The developers called version 1.1 final. It will receive updates with bug fixes, improvements for modders, and small changes, but there are no plans to add more important innovations to the main game.

The authors considered four options for developing the project: many free updates, a sequel, small additions, and a major expansion. The first was abandoned since a niche game like Factorio, according to the developers, would not have been able to attract new users with just stable support, as Minecraft and Terraria do. The second was rejected due to the reluctance to make serious changes to the gameplay basis, which modern gamers expect from the sequels. The third was considered inconvenient: it is easy for buyers to get confused in the variety of DLCs, and developers will have to monitor the compatibility of all combinations of add-ons.

As a result, we chose the last option. Developers will be able to focus on preparing a large expansion, the release of which will not go unnoticed and will be able to attract users to the game. Work on the add-on has just begun and will take at least a year. They don’t talk about the content yet – they only promise to develop the most successful features.

The creators also announced that they would no longer regularly publish development reports. First, to focus on experimenting and developing ideas. Secondly, the studio wants to avoid breaking promises if they decide to abandon some of the stated features. Thirdly, the authors do not want to create a stir at such an early stage and distract players from the finished version of Factorio. Finally, fourthly, the team is afraid of unpleasant situations when modders recreate official innovations that have not yet appeared and affect the audience’s expectations.

Interesting statistics from the note:

• in total, development took 3,233 days –  over 8 years and 10 months;
• for all the time-released 411 updates;
• the code consists of 856,800 lines, 2,340,804 words and 35,216,019 characters (this is about 70 medium-sized books);
• the game includes 87,703 sprites with 945,930,442 non-blank pixels;
• the developers have fixed 8688 bugs, not counting those that the players did not report;
• 799,000 Factorio videos posted on YouTube;
• the number of references to the project in Google search queries is 2,760,000;
• players left 483,539 messages on the forums;
• Steam users have spent 38,870 years in the simulator.Wube is currently looking for 3D artists, DevOps specialists, and seasoned programmers. The studio plans to deal with more than just supporting Factorio – the team wants to experiment with small projects not related to the simulator.

  Indiegogo funded Factorio in 2013. The game started in Steam Early Access in February 2016, and its final version was released in August 2020. The user rating in the store is “very positive” (based on 87,831 reviews).