Best Games Like Factorio

Since its initial 2016 release, Factorio has become one of the most popular indie games on Steam despite its old-school graphics and dull colors. This is likely due to the game's addictive and evolving nature as players gradually automate the tedious processes of the game, slowly building an efficient factory that practically runs itself.

Due to Factorio's popularity, a plethora of "factory management" and automation games have followed suit, with many offering unique experiences with distinct art styles.

Updated on February 5, 2024, by Harry Ted Sprinks: Management and automation games continue to be one of the more popular genres on Steam, arguably due to their high replay value. Games like Factorio propelled this genre even further into the mainstream, and though few have ever reached its heights, games such as Mindustry and Dyson Sphere Program get rather close. Although an abundance of games continues to take inspiration from it, Factorio itself remains a consistently updated game, with several updates having already been released in 2024. Hopefully, some of these Factorio-adjacent games will live up to the high standards that Factorio has set.

12 Captain Of Industry - A Grounded Game Of Logistics

Steam User Rating: 93%

• Platform(s): PC
• Released: 2022
• Developer(s): MaFi Games

Captain Of Industry tasks players with building and managing a production line. Players will spend hours gathering and processing resources in order to mass produce a variety of products, with gameplay that emphasizes efficiency.

Captain Of Industry's aesthetic is relatively bland, but its theme and visuals allow it to feel more grounded. For those who are happy with a mechanics-first management game packed with logistical work, Captain Of Industry is a perfect fit, but it does little to capture the imagination.

11 Dinky Guardians - Planetary Colonization And Automation

Steam User Rating: 89%

• Platform(s): PC
• Released: 2023
• Developer(s): Endless Loop Studios

This planet-colonization game tasks players with replicating and managing colonies of "Dinkys", a race of small, strange, pink creatures that are great for performing automated tasks. The game features a tech tree and even allows players to leave the planet to colonize new ones.

On top of creating automated machines and colonies, Dinky Guardians allows players to set up supply chains between planets. However, players also have to worry about the night, during which they'll be tasked with defending their bases using minefields and turrets.

10 Automachef - Restaurant Management Automation

Steam User Rating: 75%

This resource management puzzle game tasks players with designing and building automated kitchens by building and programming a variety of machines in order to construct the perfect production line for their restaurant.

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Automachef features a campaign of puzzling scenarios and a “contracts” mode, as well as a sandbox mode that allows players to freely experiment with the game's mechanics. While Automachef may lack the depth and longevity of Factorio, it's certainly a worthwhile foray for those looking for more variations on automation gameplay.

9 Word Factori - A Word-Building Puzzle

Steam User Rating: 86%

This unique "word-building" game has a clear and simple art style and easy-to-learn gameplay that tasks the player with building chains of colorful factories that manipulate the letter "i" into more complex letters.

Although Word Factori is more of a puzzle game than a factory management game, it encourages players to optimize their factory chains to get higher scores. The game is fairly short but features extra goals such as challenge levels and hidden word art to keep players engaged.

8 Kubifaktorium - A Colony-Sim About Automation

Steam User Rating: 80%

This voxel-based colony-sim management game has players building and managing a colony through resource management and production lines built out of complex machinery, allowing for a unique take on the saturated colony-sim genre.

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By  Harry Ted Sprinks

Kubifaktorium features a variety of transport systems, including trains, conveyor belts, and zeppelins that allow the player to move their resources back and forth across their colony. Furthermore, the game allows players to automate their colony's production through automated farms, smelters, and crushers that make use of conveyor belts.

7 Shapez - An Abstract Automation Game

Steam User Rating: 96%

This abstract automation game features a minimalist aesthetic and gameplay that features an infinitely expanding map on which players must automate the production of increasingly complex shapes through the use of the game's various machines.

Shapez is unique for its relaxing atmosphere and simplistic aesthetic that is both easy on the eyes and clear to read, making the puzzle-like gameplay a breeze to experiment with. Shapez may not be as much of a sandbox as Factorio, nor does it feature any combat or technology trees, but it's a fun and clever automation game that's easy to sink many hours into.

6 Autonauts - Automation With Visual Programming

Steam User Rating: 90%

This highly unique automation game stands out for its colony-building gameplay that tasks players with automating various productions by crafting robots and teaching them how to do their jobs through an educational visual programming language similar to Scratch.

Autonauts gives players an abundance of things to do and teach to their robot workers. Throughout the game, players will work to create a fully automated and peaceful colony through careful tinkering as they build their robotic workforce. Seeing an entire colony run by automated workers programmed by the player is a uniquely satisfying experience.

5 Hydroneer - A Base-Building Sandbox

Steam User Rating: 87%

This base-building sandbox game has an emphasis on mining, tasking players with digging for various resources and selling them for a profit by developing a mining base with a modular building system and hydro-powered machines.

Players will need to design an efficient mining operation by creating various networks of pipes and controlling water pressure to power their machines. Players will spend a lot of time digging through the game's voxel-based terrain, hunting down ore veins, and transporting their goods across the map.

4 Infinifactory - A Sci-Fi Sandbox Puzzle

Steam User Rating: 95%

This sci-fi sandbox puzzle game tasks players with assembling products for their alien overlords by building factories in various 3D environments from a first-person perspective. Infinifactory features a story-driven campaign that takes the player through over fifty puzzles, as well as end-of-level histograms that allow players to see how efficient their factories are and compare them against others.

Furthermore, the game features a sandbox mode that allows players to experiment with the game's "block engine," as well as extensive Steam Workshop support that allows players to build and share their puzzles.

3 Satisfactory - Open-World, First-Person Factory Building

Steam User Rating: 97%

This science-fiction open-world game puts players on an exotic alien planet and tasks them with building and managing multi-floored factories heavily reliant on heaps of carefully placed conveyor belts.

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Although Satisfactory is heavily focused on its factory management mechanics, there are also light exploration and combat mechanics in the game that allow players to explore the alien planet and fight off local fauna. Satisfactory also allows players to further automate their production by automating transport vehicles like trucks and trains to carry their goods across the planet. Furthermore, the game features online co-op that allows players to build factories and explore the planet together.