Finnish virtual reality (VR) developer VRKiwi launched its mining adventure Cave Digger back in 2018 for PC VR headsets followed by Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR support in 2019. Now the team has revealed its working on a sequel with plans to launch the videogame next year.

The studio is planning a bigger, more expansive experience for Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder thanks to the originals success as well as new investment funding the team raised to help develop their publishing business.

“Cave Digger 2 is going to be better in every aspect, we are adding many big features, we have many new resources and the community has provided us great feedback,” says VRKiwi producer Jani Kaipainen in a statement. “It’s going to be a different experience in many ways than the first Cave Digger but we want to keep the original Cave Digger feel, which is unique. We are going to deliver you Cave Digger 2 Early Access later in 2021. Are you looking forward to mining, treasures and dangers with your friends in VR? We are for sure.”

Whilst Cave Digger is based around mining the gameplay offers a few surprises along the way so that its not all about looking for some shiny gemstones. Set in an alternative western universe with a liberal dose of dark humour, you head down the mine shaft pickaxe in hand to find riches in four underground levels. As you do so the choices you make will determine which of nine endings you’ll get.

Along the way you can upgrade your tools either making them more efficient or unlocking new ones like the chaos gauntlet. Updates include The Earthly Arrival which added new mysterious looking statues and more interactive elements in the town. In the summer the team also released a standard PC version.

Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder is still in the early stages of production with the team currently expecting the Early Access release to take place in either Q2 or Q3 2021. As further project updates are released, VRFocus will let you know.