4 December 2025

Bellwright Details Big New Update Coming on December 9

By newsgame

Publisher Snail Games USA has just confirmed that Bellwright, the open world survival RPG set in the medieval era, is getting a major update on December 9. Bellwright‘s upcoming update will feature a large new map, new story quests, new progression systems, and a suite of other new features and quality-of-life improvements.

Being developed by Donkey Crew, Bellwright originally came to Steam Early Access in April 2024, where it remains almost 20 months later. Though Bellwright‘s 1.0 release is still likely a fair way off, players can already enjoy a wealth of gameplay features such as skill-based directional combat, the ability to command armies during large battles, and crafting systems that let players improve their own character and their troops. Bellwright also features the beginnings of a main questline, whereby the player-character is framed for the murder of a prince and embarks on an ambitious journey to build an army large enough to usurp the corrupt monarchs that are oppressing the land and its people.

Bellwright Getting Major ‘Maiden Voyage’ Update on December 9

On December 9, 2025, Bellwright will be receiving the ‘Maiden Voyage’ update. While Bellwright has had plenty of updates over the past 20 months, none have been quite as large as this upcoming Maiden Voyage content drop, with it set to add the following features to the early access Steam RPG:

New Halmare Isles map, which is roughly 25% of the size of Bellwright‘s base game map
New story-based quests with multiple progression lines
New armor and equipment
New animals
New buildings
New Loyalty and Faction system
A new Trade and Caravans feature
Full controller support
Improved Wall Fortification system
Overhauled Character Creator
New Weapon Types and Cloaks
Blocking Markers introduced during building

By far the most exciting and greatest addition in Bellwright‘s Maiden Voyage update is the new Halmare Isles map and all of its included content, such as new story quests, new loot, new town building features, and a new Loyalty and Faction system. But on top of this wealth of new gameplay content, Bellwright‘s upcoming update is also adding long-awaited customization features, with an overhauled Character Creator being the most notable.

In Snail Games USA’s official press release for Bellwright‘s Maiden Voyage update, Creative Director and Project Lead Florian Hoffreither talks a little about the game’s ongoing success, and how this new update is the culmination of everything the development team has been working on since Bellwright‘s early access launch in 2024:

“Since entering into Early Access last year, Bellwright has received over a million wishlists largely due to the constant updates and direct communication our team has had with players. Maiden Voyage’ is really taking the feedback that we’ve received over the last year and improving the game in all aspects. The icing on the cake is we get to introduce an entirely new setting and continent to explore. We’re looking forward to hearing what you think of this Maiden Voyage update as we continue to stride towards our 1.0 launch!”

While developer Donkey Crew hasn’t officially given Bellwright a 1.0 release window, the game’s early access description on Steam says that early access is set to last for around three years. If this timeframe is still accurate, and if Bellwright‘s development continues smoothly, then its 1.0 release could be sometime before April 2027. Of course, developing a video game – especially one as ambitious as this open world survival RPG – is rarely an exact science, and fans shouldn’t take this three-year goal as a promise.

That said, Bellwright has been progressing through its early access journey at a very consistent rate. Since April 2024, Bellwright has received well over 40 hotfixes, patches, and updates, with there rarely being a month over the last year and a half that didn’t see some kind of new content or improvement come to the game. If gamers like the sound of Bellwright‘s Kingdom Come: Deliverance-like gameplay and narrative, and want to try out the core game before the Maiden Voyage update drops on December 9, then they can pick up Bellwright on Steam for $19.79, which is currently 34% lower than its usual price of $23.99.