Core Keeper News

Hello Explorers and welcome to our first Core Keeper developer update! We'll be aiming to share regular updates with you from now until early access (date TBC) so that you can get a closer look at the development process. We’re grateful for all of your support, and we’ve been hard at work on some brand-new biomes, characters and features for you, including...


A gorgeous natural biome filled with greenery and plants. The Nature Biome is the fourth biome discoverable in the underground. How is it so green all the way down here, you ask? That’s all thanks to the sunlight that enters through the cracks in the roof of the cave. This biome may be beautiful to look at, but don’t let your guard down. Here, you will encounter Caveling Hunters disguised as bushes and Caveling Farmers that can snare you with plants and poisonous slime. Keep your wits about you, and you just might discover new hidden artefacts and locations that reveal the lore of this underground world.




Rumour has it that there is a mysterious creature lurking somewhere within the Nature Biome. It’s up to you to locate his lair and find a way to lure him down from up above. Defeat him to capture his power and use it with the Core!


A friendly Caveling that offers fine wares if you have the coin. The Merchant can be found in the stone biome where the Cavelings live, and you will be able to buy items from and sell items to him. Like the look of this little guy? Perhaps you just fancy some company? The Merchant can move into your base if you have a room free for him!


We’ve made some cosmetic and mechanical updates to the armour available in game. Introducing Iron Armour: tough armour made from the finest iron that allows you to take a beating without suffering as much damage as with lower tiers of armour. And Larva Armour: use this to your advantage to disguise yourself as a larva and sneak past unscathed.




We’ve also added 20+ new environmental objects that can be used as decorations; 5+ new food items and consumables; and 15+ new pieces of equipment, weapons, and tools.

We’ve had an amazing time getting to know you all on the official Core Keeper Discord, and we’re extremely grateful for all of your feedback. If you’d like to become a part of our community, take part in exclusive game discussions, and get a first look at things like concept art and game updates, join the other Explorers here!

Greetings Explorers, we're hard at work developing Core Keeper, and we will have a developer update for you soon! In the meantime, we wanted to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves and talk a little bit more about some of the core (get it?) features in the game.


We're Pugstorm, an indie game studio based in Sweden, and this is our second game following on from last year's Radical Rabbit Stew (which we were so glad to see that our players loved). We're a team of four developers, consisting of Sven, our CEO and the pixel artist for Core Keeper; David, whose focus is on gameplay programming; Julian who is the lead artist for Core Keeper; and Max, who is responsible for general programming and multiplayer.


When we’re not hard at work developing Core Keeper, we enjoy playing role-playing-games together. We’re having a blast playing weekly sessions of Gloomhaven, and we are thrilled to announce that our characters have now reached level four after a close victory at The Temple of The Seer.

Sven, playing as the Brute, charged into a mob of bears, living spirits and spitting drakes, and he died a valiant death. The rest of the team face palmed, and with the help of Julian’s magical powers as the Spellweaver, David’s supporting healing powers as the Tinkerer, and Max’s trickery as the Mindthief, the team defeated the mobs and the campaign was won. Adventure awaits. Huzzah!


Core Keeper is a 1-8 player mining sandbox adventure with a procedurally generated map and plenty of mysteries to uncover. Whether you’re an intrepid explorer looking to see as much of this underground world as possible, a keen strategist who prefers to build a base and expand outward, or a gentle farmer who prefers to tend to their crops, there’s something for everyone in Core Keeper!

We’re adding new items, biomes and features daily, and we’re having so much fun building this world and hiding all sorts of little secrets for you to unearth. It’s up to you to discover the secrets of the Core and find a way to return home. While you’re underground, however, we’re sure you’ll love…


Lighting plays a key role when exploring the world, and there are multiple light sources in Core Keeper. From the humble torch and the beautiful Glow Tulip, all the way to unique wearables that will light your way while keeping your hands free, different light sources will help you uncover different things. Certain lighting might even unlock secrets that would otherwise remain hidden.

We’re putting a lot of focus into creating beautiful lighting for Core Keeper, and we’ve had to implement some pretty creative solutions to get the game looking exactly the way we want it. While Core Keeper looks like a 2D game, you might be surprised to find out that it is actually rendered using a mixture of 3D meshes and 2D sprites. First, the mineable world is procedurally generated as 3D blocks and combined with 2D characters and objects. Then, by adding mathematical tricks to the camera, we are able to make the game appear entirely two-dimensional with gorgeous 3D lighting effects.




Farming crops and cooking food will be essential if you are going to survive in the underground world. To start a farm, you need three things: seeds, the right tools and water. You can plant your crops wherever there is soil, and if you don’t have easy access to water, you can dig your own path to redirect water back to your base. With a flourishing garden, you will have access to various types of food. These can either be eaten as they are or be combined in the cooking pot to create various meals with powerful buffs that you can share with your teammates.


Core Keeper’s combat is inspired by old-school classics like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. However, you will have access to a wide arsenal of weapons that you can either craft yourself or find in the world. This includes swords, pickaxes, slingshots, muskets, traps, bombs and more. Players are free to explore whichever weapon suits their playstyle and may need to switch between weapons to the one best suited for the situation.


Multiplayer is supported for up to eight players, allowing you to play with plenty of friends! Characters are not bound to a certain server, instead players can choose to play with the same character on multiple different servers, so you can have several multi-player games running alongside one another if you’d like. As of right now multiplayer is hosted by the client (peer to peer), however we're always exploring new options as the game progresses.

Meet your fellow Explorers and become a part of our community by joining the official Core Keeper Discord server!

nnounced during IGN's livestream today, Core Keeper is a co-op adventure set in "an endless cavern of creatures, relics, and resources." The trailer instantly reminded me of Stardew Valley, if all of Stardew Valley were moved into its caves...
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Hello from all of us here at Pugstorm! We’re very excited to announce our brand-new game, Core Keeper, is coming to Steam Early Access later on this year.

Core Keeper is a mysterious mining sandbox adventure game that supports one to eight players. You play as an explorer (or team of explorers) drawn to an ancient relic known as “the Core” that transports you to an ancient cavern filled with creatures, resources and curious trinkets.

Surviving underground isn’t easy, but by mining minerals, building your base, crafting new equipment and cooking exciting recipes, you’ll be able to delve deeper into this procedurally generated world, discover hidden secrets and find a way to power up the core.

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• 1-8 Player Sandbox – Work together with your friends to fight, farm, craft and survive in this 1-8 player sandbox adventure!
  
  
• Discover an Ancient World – Explore living biomes and fight cavernous creatures in an endless procedurally generated underground ecosystem.
  
  
• Power up the Core – Use workbenches and generators to craft new equipment and technology, brew potions, build your base and power up the Core.
  
  
• Grow Crops and Uncover Recipes – Plant seeds and nurture crops to grow, and combine ingredients in the cooking pot to discover tasty new recipes for powerful buffs.
  
  
• Mine Resources – Explore a vast underground cave of never-ending resources. Harvest minerals and discover hidden crystals, fossils and trinkets to help you survive.
  
  
• Craft Items and Equipment – Customise your explorer by crafting new items, armour and equipment to venture further into the cave.
  
  
• Battle Giant Bosses - There are plenty of creatures underground, some are small and some are truly massive! Defeat giant bosses to uncover the secrets of this world.
  

There’s plenty to explore and even more to uncover in Core Keeper, and we’re looking forward to bringing you the perfect blend of mining, farming, crafting, base-building and co-op adventuring within our ambient pixel-art world. We can’t wait to hear what you think when the game launches Steam Early Access. Until then, make sure you visit our Twitter page and don’t forget to join our Discord for news, updates, gameplay and more.

Wishlist Core Keeper NOW!