Factory building game Factorio has sold 3.5 million copies, developer Wube Software reports in its year-end update. It’s an incredible confirmation of success for a game that would be politely described as niche interest for mainstream gaming.
“This year we hit another sales milestone, with 3.5 million sales this Christmas. We still have steady and consistent sales of about 500,000 per year, which in hindsight validates the original no-sale policy we committed to held since we launched on Steam in 2016,” said Wube in a blog post (opens in new tab).
The same post includes an expansion teaser image, a few minor development updates, and a summary of Wube’s mod portal feature stats. Wube Software also announced that it is still working hard on porting the game new console controls (opens in new tab) to the PC version for both folks on full-size rigs and mobile PCs like the Steam Deck.
Alongside the announcement, Wube Software also posted a small teaser for the Factorio expansion. A “Christmas card” created by the studio features “a preview of some new item icons”. What are the new things? Not a certainty in a game that includes technologies as diverse as wood-burning steam engines, petroleum chemical refining, and nuclear fission, but I’ll speculate anyway.
Dealing with hot, liquid metals is nothing in Factorio, but that red icon looks a lot like some sort of blast furnace, and it’s actively pouring red-hot liquid. In addition, there is a sealed chamber that can be used for vacuum processes, and a spherical assembly inside a larger device crackling with electricity that to me bears more than a passing resemblance to the theoretical containment of the fusion reactor.
After the latest teaser (opens in new tab)more than a few fans have speculated that the creature on display must somehow be in the water, and so the expansion must include exploring (and exploiting) the seas of Factorio’s planet.
If you’re a hardcore Factorio head, or a game modding enthusiast, go see the full post (opens in new tab) for a look at the stats, including the rather shocking revelation that over 25% of Factorio mods have 2,000 or more downloads.