On December 6th, the survival simulation Dwarf Fortress launched on Steam, after being developed for over 20 years. Now the developers are talking about how the game exceeded their expectations on the first day.
What kind of game is it? Dwarf Fortress simulates a fantasy sandbox where you control a group of dwarves who want to hold their place in the world. The primary goal is survival, which also poses the biggest challenge.
Dwarf Fortress was created in 2002 by brothers Tarn and Zach Adams, originally as a free game. Since then, the simulation has been continuously developed. On December 6th, Dwarf Fortress was released for the first time as a full release version on Steam and was already 97% positively rated after 24 hours. The old version, without graphical updates and music, is still available for free.
What makes Dwarf Fortress so special? The survival game focuses on high complexity and realistic rules – within a fantastic world, of course. This ranges from production chains for trade goods to sourcing food to building the namesake fortress.
Even the world around you continues to evolve – kingdoms rise and fall, great heroes come and go.
The realism extends so far that even cats can get drunk, although only under certain circumstances. All of this makes Dwarf Fortress an experience that keeps many players engaged for thousands of hours.
However, there is a certain harshness underlying the game. Survival is difficult and sometimes requires brutal measures that are at times so inhumane that the developers themselves have intervened.
Check out the trailer for the Steam release of Dwarf Fortress:
Over 300,000 sales in a week
In the interview with PC Gamer, the Adams brothers discuss the success of Dwarf Fortress. The game was released on Steam because the two needed money after 20 years of free development. Dwarf Fortress costs €28.99 on Steam.
The sales initially planned for 2 months were according to PC Gamer already sold out after 24 hours. The brothers managed to sell over 160,000 copies on the first day, and a week later, it was more than double that.
PC Gamer calculates: at €28.99 or $30, that amounts to at least $9 million. After deducting the 30% that Steam takes and salaries for some new employees, there are still millions left for the brothers.
Zach and Tarn, however, seem very grounded. They say: while it is a lot of money, you have to distribute it over 20 years of work. Then it doesn’t seem so immense, although it still represents a pretty good average salary.
They now plan to buy a new house because the old one is a bit small, and to put money into healthcare. They promised that to their fans. Furthermore, the money must last since a Dwarf Fortress 2 is not planned.
Dwarf Fortress is to be supported with updates for years to come, which could lead to more sales in the future. More than a million players have the game on their Steam wishlist.
Dwarf Fortress is considered an absolute classic in the simulation and survival genre but requires quite a bit of work to get the hang of it. At MeinMMO, we introduce you to more representatives of the genre:
