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It’s finally happened. Dwarf Fortress, the dazzlingly complex colony sim that was free for almost 20 years before becoming a massive hit on Steam, has sold 1 million copies since it tunnelled onto the platform.
Publisher Kitfox Games shared the news on Bluesky. “We’ve reached an exciting milestone: Dwarf Fortress surpassed 1,000,000 sales on Steam,” it wrote. “Each copy brings countless dwarves, fortresses, and unique worlds to life. Thank you to everyone who’s supported us!”
Given Dwarf Fortress’ trajectory, this isn’t enormously surprising. Dwarf Fortress approached half a million copies sold just two months after launching on Steam in late 2022. The Steam version’s UI overhaul and replacement of the original ASCII art with hand-drawn tiles proved hugely popular with fans of the game, quickly making creators Tarn and Zach Adams millionaires (so naturally, they splashed out on a Honda Civic).
That figure had risen to 800,000 copies by this time last year, as Bay 12 Games geared up for the launch of the adventure mode update. There were rumblings that the update would push Dwarf Fortress past the million mark then, and less than three months on since the update landed, this notion was proved correct.
Indeed, the only person who hadn’t considered the prospect of Dwarf Fortress hitting a million sales was Tarn Adams himself. “I mean, I didn’t actually think of [hitting a million sales],” Adams said to PCG last year. “Because you’re like, when is that going to happen?” Now, Tarn. It’s happened now.
The Adams brothers did reveal how they might celebrate in the event Dwarf Fortress surpassed six zeroes. “There’s probably going to be a little party,” Tarn said, while Zach added. “Probably a trip to somewhere exotic.” Better put on your party hats and Hawaiian shirts, boys. And I demand pictures when you get back.
Although it’s a big milestone for both Bay 12 and Kitfox, it’s unlikely to change anything regarding Dwarf Fortress’ future. Kitfox announced the game would be entering a “new era of development” after the release of adventure mode, with the focus shifting to new features and expanding the deliriously intricate systems the game is known for.
In a seasonal update video posted earlier this month, Tarn Adams delved into some of what Bay 12 is currently working on. This includes improvements to sieges, site building in adventure mode, and extensive rewrites to Dwarf Fortress’ subterranean layers that Adams says will “tie into the magic features and other procedural generation we have in the game.”
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Kurt Indovina
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