Dwarf Fortress is a deep colony-simulation and adventure game by Bay 12 Games, free in its classic form or $30 with graphics on Steam.
Dwarf Fortress is a colony-simulation and adventure game in which players guide a group of dwarves as they establish, build, and defend a fortress inside a richly simulated fantasy world. Every dwarf has individual needs, skills, relationships, and moods, and the surrounding world is procedurally generated with its own geology, history, legends, and civilizations that persist and evolve across playthroughs.
The game has been developed since 2002 by brothers Tarn and Zach Adams, operating as the two-person studio Bay 12 Games. Tarn left a mathematics doctoral program to work on the game full time, and the project has been continuously updated for over two decades, funded originally through public donations before its commercial Steam release.
Dwarf Fortress is known for the depth of its simulation: it tracks individual dwarf personalities, injuries, and emotional states, simulates fluid dynamics and temperature, generates detailed world history spanning centuries before play begins, and allows emergent, often absurd stories to arise from the interaction of these systems, famously summarized by players as "losing is fun."
The Steam and itch.io edition, released in December 2022 in partnership with publisher Kitfox Games, adds pixel-art tile graphics, a redesigned and more approachable user interface, music, and sound effects on top of the original simulation, making the game considerably more accessible than its classic ASCII-based interface while keeping the same underlying mechanics.
The original, text-based version of Dwarf Fortress remains completely free and is distributed directly from Bay 12 Games' own website, continuing the project's original donation-supported model. This version has no graphics beyond ASCII/tile-set characters and requires a steeper learning curve to interpret.
The Steam and itch.io release is sold as a one-time purchase priced at roughly $30 (frequently discounted during sales), with no subscription or in-app purchases. This edition includes all of the same simulation depth as the free version, packaged with graphics, sound, and interface improvements.
The original text-based version is free from Bay 12 Games' website; the graphical Steam/itch.io edition costs around $30.
It's developed by brothers Tarn and Zach Adams under the studio name Bay 12 Games, with the Steam edition published by Kitfox Games.
The graphical Steam edition released on December 6, 2022.
No, Dwarf Fortress is sold as a one-time purchase with no subscription or recurring costs.
The paid Steam edition adds pixel-art graphics, music, and an improved interface, but the underlying simulation is the same one available for free in the classic version.