The Best Factory Automation Games Coming 2024

[@Trupen]

What do you mean you've never been a big fan of Factorio?!

[@TotalXclipse]

😅😅😅 I like it, but I've never been able to sink more than 100 hours into it - maybe Factorio 2.0 will change my mind. I still respect it as a masterfully crafted game though

[@dmdeemer]

His play style is usually more focused on building beautiful bases, buildings, etc. Factorio sans mods doesn't have a lot of decoratives to choose from, and it's particularly hard with the top-down graphics to make things look original. There's just only so much you can do with concrete and stone tiles.

[@ismailaurum5321]

He needs some DEMOCRACY

[@Squant]

@@dmdeemer This is why I stay away from large buses and megabases. They're optimised to the point of being the same in every game. Sterile squares of infrastructure utilising perfected formulas that never go wrong. They have no soul. Spaghetti belts on the other hand... now that's fun. If you're not embracing chaos, you're not living. The new content should help with this too. Lots of restricted space and being forced to adapt means we won't be able to slap down one perfect solution and call it done.

[@akanetsuzura374]

i'm convinced if I released a video with nothing to do with Factorio other than a brief mention at the start of a video you'd somehow see it. You are EVERYWHERE factorio!

[@AutoForgeGame]

Thanks for the AutoForge mention! I love to see all of these fellow indie automation games coming out soon. Hyped for what we're getting later this year!

[@astralaegis6283]

I'm so excited for Satisfactory 1.0

[@miragegaming984]

me too and industrial annilihation

[@blueswales9990]

I've bought a new PC ready for it :-) My old one struggled with U8. Excited!!

[@miragegaming984]

@@blueswales9990 curious what you ran that struggled with satisfactory?

[@Turtle_on_da_skateboard]

Yeah 1.0 gonna be so hype Sad that you basically have to start a new world tho

[@Planet-firey140]

ME TOO!!!

[@glorywithgaming7114]

A lot of people sleep on Minecraft with the create mod. Honestly this modpack turns Minecraft into a fully fledged factory game.

[@TotalXclipse]

Yeh we covered it in the video last year. It's great 😃

[@miniyoshi6157]

I am broke so it's all I have 😅

[@creativelad3680]

Or even gregtech if u want somin complex

[@libelli2695]

Gregtech new horizons better than create modpacks if you need modpack where you need full automatisation

[@EriklLo]

​@@miniyoshi6157, any game is free on pc, just torrent

[@Rayzyung]

Cant wait for Factorio:Space Age

[@eliasgraner4665]

I can’t wait man, been reading fff for weeks now and they just keep cooking, it’s wild to have a company have a playable expansion for 2 years before releasing it because today it feels like almost every gaming company out there rn is just early access cash grabs and scams and it’s so hard to find games where the community and the devs have a healthy relationship and I’m telling you, factorio devs has done something absolutely incredible!

[@striker865]

Same!

[@sanik9581]

you can already download the mod and play it like a year ago

[@musickid43]

​@@sanik9581 The mod you are thinking of is a fan made mod. The official expansion is more streamlined and balanced.

[@didott5]

Factorio. Is. The. GOAT!

[@dirtyharis83]

A moment of silence for all of us factory game addicts who knew all the games in the list.

[@TotalXclipse]

🤣🤣🤣

[@okachobe1]

There's never enough!

[@davidstevenson9986]

I know. I specifically watched this video to find something new to feed my factory addiction and found nothing. Great vid though.

[@JordanMetroidManiac]

If Tower Factory looks interesting, then I *strongly* recommend Mindustry. It is one of the best games I’ve ever played that’s primarily tower defense focused, but you are required to set up automated production lines for feeding your turrets, which starts out as feeding ore directly into the weakest turrets, but turns into mixing explosive materials together to feed into the rapid-firing, huge, loud, and devastatingly powerful endgame turrets. It is also a tower defense game where you get to play as the wave sender versus another defense system, but you still have to set up the same kinds of automated production in order to win. It truly is a game that you *cannot* overlook if you like factory games as well as tower defense games.

[@KiloMix]

fr

[@leomathguy]

V8 is coming out near the end of the year also, a new PvE gamemode and many improvements to a lot of things

[@billybegood466]

Dyson Sphere Project is such an insanely good game. Honestly, I have no idea why it's still in early access, because it's a full game as is. I have somewhere around 300 something hours in it.

[@ecogreen123]

honestly i like how it's still in early access, because i would rather have a game feel full but possibly get better then a game concept to be abandoned half way through.

[@gibran.zidane]

I dumped more hours in DSP than in Factorio and Satisfactory combined (1200h)

[@billybegood466]

@@ecogreen123 I get that, and I don't necessarily disagree with you. But I like to support these indie devs that are doing amazing work, and I wouldn't have been upset in the slightest if they had released the Dark Fog content as paid DLC. I would have paid it and been happy about it.

[@ecogreen123]

@@billybegood466 fair enough, i myself also like to support indie devs, heck i bought dyson sphere program day one, but i would disagree with you on that dlc part. i think we shouldn't have to buy a dlc to get more content but then again i have all the stellaris dlc so that's kinda hypocritical lol. nevertheless i agree

[@billybegood466]

@@ecogreen123 I just think of DLC as old school expansions. That's basically what they are, just with a different name now.

[@gazz5998]

Captain of Industry has recently annnounced the next update will include trains. I love this game and am hyped as this will improve things on the larger maps.

[@TheBlackMage3]

Thanks for the list! I like how you put the game you are discussing in the bottom left corner in case someone has trouble hearing the title! True optimization!

[@CleverWoodenRhino]

Potion pipeline looks like a straight up copy of shapez with a different skin.

[@alistairbell3935]

Your description of Desynced reminded me of Craftomation 101, which is very similar. I was surprised it wasn't mentioned... right now I'm _so close_ to finishing my Captain of Industry Update 2 playthrough, and I'm wondering after I'm done whether to go to Infraspace 1.0, do some more with my Satisfactory world before 1.0, go back to Foundry, or something else!

[@HaydenVanClaire]

ShapeHero Factory is also on Steam for Q3 2024. Factory Building with Tower Defense.

[@TotalXclipse]

I've missed that one, I'll have to check it out!

[@HaydenVanClaire]

@@TotalXclipse There is a Demo you can try.

[@Schizm1]

Not gonna lie. Gorgeous artstyle of Factorio is something that always pulls me back in and no other automation game managed to grab me apart from it.

[@Thew1001]

Factorio and Satisfactory are the only champions imo 👌

[@Darion350]

While I'm on board with Factorio and Satisfactory, Dyson Sphere Program is added for the big three factory games for me. Have you tried it?

[@lovag2540]

nice list with some extras to add to my steam list. i guess the factory game kategory was nicely growing. i a also waiting mostly for the factorio space age DLC/extension

Really nice list. Most lists like this (from other creators) call out only the biggest games. Appreciate you going one level deeper and calling some games i have never seen before.

[@vizthex]

always wanted a cell-themed factory game. definitely gonna check out Lifecraft soon. Revive & Prosper seems like a factory version of Terra Nil too.

[@LuaanTi]

Lifecraft is pretty cool and manages to be _very_ different from most automation games. Though it's also pretty hard, so keep that in mind. Fortunately, the devs added some neat difficulty configuration options, so you can ease into everything. There's also a mode where you play an engineer living in the "cell" like in Factorio if you prefer that perspective :P Unless you enjoy starting over a few times before you get the hang of things, I'd recommend starting your first game on the Peaceful preset. The default Survival/Adventure presets aren't _horribly_ difficult, but ensuring your cell doesn't freeze to death takes an understanding and buildup of a lot of mechanics while under time pressure. There's still a lot of balancing going on even for the very early game.

[@PaulB-wv5wb]

What game is in the right in the thumbnail? Great video btw, sensible commentary and some cool games. Can't wait for Satisfactory 1.0!

[@Blaze-ub5uw]

Honestly lifecraft looks fantastic

[@ethangarofolo8170]

The rise of factory games would be a fascinating retrospective. I’d love to see that.

[@draksis4591]

Awesome Video - didn't know half of these games

[@micheljolicoeur6094]

@TotalXclipse, The Crust has a Steam release date of July 15, less than 3 week from now.

[@TotalXclipse]

Yep! I recorded this about a month ago, so hadnt realised at the time the exact date 😅

[@TheGamer-sq7st]

One game I've been enjoying recently is called "Beltmatic" , it's a top down factory builder where the resources are all numbers, and the machines are arithmetic processes, (adder, multiplier, subtracter), it's a lot of fun and an interesting twist, since everything can be a resource, it gives you a lot more freedom for ways to make the specific number you need

[@dokvald]

I can't wait for shapez 2. I love the first one and had a ton of fun with the beta of shapez 2.

[@johnchristianson515]

Big fan of first person building and factory games, only down side is a few like Astroneer had controls or movements that feel to sluggish or complicated to really enjoy.

[@alessandrofasoli3175]

I have waited my whole life for a factory + tower defense game, I'll keep an eye on tower factory for sure.

[@KamramBehzad]

Currently playing Foundry while I'm counting the days waiting for Satisfactory 1.0. I have 2800 in Factorio but not sure how excited I am about Factorio 2.0. Dyson Sphere Program (900 hours) has a special place in my heart. Will be playing a lot more of that in the future.

[@fuzzy-02]

Loved the no crap video. Short, concise and straight to the point showing everg game

[@GenericUTuber32]

You missed Mindustry. It’s not new but it’s a fantastic game and should be on any automation list.

[@jex-the-notebook-guy1002]

But this is coming soon updates and releases

[@Feltope]

I never see "Megafactory Titan" on lists. It really is worth a look. I have had a lot of fun playing it.

[@rockteergaming]

great content as usual keep up the good work. (you really should have more subs for the quality of your content)

[@Krazzymonkey]

Techtonica is incredible.

[@donadavs]

Good stuff, Thanks for the video!

[@tomoliop]

Thanks for the list, didn't know many games on here.

[@knicklichtjedi]

My favorites from the list are: Autoforge, Lifecraft, Industrial Annihilation, Desynced, The Crust, Tower Factory Those look so cool and I will check them out/watch your videos about them! And my absolute favorites I already played are also here: Techtonica, DSP, Hydroneer, Satisfactory

[@MegaLokopo]

When did they update the look of splitters?

[@Axehilt]

Great list, thanks! * Dyson/Factorio are longtime faves * Captain of Industry I keep seeing and I love that it's just this realistic industry aesthetic, guess I finally need to check it out. * Satisfactory I just wish had faster travel and more complicated resourcing. The big chonky mines just feel too 'Duplo Blocks' to me compared with the nuance you get from Dyson/Factori's ores. *Eco* is a game that doesn't really fit on this list (since there's very little automation), but I think there's a lot of overlap for players who enjoy this genre. Basically you join a multiplayer server with 30+ others, and in 30 real days a meteor will destroy the planet. You pick a job. So you might choose to be a hunter, killing animals to sell carcasses in your shop to a butcher who sells to the chef, who sells the food you eat. Better food gives you a higher XP bonus, letting you pick new jobs faster (though you'll only ever have a handful of jobs total, as it's meant to be a team coop game). Industry produces pollution which can kill off nearby crops, so you want your farmers far enough away from your smelters so each can do their job without limits. Techs get researched, with you starting in the stone age and ending up using a laser to shoot down the meteor. However as you get later in techs, air pollution becomes a threat and can cause sea levels to rise if your server isn't careful. To help, there's one of the most advanced government systems in a game letting you create custom laws and taxes. In fact currency isn't default, and often a government mints the first currency, which lets people use a shared currency (which can either be backed by a real good or not). Basically it simulates a _ridiculous_ number of real-world things, and by the end of it you'll understand economics better than you would if you took a college course on it.

[@boatymcface155]

I find it funny, that people either go for Factorio or Satisfactory when it comes to their favorite automation game, both are fantastic so I can see why.

[@smarty265]

Im excited for Tower Factory. Its less of a traditional factory building game since its more of a game about managing resources and building quickly. I really enjoyed the short demon

[@kapiteinlulhaas7612]

Tower factory looks awesome! Is it from the dev of factory town?

[@reallyjustrandom1230]

Just bought Shapz 2 Yesterday. OMGSH what an addicting and very cool game!

[@Rey-ju8ic]

Man the pipeline is brutal, one moment you're playing Skyfactory (Minecraft modpack), then a decade later you're watching a KZbin video suggesting automation games you already play 😅

[@shadowsonge]

I'd love to see a playthrough of Lifecraft

[@JoshuaGanoTyraxLightning]

I just recently started a Playthrough of Foundry... lookin cool thus far. Oddsparks looks interesting... it's on my Radar now. Industrial Annihilation looked totally my cup of tea, but sadly my attempts to find it on Steam came up bupkiss. Is Steam missing out on Industrial Annihilation? :( I'm on Hiatus from Techtonica for now but am glad it's comin along well. ETA on doin my next Playthrough TBD, but i'm liking how it's comin along with its baking and polish. :) Desync is still in my Backlog... ETA on my first play of it TBD. Dyson Sphere Program rocks! I have managed one Playthrough of it thus far, where sadly I got my ass handed to me by the Dark Fog. Next Playthrough, maybe I should try a non-infested Sector and actually figure out how to play that game *effectively* before daring to challenge the Dark Fog... 🤕 Sadly I wasn't able to run Satisfactory's Update 8 and don't have high hopes I can run its Full Release. I'm screwed into missing this party till my next Rig, and I have no clue how long till I can get a next Rig up and running... but it's definitely not gonna be anytime soon. :( I'm still glad Satisfactory's doing well though. :)

[@anthonygorham5299]

Auto forge looks like my late game ONI spaghetti. Def gonna try that one.

[@Gulzt]

Dream Engines: Nomad Cities also released this year! Factory building + Tower Defense with quite a unique twist.

[@6Twisted]

I can't believe you left out Mindustry.

[@JordanMetroidManiac]

Yeah, I commented about it too 😂

[@Darion350]

I absolutely adore that game, and the free update that came out a while back. Might have been left out since it came out a while ago.

[@MaxdepoesGames]

i liked astro colony :D

[@thefireman6417]

I've been playing space engineers for a while now, although it might not have the automation like the other games, it is one of the best base building games I have played.

[@Valyn]

Shapes 2!! Loved the first one.

[@Sventt]

which games is 13:08?

[@NoobMicesters]

Honestly DSP has been hype for me, i played intially on the steam release, and it was cool but i grew bored quickly, but with the dark fog, and good mod support, playing it with mods including multiplayer mod is hella fun

[@leno7878]

THE FACTORY MUST GROW

[@MichaelPohoreski]

_"The factory is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding factory."_ With apologies to Oscar Wilde / Leonard Nimoy & Civ 4.

[@nkdng1998]

Factorio, Dyson Sphere Program and Satisfactory, those are the best for me, in that order

[@maxk.3803]

I think TotalXClipse forgot about Plan B Terraform, you should give it a bit of love as well

[@Kizawa299]

Those who said that 2024 was a filler year when seeing Satisfactory 1.0 and Factorio 2.0 🚬🗿

[@HiroProtaganist]

Oh my god, I'm so glad I watched this, I'm 5min into Final Factory and I think I'm taking the day off. What have you done to my life?

[@linamishima]

Nice summary, thank you! I'm curious as to why Factorio didn't click with you? Another possible video is to look at the OG inspiration for this whole genre - technical minecraft, both vanilla (eg scicraft, docm77, TangoTek, Etho), and what mods and modpacks bring to the table

[@50shadesofskittles9]

Captain of Industry is about to release update 3 and it will feature trains 🎉

[@johnb0815]

when I searched for Tower Factory on Stream, I saw there is also a game called Factory Tower....

[@Maulus]

10:35....what are those buildings??? I have not seen these or is this old footage?????

[@jacobisbell9388]

That's really old footage, like pre update 2 old. They're all the buildings you know just different models

[@jeremyjedlicka1473]

Factorio 2.0 is also being released as part fo the base game at the same time as space age. It will add a ton of new content to the game.

[@GartenschlaucHD]

Do you know Cosmoteer? Its an spaceship build game where your ship is basicly a factory

[@The_Beard_of_Wisdom]

There is another one I believe is worth mentioning, Factory Town if you haven't looked into it already.

[@ealrann]

Factorio: Space Age is the banger for 2024. Not really waiting for Satisfactory, we already know the game

[@keganleberman]

Which game was in the thumbnail on the right?

[@Tether33]

Evospace is my favourite with so many refining methods to extract more resources from ores, as well as mixing chemicals, oil, salt.

[@TotalXclipse]

Is that being updated or released this year?

[@imtootired4122]

@@TotalXclipse Evospace 0.19.0 was just released.

[@Tether33]

@@TotalXclipse Its been in early access since 2019, developer is active and updating regularly. Not sure on a release date though.

[@LuaanTi]

It seems heavily inspired by GregTech mods for Minecraft (check those out if you enjoy that kind of thing), but one thing I absolutely love about it is the way it breaks machines into more parts, so you have e.g. a machine with a kinetic input, and it's up to you what you use to supply that input. I hope this gets explored a lot more, if not in the main game than in mods. Why not use waste heat from one process to power your distillation tower, right? :P One thing it still misses IMO is similar to Foundry - it has no real "hook". It's a fun factory game, but what makes it special? Mind, I still have over 100 hours in both Evospace and Foundry (and many other automation games that are very similar to other automation games I also play).

[@Snaikounet]

Sorry for my bad english. DSP not in 1.0? That's incredibly surprise me.. I have more than 2000 hours on him.. This game aspire my soul and sometimes my nights.. (And thanks to the modders community ofc.

[@TotalXclipse]

I understand you perfectly! Yep there's still more to come from DSP from my understanding. The crust is coming out in two weeks I believe so not long to wait!

[@MagicPixel]

Likes Shapez, but not a big fan of Factorio... Wat?!

[@GH-sn1gm]

When will we get a factory game about making factory games?

[@marcbennett9232]

great list! I bounced hard off of foundry, but autoforge and oddsparks are a ton of fun. both need more updates though. still top of my list is satisfactory 1.0

[@MichaelPohoreski]

I couldn't get into _Foundry_ either -- spoiled by _Satisfactory._

[@marcbennett9232]

@@MichaelPohoreski yeah, I hope it improves. my biggest complaint isnt even the mechanics, its more the tutorial and opening hours are soooo boring and on rails. total opposite of Satisfactory.

[@SirSmuggler]

Potion pipeline is not likley to come out any time "soon" as the developers have stated on the steam forums that they have "paused" development on potion pipeline to work on other projects.

[@Humsass]

Riftbreaker is quite fun too!

[@Sillypyromaniac]

Honorable mention to the minecraft create mod

[@mhgscrubadub9917]

For those that really hate their freetime and outside world. Bobs angels for factorio is a must try.

[@subashchandra9557]

Not a huge fan of Satisfactory for a variety of reasons, but honestly can't wait for the Factorio expansion! Release date will be announced this Friday! Spoiler Alert : It probably won't be releasing in August this year(Who announces a release date just a month out?). They just finished playtesting it for the first time, and a huge amount of optimization and restructuring is needed to be done. They're saying it will be Winter 2024, or even later.

[@stefan9523]

i didnt even know dyson sphere program was in early acces. The game looks already done

[@newrunning]

I played the demo of revive and prosper and i will buy the game its so relaxing to play it.

[@kristof9497]

can't wait for The crust, COI:Trains (Playing to DSP,Satisfactory)

[@QuesoSabrosos]

With Minecraft adding the crafter block in 1.21 it’s going to instantly leap to being one of the best automation games

[@Jean_Mi]

Thank you for this list of games that I was waiting for There are several that I didn't know existed, but which I like less, this explains it I just finished COI and am waiting for Satisfactory 1.0 before starting to play it again

[@krathkacalle]

I was introduced in this genre with Shapez, and since, I really enjoyed them. However, I tried Factorio and Satisfactory, and those first person things are not for me... Gladly, there's a bunch of "build and chill" games. It's like strategy games... You can play with war (Age of Empires), or you can play chill (Cities Skylines). I miss on your list Beltmatic ;) It's more like Shapez, but with combination of numbers. If you are an engineer (and not an architect) this game should be good for you :)

[@yaz8141]

As soon as this guy said he wasnt a fan of factorio i lost trust in a best factory video lol.

[@octoberfiregaming]

Potion Pipeline looks like a reskinned Shapez 1.0. O.o

[@namelessking8905]

Planet crafter has automation as well.

[@dumaskhan]

DSP all the way. i want that game to have orbital stations that feed a planet of rss instead of flying directly into the planet with inter planetary ships.

[@Twixxxable]

Industry Giant 4 is coming as well this year.

[@jessinra2947]

oxygen not included ?

[@noidea5597]

I sadly just have a pretty weak pc. What are the best performing automation games that are fun?

[@FeliciaCrow-do8ii]

My definition of weak pc might be skewed, but you could look if you meet the minimum requirements for Magical Mixture Mill. Just a warning it has a limited space for your factory so there will be a lot of rebuilding at least your first playthrough when new things unlock.

[@TotalXclipse]

Shapez.io is a fantastic factory game, simple concept but pretty well optimized for all pcs iirc - believe there's also a free demo too

[@chainingsolid]

Factorio is quite optimized, and has a demo so you can try it out a bit before and possibly find out if your pc can or can't.

[@elegathor4251]

Only problem of Crust is the invasive ads on Reddit.

[@rsm3265]

Chocolate Factory is also fun.

[@RottenEggplant]

I'm actually surprised it wasn't in here, considering how inspired by Satisfactory it is...

[@TotalXclipse]

Not in here because it looks too much like it's ripping satisfactory off...

[@flyawayprizm5530]

@@TotalXclipse … it’s definitely inspired by it, but it’s definitely unique enough that it’s not ripping it off… imo, anyway…

[@RottenEggplant]

@@TotalXclipse We can agree to disagree on that take, but hey, it's cool. I was just sad to not see it mentioned.

[@TotalXclipse]

I've played it, I truly feel like it's satisfactory prior to it coming to EA (if you've seen the Dev streams on it) it feels like a reskin, and far too buggy to be released to EA imo but it can be good for the memes. I may create a video on it at some point, but if people are enjoying it, great, just not something I want to promote. Perhaps I'm a killjoy 🤣

[@FullCircleStories]

What was the rightmost game in the thumbnail? I watched the whole video but couldn't place it

[@jex-the-notebook-guy1002]

Maybe Shapez 2

[@Neridian_]

I’ve been awaiting satisfactory 1.0 since the game’s release on the epic games store. Even though I got it on steam

[@clarencechurch4006]

i think potion pipeline might actually be dead, the developers has put it on indefinite hold, while they work on another game called slots & sorcery, this was mentioned in the steam discussion page back in 2022

[@TotalXclipse]

Oh really? I totally missed that!

[@weiwang9622]

It's weird that people likes satisfactory but factorio.

[@stevelawrie9115]

I think I'll be patient and wait till Satisfactory 1.0 drops.

[@neongr1978]

any opinion about Astro Colony ?

[@TotalXclipse]

Good game - but I don't think there's been an update recently? May be mistaken though

[@ianlol-yi1cc]

potion pipeline looks like shapez 1 with a texture pack

[@The_Chad_]

Chocolate Factory has been pretty fun.