When brothers Tarn and Zach Adams brought their long-standing Free2Play game Dwarf Fortress to Steam as a premium version in December 2022, it made them millionaires almost overnight. Zach Adams fulfilled a seemingly long-held wish and bought a Honda Civic.
What kind of game is this?
- Dwarf Fortress is a free fantasy sandbox developed by brothers Tarn and Zach Adams since 2002
- The original game had no graphics; the world was represented only in ASCII code – despite this simple appearance, Dwarf Fortress is considered an incredibly deep and complex simulation
- After 20 years, the brothers released their game as a premium version for just under 30 euros on Steam – complete with all the modern frills like graphics and animations
- Dwarf Fortress sold more than 300,000 copies within a week and made the developers millionaires
By now, the game is said to have sold over 800,000 copies and is on the wish lists of more than a million players, the brothers revealed to PC Gamer.
This number could significantly increase in the foreseeable future, as on April 17, the highly anticipated adventure mode of Dwarf Fortress is set to enter beta – which has been missing in the premium version so far.
“I’ve always wanted to have one”
What are the developers doing with their wealth? The Adams brothers seem to have remained extremely grounded so far. In an interview with PC Gamer, Zach Adams stated that he purchased a new house with his wife – he had planned this back in 2022, as their old home had become a bit too small.
In addition, he treated himself to a new car, which is almost a given for new millionaires. However, instead of a Lamborghini or a sky-blue Porsche, Adams made a different choice: “I decided to buy a Honda Civic,” Zach told PCG, “because I always wanted one.”
The Civic has been marketed by Honda since 1972 in now eleven model generations, most of which belong to the modest compact class. However, with the current hybrid model Type R, Honda is almost scraping into the mid-range, as reported recently by the ADAC. It is not known what model the developer owns.
His brother seems to be in a similar situation. Tarn Adams values feeling “comfortable and stable.” When asked if he had plans to reward himself if Dwarf Fortress reaches 1 million units sold, he replied: “I mean, I haven’t really thought about it [reaching a million sales]. Because you wonder: When will that even happen?”
Maybe by the end of April.
Dwarf Fortress promises its players maximum freedom. The simulation is so deep and complex that unexpected problems can arise – such as in the legendary story of the taverns full of dead cats from 2015. However, one idea went too far for the developers, forcing them to step in personally.
