Factorio is getting an earlier release than previously planned. Developer Wube Software says the game will now launch on August 14th this year, five weeks earlier than the original date.
Wube says the main reason for moving Factorio's release ahead is the impending launch of CD Projekt Red's highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt Red's game will launch on September 17th, which is a week before the original Factorio launch date. Wube thinks that launching its game so close to a major triple-A release will divert attention away from Factorio, so after considering whether to launch significantly before or after Cyberpunk, the devs made the decision to bring Factorio forward.
Why is Factorio launching earlier rather than later?
There are a number of reasons Wube believes it can do this. Originally, the devs planned to include a new campaign, make improvements to Factorio's fluid algorithms, and fully rewrite the GUI. Since the launch date was originally announced, the campaign has been canceled and the algorithm improvements and GUI rewrites have been significantly cut back or postponed.
Wube also says that work on Factorio has been progressing "at a good pace", and that none of the features the team has been implementing have been taking longer than expected for the last six months. In addition to this, the general belief at Wube is that Factorio is basically finished and that launching it sooner rather than later is therefore realistic. The devs say they haven't cut, canceled, or changed any features as a result of moving their release date. According to Wube, the staff's main goal now is finalizing the game, updating their trailer, and preparing new marketing materials. If you want more details on any of those processes, you can check out the original announcement post. In the meantime, start preparing for Factorio's new launch date of August 14th.
Will you be picking up Factorio when it launches? Let us know in the comments below!
