Acclaimed Indie Colony/Survival Sim Dwarf Fortress Released with steam (opens in new tab) It’s been a while since December 6th.
Other game developers have made a fuss about Dwarf Fortress and its impact on its release date. Someone on the Steam forums asked that shortly after launch he said everyone reviewing the game on Steam was “free DF he played for 25 years and waited for the opportunity to pay $30?” rice field. So far, the 237 page thread has nearly everyone saying yes. Publisher Kitfox Games tweeted that Dwarf Fortress exceeded his two-month sales forecast in less than 24 hours. Six days later, Dwarf Fortress has sold around 300,000 copies, developer Tarn Adams said in his interview with PC Gamer.
“Tanya [Short of Kitfox Games] We posted that we sold 160,000 on day one, and now we’re about double that,” Adams said.
Adams and his brother Zach, who have been developing Dwarf Fortress together since the early 2000s, have been very chill about the game’s success on Steam so far.
Based on some very basic math, selling 300,000 copies of Dwarf Fortress is worth $9 million. Subtracting Valve’s 30% cut, $6 million will be split between his Adams brothers and his Kitfox, as well as new contributors such as artists and composers who worked on Steam releases. Of course, regional pricing makes that number more vague, and Adams didn’t talk about splitting the publication, but Dwarf Fortress is still one of his top sellers on Steam, so the two must have made millions in sales.
“It’s a lot of money, but it’s going to take 20 years,” said Turn Adams. “Dividing that by 20 puts us back in the normal tech salary range, which is still pretty high, obviously.”
“We found a foolproof way to save money: sell nothing for 20 years and then throw it all away.
In 2019, the brothers announced plans for a Steam version of Dwarf Fortress as a way to help cover medical bills. Part of that announcement was a promise to fans to take care of themselves: they said what it would be like when Steam’s first payout came in February, making him a millionaire. You have to know exactly what you mean.
“It seems inevitable,” Tarn said. “I have to start over… my, uh, my whole life, figure out what’s going on there. No ideas or plans right now. Just thinking about the dwarves.” .”
“My wife has plans,” said Zach. “We live in a tiny little house, so buying a new house is a big goal.”
The first big problem next year will be finding an accountant between Dwarven Fortress updates.. However, Tarn said the money the Steam version brings should also last.
“You have no plans to sell something like Dwarf Fortress 2 in five years, right? It’s the exact same game. So no matter how long this game lasts, this game is over. Now the rest of our lives I really do.”
However, if there’s one game that exemplifies the long tail, it’s Dwarf Fortress. a million wishlists, and the Adams brothers have the ability to add for years and decades. I think it keeps the game relevant and engaging for the rest of their lives. There are battle improvements, a rebuild of the entire Dwarven Fortress civilization concept, and an overhaul of the economic system.
And finally, that decade’s work (at least) is over: the boat.
“Boats are the prize of the economy,” Tarn said. “finally.”
