Core Keeper, the mining sandbox adventure from developer Pugstorm that supports 1 to 8 players, launched its 1.3 update titled Riders of the Underground on September 21, 2026. The update is the first stop on the Road to the Maw roadmap, which also lists Trials of the Depths 1.4 and Beyond the Breach 1.5 as future major content updates.
Mounts and a new grappling tool
The Saddle feature lets players turn ordinary cattle into rideable mounts. Placing a Saddle on a cow converts it into a mount, and a Racing Saddle is also available. A new Saddle UI allows players to rename mounts and adjust their behaviour when not being ridden, while removing the saddle returns the animal to its former cattle status. The new Hookshot works as a grappling item that latches onto solid surfaces such as walls and pulls players over pits and water, with the Hookshot and Gilded Hookshot as the two available versions.
The Moss sub-biome, pets and enemies
A Moss sub-biome now appears among the Forgotten Ruins as a dark, humid, lush ecosystem. It is home to the Orex, a docile raptor-like cattle creature that eats insects and snuffles Moorshrooms. New pets include the frog-like Hoppet, Azeos Jr, and a surprise pet players must discover themselves, each with its own powers, mannerisms, and colour variations; a third pet can be found in The Desert of Beginnings. The Wingling and Searpent are the new enemies added in this update.
New gear, boss loot and quality of life
For combat, the update adds the Corrosion Staff, Blizzard Staff, and Sniper Rifle, plus a new Scepter weapon type for the Warlock playstyle with 7 available including a Legendary variant. Ten new armor pieces, 15 rings, and 15 necklaces join the item pool, and the bosses Azeos the Sky Titan, Omoroth the Sea Titan, and Ra-Akar the Sand Titan now drop new loot chests. Four new achievements are included. Quality-of-life changes cover a key bind to cycle loadouts, gear comparison, an adjustable paint brush area up to 5×5, and cursor and crosshair customization in the Options menu. Minions now persist indefinitely instead of expiring, with 2 new Summoning skill tree talents and a craftable Training Dummy. Boats, minecarts, and go-karts no longer transfer to the player’s grave on death, and a handbrake button was added to go-karts.
Core Keeper shares its underground co-op space with a busy crop of indie mining games. Our coverage of Gone Digging looks at a 1 to 4 player co-op digging game targeting a Q2 2027 launch, while Delverium pairs farming with dungeon crawling ahead of its Steam Early Access launch.
