the globe playing Core Keeper and raising money for a wonderful cause via the Jingle Jam! We just want to say a HUGE thank you to everybody who got involved, whether you were one of our streamers or viewers, whether you donated or amplified our message, every little interaction helped us raise an amazing amount for charity and we couldn’t be happier.

We’re really grateful to have such a wonderful community supporting us as we work on developing the game and we’re looking towards 2026 with big smiles on our faces all because of you wonderful folks. For now, we’re going to be getting some much-needed rest and relaxation and we hope you’ll be doing the same.

All our love,

The teams here at Pugstorm & Fireshine Games ✨

P.S. Big shout out to Tito Bandito for the awesome Christmas base featured in this post's cover art!

Greetings Explorers! We know you are all very excited for 1.2, and we can't wait for you to experience this major content update in January. For now, we have something else exciting to share: Steam Workshop and notable modding updates!

(Note that these updates will first be introduced to the ambassador program before being publicly accessible as a beta. Mod creators can learn how to join the ambassador program in the "Closed Beta for Ambassadors" section below.)

[h2]🛠️ Modding Changes[/h2]
Our goal is to make mod creation more accessible for newcomers while also giving experienced creators more powerful tools for deep customization.

Here's a short list of what will be possible with the tools released with 1.2:

• Easily replace in-game textures and colors for player looks and armor.
  
• Reskin and recolor existing non-player sprites: including pets, cattle, workbenches, and most other assets. (Texture packs, anyone?)
  

Full documentation and a "getting started" guide will launch alongside 1.2.

[h2]🧭 Steam Workshop[/h2]
We are adding support for Steam Workshop! Initially, it will launch as a closed beta for ambassadors. With the release of version 1.2, the Workshop will be available to both mod creators and players as an opt-in beta.

Our main goal is to improve the tools based on community feedback. Once we are confident it's ready, we will remove the beta and opt-in requirements in a future update.

Starting with 1.2, the modding SDK will include Steam Workshop as a built-in upload option. We will also release a few example mods to showcase the new workflow. To access the Workshop once 1.2 is out, you will need to join a Steam Group. The link and details will be shared in the 1.2 release announcement.

[h2]🧪 Closed Beta for Ambassadors[/h2]
As mentioned, the new modding features will first roll out as a closed beta for ambassadors.

If you are a mod creator and would like to sign up, follow the instructions below and mention that you are a mod creator, including links to your previous work. (Mods for other games are perfectly fine to include!)

If approved, you will receive detailed instructions on how to access everything.

[h3]✨ How to Join Our Ambassador Program[/h3]

Core Keeper ambassadors are creators, and we share builds and assets to enable them to create Core Keeper content like videos, livestreams, fan art, and even mods! We love seeing folks enjoy our game, and anything you put out into the world about Core Keeper puts a big smile on the developer’s faces.

Why Become an Ambassador?
As a Core Keeper ambassador, you'll receive early access to new updates and a special creator kit, which includes SFX, music, and exclusive assets. Additionally, you also have an informal line to our developers to share feedback and ask questions leading up to the update you'll be getting access to!

Can Anyone be an Ambassador?
Our Ambassador program is open to applications from all kinds of creators. While we won’t be able to guarantee an invitation for everybody who applies, there’s no strict criteria around what type of creators we're accepting, so long as you're passionate about Core Keeper and love what you do. Whether you're a content creator, mod creator, artist, or something else, if you'd love the opportunity to actively create content around Core Keeper, we’d love for you to apply!

If you're interested in becoming an Ambassador, you can APPLY HERE.

[h2]💬 Feedback & Questions[/h2]
We're best suited to handle feedback and questions over on our official community Discord in the mod creators channel. We will do our best to reply to everyone! You can also tag the developer, Rupas, directly, as he is the one who implemented these changes.

If the mod-creators channel is hidden for you, please check out the opt-in button on Discord here.

We can't wait to see what amazing mods you create! 🙂
—

Please note: Our primary language of communication at Pugstorm is English. We truly value connecting with players from all around the world, but there may be a language barrier if you contact us in another language. We appreciate your understanding!

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• [p][Steam] Starting a world while not having an internet connection no longer causes the loading screen to stay indefinitely.[/p]