Terraria 1.4.5 — dubbed the Bigger and Boulder Update — is finally here, and it's welcoming in thousands of new and returning players alike.
According to SteamDB, up until the new update, Terraria averaged around 20-30,000 players at any one time, with the occasional spike in interest when new content dropped over the years.
1.4.5, however, has seen one of the biggest spikes in over a decade, hitting a release day peak of almost 165,000 players on Valve's platform. This is second only to the release of Update 1.4 in May 2020, although that coincided with lockdown, of course, which gave millions of gamers around the world a little more time to play.
The true number of players will be even higher, given Terraria is also available on console and mobile, and 1.4.5 was released across platforms at the same time. The console and mobile makers do not make player numbers public.
"So, 'Bigger & Boulder!', why 'Bigger & Boulder' you ask? Beyond a good bit of additional content, a lot of effort with this update went into rounding out and expanding on existing experiences," developer Re-Logic said in a post on Steam. "Things like making inventory management and crafting easier than ever. We expanded upon secret world seeds – something that we feel greatly expands the replayability/freshness of the game – while also making them more accessible than ever before. We also had a focus on improving things like atmosphere on top of our continual polish/quality of life/balance efforts – which is getting harder and harder as Terraria gets bigger!
"Oh, and you might encounter some new boulders… or existing boulders in new ways. Don't say we didn't warn you!
"As always, we never share everything that is in each update – not even in the "full" changelog. Part of the fun is in the discovery! Good luck and happy adventuring, Terrarians!"
Terraria is pretty old at this point; IGN reviewed it 15 years ago(!), way back in 2011. Even then, though, we thought it was amazing, scoring it 9/10 and writing: "Though on the surface it looks like just another 'me too' indie game seeking to ride the coattails of Minecraft's success, Terraria expands on the familiar sandbox gameplay with a greater emphasis on combat and adventure that proves very satisfying. That's rare indeed."
We have the full — and very long! — rundown of the patch notes below, courtesy of the Terraria forum, but be very cautious, as there may be some unmarked spoilers here!
Terraria Bigger and Boulder 1.4.5 Patch Notes:
Seeds
Items
NPCs
World
Wiring & Mechanisms
Tooltips & Clarifications
Journey Mode
Quality of Life
UI Changes
Gamepad Improvements
Art & Visuals
Audio
Localization
Performance/Modding
Crashes & Major Issues
Player
Items
Bosses, Invasions & Events
Enemies
Villagers
Blocks & Furniture
World
World Generation
UI
Camera Mode
Visual Issues
Audio
Localization
Miscellaneous
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
