Its the one youve all been waiting for, Explorers Core Keepers Paws & Claws Update will be coming your way on May 10th 2023! This major content update features a brand-new Meadow sub-biome complete with cattle, as well as hatchable animal companions to help you on your adventure. With plenty of new mechanics and features for you to uncover, as well as new decorative items and materials (like glass!), we know youre gonna have a blast with this one. Players can also expect improvements to combat and a whole host of community-requested features such as more rotatable objects and the coveted bucket. Dont take our word for it, though, check out our trailer below! [previewyoutube=J3AHHSdTaHk;full][/previewyoutube] Theres a lot of enjoyment to be had when exploring the underground, but we think the idea of having living creatures that follow the player and interact with the world around them breathes even more life into the game! The entire team had so much fun working on this update, and were really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this one. There are just two more weeks to go until you can frolic with the Moolin, raise your very own pet pal, build a base made entirely of glass, and paint the town pink (or one of the other new paintbrush colours well be introducing).

Animal Companions

This wouldnt be the Paws & Claws update without the paws and claws (and other appendages). Were excited to announce that were adding 5 different varieties of pets, each with multiple colour variations, and 3 different types of cattle to the game! Pet eggs can be found in various locations throughout the Core Keeper map, placed in the incubator, and then hatched into companions that can be equipped to aid players in battle via a dedicated pet inventory slot. Find out more about each individual pet below

Subterrier

A canine companion that is out to smite your enemies, endlessly lick his paws and, in general, just be a good pal! The Subterrier is a dog-like companion that will follow you into battle and defend you from trouble with its powerful jaws. With a chance to stun enemies, leaving them wide open for a well-timed hit of your sword, its no wonder they call Subterriers an Explorers best friend!

Embertail

Spontaneous and impulsive in nature, this pet is as fierce in battle as it is at clawing at furniture. But also incredibly cuddly. Dont let the Embertails fluffy fur and adorable toe beans fool you, this cat-like creature can really turn up the heat in battle with its fiery ranged attack. Its bright eyes also provide a useful +2 glow so that you can avoid being snuck up on by dastardly Cavelings in some of the darker parts of the underground.

Fanhare

This feather-eared rodent is an able companion, making up for its size by swinging poisonous, sturdy hair into the enemy. The Fanhares big floppy ears and bunny-rabbit appearance make the temptation to cuddle and pet this creature almost unbearablebut think twice before you snuggle up to its poisonous pelt! With a ranged attack that can hit multiple targets and the chance to apply poison damage, the Fanhare is very much a look-but-dont-touch companion.

Owlux

A swift, beaked ally thats too shy to directly head into battle. But it certainly has your back when weapons clash! The Owlux is an adorable bird-type creature that flies overhead to keep a watchful eye on you. With no offensive powers of its own, the Owlux offers a movement speed and damage buff to aid its master in combat.

Jr Slimes!

Baby Slimes in a variety of colours, each dealing damage associated with their fully-grown counterparts! We here at Pugstorm sure do love our Slimes, and there have been A LOT of community requests for pet Slimes since we launched in Early Access. Well, your requests have been answered! Choose from the oozy Jr Orange Slime, the poisonous Jr Purple Slime, the slippery Jr Blue Slime, and the scorching Jr Lava Slime!

Introducing Creative Mode

Is building your favourite part of Core Keeper? Then youll be pleased to know that you can build to your hearts content in our upcoming Creative Mode! No more hunting for crafting materials or upgrading equipment, simply start a world in Creative Mode, open the Creative Mode UI and choose from building materials, creatures, consumables, environmental objects, equipment, valuables, seasonal items, and more! This new mode is completely separate from the standard version of the game and will require players to create dedicated Creative-Mode characters that are only playable in Creative-Mode worlds. Creative Mode comes complete with its very own togglable God Mode too. When enabled, this mode allows players to move through objects, destroy objects in one hit, and place objects much faster than normal. Items do not drop from destroyed objects in God Mode, but objects are also not consumed when used in this mode! The final Creative Mode feature we want to talk about is the Play world button. When toggled, this button stops creatures and objects from moving or performing any actions. This essentially switches off the enemy AI and stops anything unexpected from getting in the way of your creativity!

Our First Piece of Official Merchandise

Deep in the Forgotten Ruins lives a strange race of underground creatures, shut off from the surface world until now. Introducing our first piece of official Core Keeper Merchandise the Caveling plushie! Were working with the talented folk at Makeship to create these cuddly Cavelings, and well be sharing lots more information on how you can get your hands on one soon. Until then, we hope youll enjoy some pictures of this little guy on his above-ground adventures!
Prototype image may not fully reflect final design

Changes to the Pricing of Core Keeper

You might recall we mentioned some changes to the price of Core Keeper that would be coming soon after the Paws & Claws Update is live. The price will change at 09.00 am UTC on the 29th of May and this will not impact users who have already purchased the game in any way. Its challenging to quantify the price increase as a flat percentage since the pricing for the game differs slightly from region to region, so were sharing a couple of key price points below to give you an idea of what to expect. Updated Price in GBP = 12.99 Updated Price in USD = $15.99 Updated Price in Euros = 15,99 Updated Price in CNY = 62 RMB Updated Price in JPY = 1,800 Updated Price in KRW = 17,500 Updated Price in THB = 330 Before we make any changes, however, we wanted to give new players one last chance to pick up Core Keeper at its lowest price point. Thats why, from the day the Paws & Claws update goes live, up until 05.00 pm UTC on the 22nd of May, youll be able to grab Core Keeper at 20% off its current price point!

Just 2 Weeks to Go!

Weve been teasing some of the new content you can expect with the Paws & Claws Update over on Twitter, and well be showcasing a little more of it as we approach the release date, so make sure youre following us for more previews of whats to come. Were very excited and we think these next two weeks will fly byand then its straight to work on the Crystal Biome! As always, youre welcome to chat about updates with your fellow Explorers over on our Twitter, Discord, and Steam Discussions.