Valheim was once a Viking battle royale game, and maybe it still will be

My name is Lauren Bergin (there's a middle name in there, but I don't know you that well), and, as you can likely tell, my heritage is Norwegian - I would say that they named a city after my family, but unfortunately it's spelled differently. As a result, I love all things Nordic, and Valheim fits neatly into that box. While the survival genre as a whole doesn't really interest me, Iron Gate's Viking adventure stands as one of its pillars, and having played it once or twice, it's easy to see why. But, back in the beginning, Valheim wasn't supposed to be a survival game; instead, it was a battle royale akin to Apex Legends or, my personal favorite, WoW's Plunderstorm. Imagine how different the gaming world would be.