GamesSim2024 is the best year we’ve ever had for factory gamesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesSim2024 is the best year we’ve ever had for factory gamesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
Factory friends and fellow automation lovers, this is going to be—already is—a hell of a year for the factory-building genre. I know this because not only are we going to getSatisfactory 1.0, we’re getting the giant game-doubling expansion that isFactorio: Space Age. I know this because the herald of this golden year of factories has arrived today in the form of early access forShapez 2. In the bare decade that factory-building has evolved from half-baked ideas and fringe Minecraft mods to full-fledged sims we’ve seen some great games, but the future is looking ever-brighter.
Shapez 2 is such a good example of how many more ideas are still lurking in this genre. It’s so different from the two other big-name factory games releasing this year (it’s also different fromFoundry, yet another option released four months ago). Where Factorio and Satisfactory embrace the survival genre and the idea of limited resources as a game constraint—something to give you that delicious friction and tension as you play—Shapez focuses instead on the inherent puzzle of arranging and connecting the machines that make up your factory. You can build practically as many machines, platforms, and as much work space as you want because the focus is instead on how your factory’s products take shape.
Image1of9(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
Image1of9(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
Image1of9
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
(Image credit: Tobspr Games)
That’s mostly familiar for people who played the first Shapez. Shapes 2 adds a third dimension, meaning you can run conveyors and pipes and place machines across three heights above your factory floor. You get to choose which sides of a factory segment—what Shapez calls a space platform—the raw materials go in and products go out, then chain your platforms into a connected series of machines that do specific jobs.
Other factory games have you place machines that make products: Shapez has you design the internals of the machines yourself.
What makes Shapez so cool beyond that is how once you’ve figured out a process in a way you really like you’ll just copy that platform entire and plop it down in the future when you need the same operation done. It emphasizes the thinking and discovery phase of the automation process and cuts down on the amount of time you have to keep reckoning with a problem you’ve already solved.
The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals
You’ll then start running big inter-factory-segment belts and train cars with finished products or raw materials to either get them to a next step or toss them into the vortex at the center where you deliver finished orders. There’s even a very satisfying upgrade to dunk whole trains of finished goods directly into the vortex.
One of the big pursuits for end-game Factorio players is building a megabase, often to get to some arbitrarily high number. It’s a really interesting pursuit as you manage the balance of scale and expansion, but it’s tedious at times, which means that only a few really dedicated people with plenty of disposable time can get into it. Shapez 2 on its easiest difficulties distills that megabase-building experience down into something that, while less complex, you can digest in 20-30 hours. You get the enjoyment and excitement of large, independent factory segments that combine products into huge output to reach big goals. Is it a lesser version of the same high? Probably, but you didn’t spend 1,000 hours to get there.
Which isn’t inherently a bad thing! The reason I say this is such a good year for factory games is because we’re getting three wildly different experiences. One, Shapez 2, about the pure logic of building and scaling automated systems. Another, Satisfactory, about being grounded in and wandering a single place that you can twist and change and mold through building larger, better things. The third, Factorio: Space Age, about complex interactions between the pressure of limited resources and the limitations of physics.
shapez 2 - Early Access Launch Trailer - YouTubeWatch On
shapez 2 - Early Access Launch Trailer - YouTube
shapez 2 - Early Access Launch Trailer - YouTube
Plus, I can draw that clear distinction with Shapez 2 not even in full release. The 30-some hours of fun you can have with it in early access feels like its own entire game, and the developers are clear that they intend multiple major updates adding more features and more stuff to it during the six months, minimum, they want it to stay in early access.
This genre has exploded into life over the past decade, but it’s clear to me that 2024 will be remembered as a banner year for factory and automation games because we’re finally, properly meeting their true potential.
More about simThe Factorio ‘God Factory’ was one of this year’s greatest gaming feats: ‘Most players will never find themselves hitting the limits of the game. We are.‘Rule the talking movie industry in tycoon game Hollywood AnimalLatestI tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at baySee more latest►
More about simThe Factorio ‘God Factory’ was one of this year’s greatest gaming feats: ‘Most players will never find themselves hitting the limits of the game. We are.‘Rule the talking movie industry in tycoon game Hollywood AnimalLatestI tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at baySee more latest►
More about simThe Factorio ‘God Factory’ was one of this year’s greatest gaming feats: ‘Most players will never find themselves hitting the limits of the game. We are.‘Rule the talking movie industry in tycoon game Hollywood Animal
More about sim
The Factorio ‘God Factory’ was one of this year’s greatest gaming feats: ‘Most players will never find themselves hitting the limits of the game. We are.‘Rule the talking movie industry in tycoon game Hollywood Animal
The Factorio ‘God Factory’ was one of this year’s greatest gaming feats: ‘Most players will never find themselves hitting the limits of the game. We are.’
The Factorio ‘God Factory’ was one of this year’s greatest gaming feats: ‘Most players will never find themselves hitting the limits of the game. We are.’
Rule the talking movie industry in tycoon game Hollywood Animal
Rule the talking movie industry in tycoon game Hollywood Animal
LatestI tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at baySee more latest►
Latest
I tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay
I tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay
I tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay
See more latest►
Most Popular
These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre
Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)
I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games
6 games that could be bigger hits than you’re expecting in 2025
What are your 2025 gaming resolutions?
The FBI put a $5 million bounty on the ‘Cryptoqueen’ last year but still hasn’t found her, so take your pick: Russia, South Africa, or murdered on a yacht in 2018
The Witcher season 4: Everything we know about Hemsworth’s debut on The Continent
8 bold gaming predictions for 2025
The PC game releases we’re most excited about in January
Twitter is dead, X is a cesspit, let’s make 2025 the year of the message board
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS
1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
1
Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop
2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop
2
Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop
3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
3
Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands
4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands
4
Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands
5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested
5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested
5
Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested
1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits
1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits
1
Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits
2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback
2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback
2
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback
3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review
3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review
3
WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review
4Ikea Utespelare desk review
4Ikea Utespelare desk review
4
Ikea Utespelare desk review
5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
5
Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
