Factorio
Factorio is a real-time strategy video game focused on automation and factory building, developed and published by the Czech studio Wube Software.[1] In the game, players assume the role of an engineer who crash-lands on an alien planet and must harvest resources, research technologies, construct infrastructure, and automate production lines to survive attacks from native alien creatures known as biters, ultimately aiming to build and launch a rocket containing a satellite payload into space as the victory condition, or in the case of the Space Age DLC, construct a space platform capable of reaching the edge of the solar system, and by extension get a snapshot of your save uploaded to the Galaxy of Fame.[1][2][3][4] The core gameplay emphasizes logistics, optimization, and scaling up industrial processes in a procedurally generated dimetric 2D world, with modular systems for belts, assemblers, trains, and more to create complex supply chains.[1] This describes the default Freeplay mode, while other modes such as scenarios and tutorials may have different objectives.[5] Originally entering early access on Steam in February 2016, Factorio achieved its full 1.0 release on August 14, 2020, after over eight years of development starting in 2012.[1][6] Wube Software, based in Prague, continued post-launch support with free updates, a robust modding community via an official portal, and the paid expansion Factorio: Space Age released on October 21, 2024, which introduces interplanetary travel, new biomes, and advanced mechanics like quality items and space platforms.[7] The game has been ported to platforms including Nintendo Switch in 2022, is available DRM-free on GOG, via direct purchase from the official website, and by linking a Steam account to download from the official website. GOG purchases also grant a code redeemable on the official website to establish ownership, which is required for multiplayer and downloading mods from the official repository. It was announced for Nintendo Switch 2 in October 2025.[8][9][10][11][12][13] As of December 2022, Factorio had sold over 3.5 million copies across PC and console versions; estimates as of late 2025 indicate over 6 million copies sold on Steam alone, with total sales likely higher including non-Steam platforms.[14][15] The game has earned widespread acclaim for its depth and addictiveness, with a 97.1% positive rating from 219,614 user reviews on Steam (as of December 2025).[16]Gameplay
Core Mechanics
In Factorio, the player begins as an engineer whose spaceship has crash-landed on the alien planet Nauvis, tasked with surviving and constructing an automated factory to launch a rocket into space as the base game's ultimate objective, with expansions providing further endgame content. This survival loop emphasizes bootstrapping from manual labor to vast industrial automation, where the player must gather resources, craft items, and expand production while managing environmental challenges. The game unfolds in a top-down 2D view, with the character able to move freely across a procedurally generated world composed of biomes like forests, deserts, and swamps, each yielding different resources, and additional biomes on other planets introduced in the Space Age expansion. Resource gathering forms the foundation of progression, starting with manual mining of basic ores such as iron, copper, stone, and coal using a pickaxe from the player's limited inventory. Automation quickly becomes essential: electric mining drills extract resources continuously when powered and placed over ore patches, feeding them onto transport belts—endless conveyor systems that move items directionally at speeds up to 45 items per second for express belts in the base game, or 60 items per second for turbo belts in the Space Age expansion. Inserters, robotic arms, then transfer items between belts, machines, or storage chests, enabling scalable supply chains to operate without player intervention. For example, a simple iron plate production line might involve miners outputting ore to a furnace via belts and inserters, smelting it into plates for further crafting. Crafting evolves from manual crafting in the player's inventory, where the player selects recipes to assemble basic items like belts or inserters if ingredients are available, to advanced assembly machines that automate recipes with multiple inputs and outputs, such as producing electronic circuits from copper cable and iron plates. These machines require power and can be upgraded with modules to increase speed or efficiency, which supports the creation of scalable and modular factory layouts. Logistic networks expand this through belts, trains for long-distance transport (unlocked via research, with locomotives capable of pulling a large number of wagons, with no hard limit but constrained by game performance), and later roboports deploying construction and logistic robots to autonomously deliver items across a defined area. Power generation starts with boilers producing steam for engines but scales to solar panels, accumulators for night storage, or nuclear reactors, each producing 40 MW of heat (with up to double output from adjacent reactors), all interconnected via a unified electrical grid simulated in real-time. Pollution from production—emitted as visible clouds from smokestacks—accumulates and can attract native alien creatures, adding risk to unchecked expansion. The Space Age expansion (released October 2024) introduces item qualities that affect production efficiency, and space platforms for off-world building and interplanetary travel for resource logistics across multiple planets. The technology research tree, accessed via a lab fueled by science packs crafted from basic to advanced resources, unlocks over 100 technologies in a branching progression, such as steel production (requiring advanced furnaces), train systems (enabling rail signals and stations), or modular factory enhancements like beacons that boost adjacent machines by up to 50% productivity. Research consumes packs at rates tied to lab count, often requiring automated pack production lines as bottlenecks. The world operates on a day-night cycle lasting 25,200 ticks or 7 in-game minutes, consisting of a day phase (full daylight of 12,700 ticks), morning (dawn transition of 5,000 ticks), night (full darkness of 2,500 ticks or approximately 42 seconds), and evening (dusk transition of 5,000 ticks). During night and transitions, visibility is reduced, and alien activity is slower, encouraging the use of lights or enclosures.[17] Inventory management is crucial, with the character holding up to 80 slots in the main inventory (expandable to 110 with upgrades), quickbar for tools, and larger storage via armor upgrades; base movement speed is about 8.9 tiles per second, increasable with exoskeleton suits in power armor. These mechanics interlock to create a feedback loop of exploration, automation, and optimization, where inefficiencies in one area—like power shortages halting assemblers—cascade across the factory.Combat and Defense
In Factorio, the primary threats to the player and their factory come from native alien creatures known collectively as biters, which include melee-attacking biters, ranged-attacking spitters, and stationary worm turrets. These enemies spawn from nests scattered across the map and become aggressive when pollution from industrial activity reaches their territories, prompting waves of attacks aimed at destroying the source of the intrusion.[18] To expand and access resources, players must proactively clear these nests, as they continuously produce enemies and block valuable areas, though destruction accelerates enemy evolution.[18] Enemies exhibit swarming behaviors, with biters charging in groups to overwhelm defenses through sheer numbers and physical damage, while spitters launch acidic projectiles from a distance, and worms provide fixed artillery-like fire support. Their evolution progresses in stages—small, medium, big, and behemoth—driven by factors such as cumulative pollution absorption, time elapsed, and the number of nests destroyed, resulting in tougher variants with higher health, damage output, and attack speeds that hinder late-game expansion if not managed.[18] This evolution impacts strategic planning, as unchecked pollution and nest clearing can lead to increasingly frequent and lethal assaults, forcing players to balance industrial growth with defensive preparations.[18] Defensive strategies revolve around constructing barriers and automated turrets to protect factory perimeters. Walls and gates form physical barriers that slow enemy advances, while turrets provide firepower: gun turrets fire bullets from magazines for early-game reliability, laser turrets deliver energy-based attacks requiring electricity for mid-to-late-game efficiency, and flamethrower turrets excel against clustered swarms by igniting groups with fire damage.[19] Ammunition types, such as piercing rounds or explosive bullets, enhance turret effectiveness against evolved enemies, and radar structures allow scouting of distant threats to preempt attacks. Player combat begins with personal weapons for direct engagement, progressing from the basic fire-capable pistol to more advanced options like the submachine gun for rapid fire, shotguns for close-range crowd control, and rocket launchers or flamethrowers for heavy damage against larger foes.[20] The player starts with 250 health points, regenerating slowly at 6 HP per second, but can heal faster using first aid kits; damage from enemies reduces health, and death results in a corpse containing all carried items, requiring retrieval to avoid permanent loss, with the player respawning at a set location.[21] This progression encourages shifting from manual combat to automated defenses as the factory scales, ensuring survival amid escalating threats.[22]Multiplayer
Factorio supports multiplayer gameplay, enabling players to collaborate or compete in building and managing factories on a shared world. The game allows for cooperative modes where players work together to automate production, research technologies, and launch a rocket, as well as player-versus-player (PvP) scenarios where teams or individuals compete for resources and dominance. An observer mode is also available, permitting spectators to view ongoing games without participating.[23][5] Servers can accommodate a theoretical maximum of 65,535 players, though practical limits due to performance and network constraints typically cap simultaneous connections at a few hundred, with records exceeding 400 players in optimized setups. Officially, the developers recommend configurations supporting up to around 100 players for stable play, while some hosting services scale to 150 or more with high-end hardware. Server hosting options include direct play via local area network (LAN) for nearby players, integration with Steam's matchmaking for public or invite-only games, and dedicated headless servers that run independently without an active player host. These dedicated servers support features such as password protection to restrict access, admin tools for managing permissions like kicking or promoting users, and customizable map generation settings for world size, resource distribution, and enemy behavior.[24][25][26] In multiplayer, key mechanics revolve around shared progression within player forces, where technology research is synchronized across team members by default, allowing collective advancement through science packs in laboratories. However, players can form separate forces for independent research trees in PvP setups, fostering strategic competition. Train systems introduce coordination challenges, as multiple players editing schedules can lead to conflicts like overlapping routes or stalled logistics, requiring careful planning to avoid deadlocks in large networks. Large-scale operations amplify logistics difficulties, with players managing expansive supply chains for resources, often necessitating divided responsibilities for mining outposts, transport belts, and storage to sustain megabases.[23][27][28] Compared to single-player, multiplayer enables faster overall progression through division of labor, where individuals specialize in tasks such as defense construction, research optimization, or rail network expansion, accelerating factory growth and rocket launch timelines. This collaborative approach, however, demands heightened coordination for resource allocation and defenses, as biters can attack multiple fronts simultaneously, requiring synchronized turret placements, repairs, and patrol routes to prevent breaches that could disrupt shared operations.[29][30][31]Modding
Factorio features a robust modding system built around a Lua-based scripting API, enabling players and developers to extend the base game by creating custom content. The API, documented extensively in the official Lua API reference, utilizes a modified version of Lua 5.2 to define prototypes during the data stage and handle runtime behaviors in the control stage.[32] This allows modders to create new items, recipes, entities such as machines or biters, and even custom graphical user interface (GUI) elements like buttons or frames, all integrated seamlessly into the game's core systems.[33] Mods are packaged as directories containing essential files, including aninfo.json for metadata and Lua scripts like data.lua for prototype definitions and control.lua for event handling and scripting. The official mod portal serves as the central hub for uploading, downloading, and managing mods, supporting version control and community ratings to facilitate sharing.[34] Mods load automatically at game startup, with the engine processing them in defined stages to ensure compatibility; they can be enabled or disabled via the in-game mod management interface, and compatible mods integrate directly with existing saves without disrupting progress.[35]
Common mod types include quality-of-life enhancements, such as improved blueprint planning tools that streamline factory design, overhauls that introduce new resources and production chains for deeper complexity, and total conversions that replace core mechanics with entirely new gameplay loops. For instance, packs like Bob's Mods expand industrial options with advanced ores and machinery, while Angel's Mods revamp resource processing for more intricate automation.
Integration emphasizes stability, with mods specifying dependencies in their info.json file to enforce loading order and prevent conflicts; the game automatically resolves these during initialization, alerting users to missing or incompatible requirements. Update compatibility is maintained through version checks, though major game updates may require mod authors to adapt their scripts to API changes.[35] Official support includes the comprehensive modding wiki for tutorials and references, alongside Friday Facts developer blog posts that detail API enhancements and mod-related updates, such as optimizations for scripting performance.[36]