- Games
- Factorio
Factorio
You and your friends build an automated factory while its pollution draws attacks from the planet’s inhabitants.
Online co-op for up to 500 players, with crossplay.
- 500 online
- Crossplay
Where to buy
Playing together
- Online co-op500 players
- Local co-opNot confirmed
- YesPC, Mac, Linux, Switch, Switch 2Friends on different platforms, such as PC and PlayStation, can play together.
- YesA friend can join or leave while you are already playing, without starting over.
- Not confirmedFriends play free with a Friend's Pass or similar.
- Steam DeckVerifiedValve's own rating
About the game
You start with a few tools on an alien planet and build the machinery needed to launch a rocket. You mine ore, smelt metal and connect assemblers with belts and mechanical arms. Research opens new machines, trains and robots, but every addition asks for more materials and power. Pollution brings hostile creatures to your walls, so the factory also needs defenses.
In co-op you can divide the work between mining, production, transport and protection. Agree on a plan before changing each other’s lines, then work on separate parts of the same growing system. The challenge is learning why something stops flowing and designing a better route. It suits patient groups who enjoy solving practical problems over several evenings.
How it feels
Kind of game
One lasting world your group settles. You gather, build and push into dangerous places together.
- Now and then
- Laughter and chaos
- Calm and coziness
- Time to hang out
- Exploring
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
Rated on our own feel scale. 6 sources back these ratings.
Screenshots
From the Steam store page. Open one to see it full size.
If you liked Factorio
You will probably enjoy these too. Each one says why.
StarRupture
Why it scores 87%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Shared survival world
- About
- Factory automation, Alien planets, Science fiction and Bug swarms
- Core to both
- Building and creating, Unlocks and progress
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
- Notable in both
- Puzzles and figuring out, Working in sync, Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Getting better, Fighting
- Co-op
- Online co-op
How StarRupture differs
- Fits a smaller group than Factorio
- Early access
- 4 online
Both give your group a hard world to survive in together. Both are about building automated factories and strange alien worlds. Both let you build things together.
But fits a smaller group than Factorio.
Cosmoteer: Starship Architect & Commander
Why it scores 77%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Shared survival world
- About
- Science fiction
- Core to both
- Building and creating
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
- Notable in both
- Working in sync, Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Getting better, Fighting, Unlocks and progress
- Co-op
- Online co-op
How Cosmoteer: Starship Architect & Commander differs
- Less figuring things out than Factorio
- Early access
- 8 online
Both give your group a hard world to survive in together. Both are about science fiction. Both give you one lasting world to come back to.
But less figuring things out than Factorio.
ARK: Survival Evolved
Why it scores 76%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Shared survival world
- About
- Science fiction
- Core to both
- Building and creating, Unlocks and progress
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
- Notable in both
- Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Getting better, Fighting
- Co-op
- Online co-op
How ARK: Survival Evolved differs
- Less figuring things out than Factorio
- More exploring than Factorio
- 70 online
- 2 split-screen
- Crossplay
Both give your group a hard world to survive in together. Both have upgrades that carry over. Both are about science fiction.
But less figuring things out than Factorio.
All co-op facts
Last checked 28 October 2026. The small numbers link to the page that states each fact.
Co-op
- Fewest players online
- Not confirmed
- Local co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on one screen
- Not confirmed
- Split or shared screen
- Not confirmed
- Separate-device co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on separate devices
- Not confirmed
- Free base co-op
- No
The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
- 91617
- Confirmed free setups
- Does not apply
- Only one of you needs to buy it
- Not confirmed
- Voice chat by distance
- Not confirmed
Sources
17 pages
factorio.comOfficial support page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Most players online, Platforms.
- Most players online: The current maker FAQ advertises support for up to 500 players in a single game. This is the highest current explicit maker-supported capacity, not an engine hard-limit claim. Nintendo editions separately list 64. A historical 521-person community event and old theoretical protocol limits do not establish a different supported current ceiling.
- Platforms: The FAQ lists Windows, macOS, Linux and Nintendo Switch.
factorio.comOfficial site, read 23 October 2026
Backs Genres, Building and creating, Unlocks and progress.
- Genres: The maker lists Simulation and RTS.
- Building and creating: The maker describes building and maintaining factories.
- Unlocks and progress: Research and automation lead from basic tools to large industrial systems.
factorio.comOfficial site, read 28 October 2026
Backs Online co-op, Kind of game, Sessions, About, Planning ahead, Fighting.
- Online co-op: The multiplayer section offers building with friends in private games and public servers.
- Kind of game: Normal freeplay combines a lasting settlement, resource extraction, factory building, defense against biters and expansion for materials.
- Sessions: Freeplay uses a generated world and a rocket goal, with extensive factory growth along the way.
- About: Industrial technology operates on an alien planet with waves of hostile biters. Assembling machines and conveyor belts make products automatically, and research leads to automated factories.
- Planning ahead: Power, logistics, pollution and defenses need planning.
- Fighting: The maker describes walls, turrets and attacks on enemy territory.
nintendo.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Most players online.
- Most players online: Nintendo lists up to 64 online players on Switch, below the PC FAQ capacity.
factorio.comOfficial news, read 24 October 2026
Backs Crossplay, Crossplay between.
- Crossplay: The September 13, 2022 announcement explicitly includes cross-platform multiplayer.
- Crossplay between: Switch can play with the PC versions. Console play has no mod support.
factorio.comOfficial news, read 23 October 2026
Backs Crossplay between.
- Crossplay between: The October 28, 2022 release post says PC players may need the console branch so game versions match. Large maps can exceed Switch limits.
factorio.comOfficial news, read 24 October 2026
Backs Platforms, Crossplay, Crossplay between.
- Platforms: The December 22, 2025 post confirms the Switch 2 Edition is released.
- Crossplay: The post confirms compatibility and crossplay with PC.
- Crossplay between: The released Switch 2 Edition supports PC crossplay. Matching versions and content are required. Original Switch cannot join Space Age worlds, and large worlds may exceed its practical limits.
factorio.comOfficial news, read 23 October 2026
Backs Friends can join mid-game.
- Friends can join mid-game: The June 14, 2024 post explains players joining a running game while others continue and servers pausing after the last player disconnects.
store.steampowered.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Steam app ID, Release date, Working in sync, Free base co-op.
- Steam app ID: The live store product is Factorio, app 427520.
- Release date: The full release date displayed is August 14, 2020.
- Working in sync: The maker description explicitly describes collaborating and dividing tasks among friends.
- Free base co-op: The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 24 October 2026
Backs Release status.
- Release status: The game is released and no longer in early access.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 23 October 2026
Backs Steam Deck.
- Steam Deck: Valve rates the game Verified on Steam Deck.
pcgamer.comPress, read 24 October 2026
Backs Puzzles and figuring out, Exploring, Getting better, Planning ahead.
- Puzzles and figuring out: PC Gamer, August 24, 2020, describes an open-ended logistics problem with linked production chains.
- Exploring: Finite ore requires finding new deposits and extending transport.
- Getting better: The review describes increasingly elaborate systems, introduced in stages.
- Planning ahead: The review balances efficient production with automatic protection.
nintendolife.comPress, read 24 October 2026
Backs Tension and danger, Calm and coziness, Time to hang out.
- Tension and danger: Nintendo Life, October 28, 2022, describes pollution increasing the danger of alien attacks.
- Calm and coziness: The review describes long stretches arranging factories, interrupted by danger.
- Time to hang out: Finding layouts and supplying defenses keep conversation focused on the shared task.
steamcommunity.comStore page, read 23 October 2026
Backs Laughter and chaos.
- Laughter and chaos: The first inspected helpful review describes a confusing co-op factory and recurring failures with comic exaggeration. This supports occasional funny mistakes, not constant slapstick.
factorio.comOfficial news, read 24 October 2026
Backs Release status, Release date.
- Release status: The maker announces the completed 1.0 release.
- Release date: Friday Facts 360 is dated August 14, 2020 and announces 1.0 that day.
gog.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Free base co-op.
- Free base co-op: The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
factorio.comOfficial news, read 24 October 2026
Backs Free base co-op.
- Free base co-op: The maker announced a paid Switch base release on October 28, 2022. Switch 2 upgrade access depends on owning the game. A current checkout amount was not established.