New co-op dungeon crawler from a trio of Valheim devs sees you face the scariest enemy of them all: the taxman

You can face some pretty terrifying foes in dungeon crawlers - hellish beasts, skeletal warriors, Greek gods, and more have all stood between you and a treasure trove of loot. But in Begraved, the newly revealed co-op game from a trio of Valheim devs, your main enemy has a name that will send shivers down any spine - the Taxman.

In Begraved, you play as a Gravebound, a professional heister focused not on banks or art galleries, but cursed tombs and crypts that lie beneath a dark, mysterious city. Packed with traps, puzzles, and hazards, navigating these tombs is a dangerous profession, and it's not like you'll be well-equipped for the job. With a small inventory, you'll have to balance bringing in the necessary tools to survive the tombs and the space you want to save for loot. Before entering a dungeon, you can visit the Shopkeeper to sell your haul from your previous run and buy new gear. However, make sure you've always got some coin spare…

That's because every five days, the Taxman will visit. If you don't have enough money to pay his cut, you'll be sent to the gallows. Exactly what that means in gameplay terms, I don't know at this stage - a full character wipe where you have to start fresh? A debuff for future runs? It's a mystery at the moment.

While you can play solo, Begraved will have co-op support for up to five players in a single party. As well as clearing dungeons, you'll also have a hideout that you can customize with items you find on your adventures. Pets can be found or unlocked too, bringing a dash of cuteness to this otherwise grizzly and dark world.

As mentioned above, some rather prominent developers that work on one of the best survival games around, Valheim, are the brains behind Begraved. Interestingly, it doesn't fall under the remit of Iron Gate, despite the involvement of Valheim's creative director Robin Eyre, VP of problem-solving and studio ops Emilia Oscarsson, and designer and QA manager Andreas Tomasson. Instead, it appears to be a side project under the banner of Grip Jaw - Eyre describes it as a "little evening project" away from their duties at Iron Gate. It's an interesting and unusual thing to see active developers doing, especially given Valheim is still working its way towards a full 1.0 release and non-compete clauses are commonplace in a lot of contracts these days.

While the devs say that Begraved won't be launching in early access this year, that moment isn't "too far off," which sounds a lot like early 2026 to me.

Following the reveal of Begraved, Grip Jaw has also immediately opened up playtesting opportunities. You can wishlist Begraved and sign up to its debut playtest on its Steam page here.

For more, check out some of the best multiplayer games that you can also enjoy alongside your pals. For a look at what else is on the horizon, our upcoming PC games guide is the place to be.