Wube Software helped pioneer the factory-building genre when it debuted Factorio, which, much like the factories players build in the game, gradually expanded into a full-blown obsession for a sizable fan base. Factorio’s gameplay is the definition of “easy to learn, hard to master,” as players begin by building simple conveyor systems that bring resources from one place to another before gradually developing incredibly complex factories that are capable of building more factories. The game’s satisfying progression fueled by automation has inspired tons of other factory simulation games like Satisfactory, Dyson Sphere Program, and Captain of Industry.

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In this week’s Friday Facts blog post, Factorio announced a new sales milestone having reached over 3.5 million copies sold since the game’s Steam release in 2016. The game has managed to sell around 500,000 copies each year since then, which is an incredible achievement for a niche indie game. Wube Software says that this milestone also serves to validate its “no sales” policy. Factorio is committed to never running sales on its game, maintaining a constant $30 USD price tag year-round. The developers have stated that this is out of respect for players who have invested in the game. Sales may help numbers in the short term, the developers have noted, but in the long term, games see lower numbers for months after a sale as customers turn to third-party resellers.

Factorio joined other games porting to Nintendo Switch this year, selling over 40,000 copies on the platform. The game is apparently quite popular in Japan, as 40% of its Nintendo Switch sales originated there. Following the release of the Nintendo Switch port, controller support is now being worked on for PC and Steam Deck, while keyboard and mouse support compatibility will come to the Nintendo Switch version in the future.

Mods for Factorio also had a successful year, with over 638,000 players downloading mods around 41 million times. The game hosts a highly active modding community, featuring over 1,200 active modders creating thousands of mods that change the game in various ways. Although details of the upcoming expansion have been sparse, a holiday greeting card shown in the recap shows a sneak peek at some new item icons.

Factorio is available on PC and Nintendo Switch.

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Source: Factorio