Patch 1.4.5 in the sandbox survival game Terraria (97% positive on Steam) is coming soon and could be one of the last major updates for the game. Or maybe not, as the developers have been saying for years.
What kind of game is this? Terraria is a 2D survival sandbox with a pixel look. On Steam, it has a 97% rating of “overwhelmingly positive” and continues to captivate thousands of players even 12 years after its release. With 56,600 concurrent players, it currently ranks 20th among the most played games on Steam (via Steam Charts). The game can sometimes be quite nasty.
The next major update is coming with Patch 1.4.5 – the developers actually intended to stop 8 years ago.
Journey’s End could have been the final update as well.
There is a last time for everything
What is the deal with the “last update”? Ted “Loki” Murphy from Re-Logic, the developer and publisher of Terraria, revealed to PC Gamer that they actually planned to stop in 2015. It was intended that 1.3 would be the last update.
The update at that time brought numerous changes, including revamped NPCs, achievements, expert mode, and more than 800 new items. But Re-Logic was not done yet: “We had all these cool ideas – outstanding bills, so to speak.”
Five years later, the “Journey’s End” update could have signaled the end of the journey fittingly. Initially, it was meant to be just a small update, but somehow it turned into 40 pages of patch notes with new modes, bosses, the bestiary, and golf.
In 2022, Re-Logic added the “Labor of Love” update to thank fans for the eponymous Steam Award. Ironically, the award was given for the fact that the game still receives new content years after its release.
Murphy says the update was truly driven by the fans: “We received so many suggestions and inspirations from those very fans during the update. We do not take this award or the people behind it lightly.”
Re-Logic: “We never say never”
What’s in the upcoming update? With 1.4.5, Terraria is set to receive its very last update this year, really this time. Re-Logic is still not revealing much about the content, except that it mainly focuses on the crossover with the roguelite metroidvania Dead Cells.
In typical Terraria fashion, however, it seems to have grown into something much bigger. Murphy states that the “outstanding bills” have motivated the team to give it their all once again. However, he also acknowledges that “the game feels very complete at this point.”
Despite the ongoing success of Terraria and the active fan community, Murphy feels it will eventually feel right to start working on a second project. However, he has not disclosed what kind of project that will be, only that it could allow for the implementation of ideas that wouldn’t work in Terraria.
When is the update coming? This is still unknown. In a State of the Game, Re-Logic revealed that they are hopefully in the final stage of development. The contents are reportedly almost finished, but they are currently still working on fixes and balancing.
How long this will take is still uncertain as it depends on how many issues they find and how difficult they are to fix.
Whether this will indeed be the very last major update for Terraria is also unclear. “We have been at this point before, so we never say never,” Murphy says.
By the way, Terraria is still 50% off in the current Steam Sale until July 13. There are also discounts on a nasty game that makes Twitch streamers despair.
