Dwarf Fortress crosses a million sales on Steam

Iconic colony-builder Dwarf Fortress has surpassed one million sales on Steam, publisher Kitfox Games announced. Developed by the two brothers Tarn and Zach Adams, Dwarf Fortress exists as a freeware game since 2002 and is known for the immense depth of its simulation. While the two developers made the game available for free and accepted donations for their efforts, a paid version of the game finally came to Steam in 2022 featuring more approachable controls as well as visuals — the original game still rolls with ASCII art for its graphics and is still free-to-play.

Despite this, many longtime players have expressly purchased the Steam version to support the developers, who struggled with expensive health issues at the time.

“We’ve reached an exciting milestone: Dwarf Fortress has surpassed 1,000,000 sales on Steam,” publisher Kitfox Games stated on social media. “Each copy brings countless dwarves, fortresses, and unique worlds to life. Thank you to everyone who’s supported us! Keep sharing your tales with us and STRIKE THE EARTH!”

Dwarf Fortress famously popularized the motto “Losing is fun!” and served not only as the main inspiration for Rimworld and the colony sim genre, but also for games like Minecraft, making it one of the most influential games of the 21st century. Players can decide to build up a colony of dwarfs or strike out as a single adventurer, experiencing their procedurally generated world’s emergent stories in this way.

Both modes are notorious for the difficulty and the downright madness of the events that can transpire. Seriously, Rimworld being a war crime simulator is very true to its inspiration.