Manor Lords' next big patch will finally let you eat your sheep, which is great news for anyone who ended up with way too many

A screenshot of some sheep in a field in Manor Lords.
(Image credit: Slavic Magic)

Manor Lords' forthcoming update will let you turn your "surplus" livestock into meat and hides, which is great for anyone with too many cows or sheep to handle.

We've been hearing plenty about Manor Lords' next patch for a fair few weeks now. Chiefly, this is the huge update that's going to switch the city-builder to Unreal Engine 5, while simultaneously introducing the oft-requested fishing ponds, as well as rolling out the introduction of crossbows as another ranged option for the battlefield.

So, a lot, then. Revealing yet another feature for the new Manor Lords patch in the tweet below, developer Slavic Magic announces that you'll be able to turn "surplus" livestock into 'meat' and 'hides.' So effectively, you'll be able to consume any surplus sheep you've got hanging around, or take cows and turn them into hides with which to barter. 

"Does this mean we can eat sheep now???" inquires one Manor Lords player in the responses to the tweet, to which Slavic Magic simply responds with a "yep." Manor Lords does pride itself on being somewhat historically accurate for its time period setting, so eating livestock like sheep and cows slot pretty seamlessly into a game like this. 

Sheep have actually been a surprising problem for some Manor Lords players of late. Back in May, for example, one player defied Slavic Magic's advise and bred 2,100 sheep and counting, leading to them understandably drowning in wool. It turns out sheep could breed exponentially in Manor Lords, which lead to Slavic Magic issuing some of the best patch notes of 2024 in an attempt to counter the issue and cap sheep breeding to one new calf per ten days.

Just recently, Slavic Magic proposed something very positive for its players - if you run out of things to do in a game, simply put it down and come back later when there's new stuff to enjoy. The Manor Lords dev believes it's perfectly fine to put a game down and walk away for a while, which is actually something that Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki Yoshida has been speaking about in similar tones for years.

Check out our Manor Lords trade route guide for an overview of how to establish trade routes as seamlessly as possible.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.