Dwarf Fortress

Steam News · 1d

Dwarf Fortress co-creator Tarn Adams was amazed other devs had heard of his game the first time he went to a convention: 'I didn't know that anyone knew what we were doing'

Dwarf Fortress is a bit like caviar—not everyone's into it, but the people who are describe their experiences with it like a religious awakening. But the game's legendary co-creator, Tarn Adams, didn't even know it had a big following for many years, as he told PC Gamer's Joshua Wolens in a recent interview at Gamescom 2026... Read more.

Steam News · 4d

Dwarf Fortress co-creator says his life as a millionaire is 'basically like reattaining what my parents could do with regular jobs'

Back in 2024, Dwarf Fortress surpassed 800,000 copies sold, more than enough to make co-creators Tarn and Zach Adams millionaires. At the time, they seemed to be taking a low-key approach to the whole mo' money thing, so when our intrepid interviewer Joshua Wolens caught up with Tarn at the recently-concluded Gamescom, he asked if, in the two years since then, he'd more fully adjusted to his money...

Steam News · 5d

Dwarf Fortress creator says we can learn something from simply walling up dwarf nobles to maintain an equal society—but notes you have to abolish the dwarf cops, too: 'Another lesson to be had there'

While the legendarily absurd complexity of fantasy simulation in Dwarf Fortress provides countless perils for dwarven health and happiness, the most insidious threat to any mountain hall emerges from within: Nobility. As a fortress flourishes, it inevitably draws the attention of dwarven nobles who'll needlessly burrow themselves into industries they're not qualified to direct, issuing demands and...

Steam News · 6d

Dwarf Fortress creator says we have a natural lean towards human-made stories, 'but we're all going to be very sorely tested in the coming years' by AI

Dwarf Fortress has an endless capacity for telling stories. It's a game built on procedural generation, and any longtime player'll be able to spin up a dozen yarns about some absurd thing that happened to their gaggle of miners... Read more.

Steam News · 6d

Dwarf Fortress creator says the industry's in shambles over AI and layoff-happy CEOs: 'Everyone I know, their bosses are slowly getting psychosis'

The game industry is—to use the lightest possible language—in an interesting spot. While videogames are as profitable as ever on paper, we've had a few consecutive years of brutal layoffs and studio closures, as well as all of the knock-on impacts that the advent of generative AI (and the subsequent and boneheaded insistence that it's the future) has had. Billions in spending, skyrocketing hardwar...

Steam News · Aug 27

Holy crap, it's happening: Dwarf Fortress gets its first Myth and Magic update later this year, bringing each player's world its own procedural magic system

Even as it achieved fractal complexity by modeling feline alcohol poisoning, procedural bardic traditions, and delayed-action thermonuclear dragonfire, the creators of Dwarf Fortress—brothers Tarn and Zach Adams—have maintained still loftier ambitions for their legendary fantasy sim. In recent years, that effort has been guided by one goal: Creating magic. Procedural, universe-specific magic, inte...

Steam News · Aug 5

20th Anniversary, Myth & Magic art and music 🦄 Dwarf Fortress Patch 53.16

Hey Urists, We're back and celebrating the 20th anniversary of Dwarf Fortress this week with a special show, Myth & Magic at and music updates and a patch. While Myth & Magic work is very much underway, we also have patch 53.16 today which fixes a bunch of things. We are also preparing to go to Gamescom at the end of the month to show a first-look of Myth & Magic gameplay that you'll be able to wa...

Steam News · Aug 4

Dwarf Fortress 20th Anniversary Show

Hey Urists! August 8th marks the 20th anniversary of classic Dwarf Fortress and we've put together an exciting show to celebrate the occasion. Join Tarn and Zach as they play the first ever build of the game from 2006 and reminisce about the olden days. It’s been a while since they’ve played the build and it’s very unstable so who knows what will happen? We're also excited to reveal the new Myth &...

Steam News · Jul 23

The challenges of developing the colony sim, from Dungeon Keeper to Dwarf Fortress and beyond

From the archives: This feature was originally published in PC Gamer #305 (UK, June 2017). It appears below as originally written, with only minor changes in formatting and presentation... Read more.

Steam News · Jun 29

Dinosaurs have arrived in the latest Dwarf Fortress update

Dwarfs versus dinos? Yep, that's now a thing. The deep sim Dwarf Fortress has a big free update out now adding in a whole lot of extinct animals. Read the full article here: