Core Keeper Updates in 2025: Bags and Blasts, Crossovers, and Void and Voltage

Core Keeper launched its 1.0 release in 2024, but 2025 proved that the underground mining adventure was just getting started. Developer Pugstorm delivered two major free updates, a cross-game collaboration, and a steady stream of seasonal content throughout the year.

Bags and Blasts (March 2025)

The first major post-launch update, Bags and Blasts (version 1.1.0), arrived on March 10, 2025, and added a substantial amount of content across combat, inventory management, and exploration.

New Boss: Nimruza, Queen of the Burrowed Sands

Nimruza resides in the Desert of Beginnings biome, inside a new sub-biome called the Oasis. The fight introduces unique mechanics that reward positioning and dodge timing. Defeating Nimruza unlocks new crafting recipes and progression pathways.

Explosives Skill Tree

An entirely new skill tree centered on Explosives was added, containing 8 new skills. Four new bomb types and a new grenade throwable category let players stun, poison, charm, and ignite enemies. This opens up a dedicated demolitions playstyle that works well in multiplayer groups where one player can specialize in area-of-effect damage.

Inventory Overhaul

One of the most requested quality-of-life features arrived in the form of Pouches, which come in different sizes and expand your carrying capacity. A new hotbar system makes swapping items faster, and quick stacking lets you sort items into nearby chests with a single action. These changes dramatically reduce time spent managing inventory, especially on busy multiplayer servers.

Additional Content

New enemies: Cicadas in Azeos Wilderness and inside Nimruza’s dungeon.
New cattle: The Drohmble, found roaming the Oasis. They eat crops and produce Blasting Dung, a crafting material for explosives.
Over 35 new equipment pieces, including armor, accessories, and weapons.
Mage and Warlock playstyle expansions with new features for magic-focused builds.

Abiotic Factor Crossover (April 2025)

On April 2, Core Keeper launched a crossover event with Abiotic Factor, the survival game from Deep Field Games. A new dungeon scene, the Abiotic Factor Facility, now generates in the Forgotten Ruins biome.

The crossover introduced:

Electro-Pet: A new companion you can tame inside the facility.
Electro-Pest: Cybernetically augmented enemies with electrical quill attacks.
Weapons: Pipe Club and Quill Rifle.
Researcher Armor: A full armor set themed after Abiotic Factor’s lab aesthetic.
Decoratives and food items: Vending machines, water coolers, and various branded snack items including Rootbear, Kizz Cola, and Mug of Coffee.

The crossover worked in both directions. Abiotic Factor received “The Encroachment,” a Core Keeper-themed area with larva hive enemies and items.

Seasonal and Minor Updates

Pugstorm kept the content pipeline active between major updates:

January: The Core Keeper Digital Soundtrack launched on Steam, featuring 42 compositions by Jonathan Geer.
March: A Lunar New Year seasonal update added the Folding Screen, Lucky Cat, and Potted Tree with Red Envelopes.
May: A patch addressed Pet Beds, cattle color variations, and improvements to Warlock and Summoner builds.
August: A dedicated server update enabled cross-storefront multiplayer, allowing PC players on Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and the Microsoft Store to play together on the same server.

The August cross-play update is particularly important for server hosts, as it dramatically expands the pool of players who can connect to your server regardless of where they purchased the game.

Void and Voltage (January 2026)

Announced in late 2025, the Void and Voltage update (version 1.2.0) launched on January 28, 2026, as a free content drop that significantly expanded the endgame.

Breaker’s Reach Biome

A new mechanical biome called Breaker’s Reach is filled with robotic enemies: Chargers, Patrollers, and Swarmers guard corridors of valuable materials used to craft new weapons, tools, armor, and electronics.

S.A.H.A.B.A.R Boss

The biome’s boss, S.A.H.A.B.A.R, is a towering robot with precision energy beams and multi-phase attack patterns. This is one of the most mechanically demanding fights in the game, designed for coordinated multiplayer groups.

Void Sub-Biome

Spacetime distortions have created void-touched versions of existing biomes. Void Larvae, Void Cavelings, Void Shaman, and Void Brutes populate these corrupted zones with new attacks including explosive flames, arcane beams, and lightning orbs.

Automation and Crafting

The Advanced Automation Table unlocks new machines: Robot Farm Arm, Seed Extractor Machine, Shredder, and Critter Catcher. New weapons include a Flamethrower and Minigun. Echo Maps help players locate important generated structures, a highly requested feature.

Challenge Arenas

Seventeen unique challenge arenas offer repeatable endgame content for groups looking for structured difficulty.

What This Means for Server Hosts

Every update in this list is free, which means any Core Keeper dedicated server running the latest version gets all of this content automatically. The cross-storefront multiplayer update from August 2025 is a game-changer for server communities, and the endgame depth added by Void and Voltage gives veteran groups a reason to keep playing.

If you are looking to host a Core Keeper server, Reactor offers instant deployment with automatic updates, so your group can jump into the latest content the moment it drops.