Some updates arrive disguised as DLC, while others show up like a gift that comes with a saddle included. Riders of the Underground, the free 1.3 update for Core Keeper, belongs to the latter group: Pugstorm and Fireshine Games rolled it out this September 22, 2026, on PC (Steam and Epic), Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One / Series. No special season passes required to unlock the joy of riding underground. Just the base game and, all of a sudden, tamable livestock, a hookshot, and a mossy sub-biome that feels designed to remind us that the underground sandbox can still surprise without asking for another pre-order.
The star of the patch is as straightforward as its name. Players can finally tame and ride subterranean beasts: craft a Saddle or a Racing Saddle, strap it onto your favorite creature, and the map is no longer measured solely in makeshift bridges. Players can name their mounts and set behaviors to stay, roam, or follow—that domestic trio that turns livestock into tactical companions rather than base-clogging decor. In a title where exploration and logistics fight for the same sliver of attention, being able to gallop changes the pace of expeditions: less backtracking on foot, more of a sense of an interior frontier.
The Hookshot completes this mobility overhaul. When facing pits, water, or drops that previously forced players into mind-numbing bridge-building, now it’s just a matter of aiming, firing, and zipping toward solid ground. It’s the kind of tool that doesn't invent a new genre, but it completely removes a classic friction of vertical mining. Anyone who has lost half an hour shoring up bridges just to cross an absurd gap will understand why Pugstorm frames this as a game changer: it opens up corners of the world that were always "right there," yet never worth the DIY engineering hassle. In cooperative sandboxes, that kind of detail often matters more than another legendary sword.
Within the Forgotten Ruins, the Moss sub-biome makes its debut—a damp, shaded, verdant zone that is home to the Orex, raptor-esque cattle with mount aspirations. This sub-biome isn't just wallpaper: it introduces resources, secrets, and a narrative excuse to revisit ruins that many had written off as "already explored." On top of that come new pets, weapons, armor, accessories, and enemy types, alongside a quality-of-life package focused on summons and vehicle handling. The full changelog reads like a seasonal expansion; the price tag—zero—reads like a studio that prioritizes retention through generosity rather than FOMO.
Coverage from TECHMASH and official Pugstorm/Fireshine channels share the healthiest commercial message possible: the update is 100% free for anyone who already owns Core Keeper. In 2026, that statement is still surprising. The market grew accustomed to slicing content into battle passes, skins, and not-so-"minor expansions." Here, the pitch is the exact opposite: if you're already digging with friends on Switch 2 or an Xbox Series X, 1.3 arrives without an extra toll booth. Cross-platform isn't just a checklist item; it's the declaration that the very same mount exists on the living room couch and the Discord PC.
There is a pleasant irony to the timing. While other studios scramble for November release windows or rewrite entire roadmaps to dodge cultural monoliths, Core Keeper does what it does best: throwing more coal into the underground furnace and letting the community uncover the Moss at its own pace. It doesn't need a three-year mystery campaign. It just needs the hookshot to feel right, the Orex to avoid clipping through walls, and naming your favorite cow not to turn into a seven-click menu ordeal. The rest—social media clips, redesigned bases, impromptu races with the Racing Saddle—will be handled by the players.
What update 1.3 doesn't promise is a complete reinvention of Core Keeper from the ground up. It promises to deepen its core fantasy: a hand-dug world where logistics, combat, and exploration continually reinforce each other. Mounts and the hookshot solve traversal friction; the Moss counters that feeling of a depleted map; new pets and loot fuel the fantasy of shared progression. If the studio maintains this cadence of generous updates, the title will continue to occupy that rare cooperative survival niche that doesn't rely on a battle royale format or a weekly pass to justify a play session. For now, the verifiable news from September 22 is simple and, because of that, effective: Riders of the Underground is now live, it's free, and the underground just picked up serious speed.
Verified sources: TECHMASH (Sep 22, 2026) on the cross-platform launch of Riders of the Underground; Core Keeper 1.3.0.1 Steam announcement; Pugstorm / Fireshine Games official communications (mounts, Hookshot, Moss sub-biome, Orex, QoL).