Warhammer: Vermintide 2 celebrates 7 years of rat bashing with a new versus map and double XP for all players, but its hotly anticipated weapon pack 'won't be coming out this year'

It's preposterous to me that Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is seven years old, when that's so clearly the length of time that has passed since Left4Dead 2 launched. Sadly, Steam, the calendar, and indeed the universe all state that I am wrong, so I suppose I'll just have to go along with Fatshark's celebration of its cooperative Skaven-smasher's seventh birthday.

Headlining the anniversary festivities is the return of the event "A Quiet Drink", a unique, limited time mission in which the Ubersreik five head out into Helmgart in search of a pint (or more specifically, a whole casket of Bugman's brew). Needless to say, this hunt for a laid-back beverage proves anything but relaxing, and chaotic, bloody shenanigans ensue. Although this is a reintroduced level rather than a new one, players who complete it will net themselves a fancy portrait frame themed around something extraordinarily unpleasant being done to a pig.

Arguably more interesting is the addition of a new Versus map, A Grudge Served Cold. This is a reworked version of an existing cooperative map to make it compatible with competitive play. "As always, the Versus version of the map has seen some adjustments to make it fit Versus better, including new objectives and changes to sections of the level," Fatshark explains.

Whether you embark on either of these activities, or pursue something else entirely, you'll get double XP for your characters. The grindy element of Vermintide 2 was one of the things I liked less about it, so if you're of a similar mind and drifted away from the game because of it, now might be the ideal time to jump back in.

These major features are bundled with a patch that makes numerous tweaks and adjustments to various weekly events and expeditions, which you can read in full here.

Fatshark also used the announcement blog to address a somewhat unusual situation regarding an upcoming weapon pack for the game. Apparently, the studio has been teasing this pack in other blogs and announcements, even showing a prototype at one point. The pack was supposed to come out at some point in 2025, but Fatshark writes that "we regret to inform you that it won't be coming out this year."

Normally something as mundane as a weapon pack getting delayed wouldn't be that noteworthy. But since it's only March, something dramatic must have happened for Fatshark to state definitively that the new weapon pack won't be doable between now and December. What this could be, I couldn't possibly speculate, but whatever the problem is, it doesn't appear to have killed the weapon pack completely: Fatshark still seems intent on releasing it at some point. "We’re eager to get these weapons into your hands," the studio writes. "And will keep pushing to make that happen!"

Vermintide 2's seventh anniversary event is playable now, running until Sunday March 16.