Factorio’s whopping Space Age expansion has been in the works for a good few years now, and we finally know when we’ll get our hands on it. Space Age will arrive this October alongside a major 2.0 update for the moreish factory-automating hit, with the expansion costing as much as the base game. It sounds like there’ll be plenty to show for that price, mind.
Space Age got a proper reveal last summer, with developers Wube revealing its addition of five new planets – complete with new resources and technology to contend with – and the new ability to build space platforms after the end of the original game’s levels. Those space platforms will need defending from asteroids, either by shooting them down or catching them to refine into useful resources, with the operational platforms working to send cargo between planets.
The new planets will include the volcanic Vulcanus, where Tungsten allows for new metallurgic tech and lava can be used to smelt iron and copper. Fulgora, meanwhile, is a desolate planet racked by lightning storms that can be harnessed for electrical power, especially when used together with the new material of Holmium, while the remains of a lost civilisation can be dug up and turned into new items. There’s also a swampy planet, Gleba, full of fruit and biochemicals, while the devs tease a fifth planet that “promises some of the most unique gameplay” among its dark and cold landscape far from the sun.
Other additions in the expansion include elevated train tracks to cross over terrain or simply lift rails above each other for more transportation, new enemies and ways to defend against them, and quality tiers for items, entities and equipment that grant various bonuses as you advance them across five levels from Normal quality up to Legendary – whether that’s better range, faster crafting or something else.
In other words, it sounds like there’ll be a lot, with Wube previously comparing the size of Space Age to the original game, without taking more than 80 hours for veteran players to finish. With that in mind, the expansion’s $35 price tag – in line with the base game – seems fair enough to me.
Even if that price is a bit much for you when Space Age arrives, you’ll be able to download Factorio’s 2.0 update for free when it arrives alongside the expansion. The overhaul will add various new features, from a new fluid system and remote view to improvements to train controls, combinators and worker robot AI.
Both Space Age and update 2.0 will drop on October 21st, not far off the release estimate Wube gave last year. The devs say the time between now and then will be spent polishing for the launch, with enough time before Christmas to follow up with any necessary bug fixes.