Core Keeper

Core Keeper Riders of the Underground Update (Everything We Know So Far)

Maxine

11 September 2026

20 min read

The Core Keeper Riders of the Underground Update is a free major content update launching September 21, 2026, on PC and consoles. Version 1.3 adds rideable cattle, the Hookshot, a Moss sub-biome, three new pets, Mage and Summoner improvements, new gear and enemies, plus a stack of quality-of-life changes.

Core Keeper is about to give us another very good reason to disappear underground for an entire weekend.

Pugstorm have officially revealed Core Keeper Riders of the Underground, the game's major 1.3 update and the first stop on the previously announced "Road to the Maw." It arrives alongside news that Core Keeper has passed six million players worldwide, and it looks like one of the game's most substantial shake-ups since 1.0.

Mounts are the headline, but that's only the start. There's a new way to cross gaps, another sub-biome to explore, new pets, more equipment and some much-needed love for Mage and Summoner builds.

Here's everything we know so far.

#When Does the Core Keeper Riders of the Underground Update Release?

Core Keeper Riders of the Underground releases on September 21, 2026, as a free update for existing players.

The update is confirmed for:

PC
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch 2
PlayStation 4
PlayStation 5
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S

If you happen to be in Japan, you can try it slightly early. Fireshine has confirmed a playable hands-on at Tokyo Game Show, which runs from September 17 to 21 at Makuhari Messe, so the show floor build goes live days before the rest of us get our hands on it.

#Rideable Mounts Are Finally Coming to Core Keeper

Yes, you can finally ride the cattle.

Mounts are the biggest addition in the Core Keeper Riders of the Underground Update, turning the friendly cattle already wandering around your world into rideable companions. Rather than introducing one highly specific mount, Pugstorm is making every existing type of cattle rideable through a new Saddle item.

#How Do Mounts Work in Core Keeper?

Using a mount sounds refreshingly simple:

Get a Saddle.
Approach the cattle you want to ride.
Place the Saddle on it.
Hop on and start exploring.

You'll also get a dedicated mount interface where you can rename your new travelling buddy and control how it behaves when you're not riding it. Mounts can be told to stay in one location, roam around freely, or follow your character. You can remove the Saddle later as well, returning the creature to its normal cattle status.

It's a small touch, but having your favourite animal trail after you makes mounts feel like companions rather than disposable vehicles.

The bigger deal is travel time. Waypoints only get you so far, and anyone who has jogged back through three biomes of already-cleared tunnel to fetch one stack of ore will understand the appeal.

#The Forgotten Ruins Is Getting a New Moss Sub-Biome

Version 1.3 isn't introducing an entirely separate major biome, but it is adding something new to find within the Forgotten Ruins.

The Moss sub-biome appears in the darker, more humid corners of the ruins, swapping some of the region's stone-heavy scenery for pockets of surprisingly lush greenery. Pugstorm describes it as a cosy, peaceful area with no natural predators, offering a genuine break from the Caveling activity the Forgotten Ruins is known for.

Don't expect complete safety, though. The odd Caveling can still wander in.

#Meet the Orex

The Moss sub-biome also introduces a new breed of cattle called the Orex.

At first glance, these things don't exactly scream "friendly farm animal." Orexes have front-facing eyes, sharp teeth and powerful jaws, giving them the look of some underground raptor that has decided you'd make a decent afternoon snack.

Thankfully, they're much friendlier than they appear. Their diet is entirely critter-based and Pugstorm describes them as typically quite placid. And since every type of cattle becomes rideable in 1.3, the Orex qualifies too - you will be able to strap a Saddle onto your new dinosaur-looking friend and cruise through the underground in style.

That's difficult to argue with.

#Mage and Summoner Builds Are Getting Major Improvements

Magic users haven't been forgotten. Pugstorm says the changes come directly from community feedback on Core Keeper's magic system.

For Mages, the developers have confirmed rebalanced and restructured Magic talents, new staff weapons, and wider adjustments aimed at improving the playstyle.

Summoners are receiving:

Rebalanced and restructured Summoning talents
An entirely new Summoner weapon type
Changes to how summons are spawned
Improvements to summon persistence

That last pair matters more than it sounds. Summon persistence has long been the sticking point for the class, and Pugstorm is deliberately withholding the specifics so players can experiment for themselves.

If you already have a carefully optimised Mage or Summoner character, expect to spend some time re-reading your talent tree once 1.3 lands.

#The Hookshot Gives Exploration a New Twist

Core Keeper has pits. Lots of pits.

Getting across them has always meant finding another route or laying down bridges. Riders of the Underground offers a faster alternative: the Hookshot, which eagle-eyed players may have already spotted in a couple of Pugstorm's social media teasers.

The Hookshot is a new off-hand item that lets you launch yourself across gaps, provided there's something suitable to hook onto. It doesn't completely replace bridges, and you shouldn't expect to Spider-Man your way endlessly across every cavern. It's a fast traversal tool for hopping small chasms and keeping your exploration moving.

Combined with mounts, the theme of update 1.3 is pretty obvious: getting around Core Keeper's world is about to become faster and more flexible.

#Three New Pets Are Joining Core Keeper

Riders of the Underground also introduces three new pets, although Pugstorm has only fully revealed two.

#Hoppet

The Hoppet is a sea-themed companion with ranged attacks that can potentially apply the slippery effect to enemies — useful crowd control rather than just extra damage.

#Azeos Jr

Azeos Jr is a companion from the skies that fires projectile shards and can stun targets, which could make it particularly handy against packs or anything you'd rather keep at arm's length.

Both pets come in different colour combinations to discover. As for the third? Pugstorm is keeping it a surprise, saying only that they hope players love it as much as they do.

#Loads of New Armour, Accessories and Weapons Are Coming

If your storage room somehow isn't already overflowing, version 1.3 should help fix that. Pugstorm has confirmed:

10 new armour pieces
15 new rings
15 new necklaces
New pouches
New weapons
New enemies

The new Mage staves and Summoner weapon type form part of that expanded toolkit, though we don't yet have the full weapon list or stats for individual pieces.

For build-crafting fans, 30 new rings and necklaces alone open up a serious number of combinations. Conveniently, another new feature makes that theorycrafting much easier.

#Quality-of-Life Changes Could Be Some of 1.3's Best Features

Sometimes the best changes are the ones that quietly remove annoyances you've been living with for dozens of hours.

The standout is the ability to compare gear, making it far easier to tell whether a shiny new drop is actually an upgrade. There's also a new key bind for cycling through loadouts, which should speed up swapping between setups.

Other confirmed changes include:

Customisable cursor indicators
Customisable crosshair indicators
Resizable paintbrush areas
Balance adjustments
Improved go-kart turning, inertia and handbrake

There's one more very welcome fix for players who travel by vehicle. If you die while riding a boat, mine cart or go-kart, the vehicle now returns to your inventory instead of stranding itself wherever you fell.

No more awkward rescue mission just to recover your transport.

#What Is the Road to the Maw?

This is the context that makes 1.3 more interesting than a standalone content drop.

The Road to the Maw is a trilogy of major updates. Pugstorm originally planned it as one enormous release (described as Core Keeper's crowning glory) but split it into three so players wouldn't have to wait years to see any of it.

1.3 - Riders of the Underground: the traversal and systems update launching September 21.
1.4 - Trials of the Depths: pitched as "experience the game, harder than ever," built around depth and mastery for veterans and thrill-seekers.
1.5 - Beyond the Breach: the payoff, adding an all-new biome that finally reveals what lies beyond Breaker's Reach.

A minor update, 1.3.1, is slated to follow later this year. Pugstorm calls Beyond the Breach a pivotal moment in the game, so if you've been sitting on that mysterious item from S.A.H.A.B.A.R, it may eventually have a purpose.

Neither 1.4 nor 1.5 has a date yet.

#What Does Riders of the Underground Mean for Multiplayer?

Core Keeper has always been at its best when a few friends turn a carefully planned base into absolute organisational chaos, and several of the 1.3 features play especially well with up to eight players.

Mounts give everyone another way to cover ground between bases and farms, while the Hookshot should smooth out group exploration when your team hits awkward terrain. New equipment, pets and class changes also give established groups a decent excuse to rethink everyone's role before heading back out.

If the update has you planning a fresh world with friends, running your own persistent server means people can keep mining and building even when the whole group isn't online. Affordable Core Keeper server hosting with Shockbyte is an easy way to keep that shared adventure running whenever your crew wants to jump back in.

#What Hasn't Been Revealed Yet?

Despite everything Pugstorm has announced, we still don't have the full picture. The developers have called the current reveal the "tip of the iceberg," with complete details coming in the launch patch notes.

Still unknown:

The identity and abilities of the third new pet
The complete list of new weapons
Stats and effects for the new rings and necklaces
Details of the 10 armour pieces
The exact Mage and Summoner balance changes
New enemy types

There's also an interesting gap worth watching. When the Road to the Maw roadmap went live in August, Pugstorm teased progression rebalancing and a new legendary item as part of 1.3. Neither appeared in the September reveal. Both may simply be saved for the patch notes, but neither is confirmed right now.

Which is the thing to keep in mind before launch: plenty is confirmed, but anything outside Pugstorm's own announcements is speculation until the 1.3 patch notes land.

#Is Core Keeper Riders of the Underground Free?

Yes. Core Keeper Riders of the Underground is a free content update for Core Keeper players on PC and consoles.

You only need the base game. There is no separate Riders of the Underground expansion to buy.

That makes the amount of confirmed content fairly impressive, and it continues a strong run of free major updates after 1.1 "Bags & Blasts" in March 2025 and 1.2 Void and Voltage Core Keeper updated this January.

#Is Core Keeper Riders of the Underground Worth Coming Back For?

If you haven't played Core Keeper for a while, September 21 looks like a great time to return.

Mounts and the Hookshot directly affect something you'll spend a huge portion of the game doing: exploring. The Moss sub-biome gives established worlds something new to hunt for, while fresh gear, pets, enemies and class changes give experienced players real reasons to revisit their builds.

And Core Keeper Riders of the Underground isn't an isolated content drop. It's the first stop on a three-update road leading to Beyond the Breach, so the six-million-strong community has plenty left to look forward to after 1.3.

For now, get your base organised, clear some storage space and decide which unfortunate piece of cattle is becoming your personal taxi.

Core Keeper Riders of the Underground launches September 21, 2026, for PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

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