Bay 12’s Dwarf Fortress is nearly two decades old and it’s still going strong on Steam, but in the wake of its new Adventure Mode, the developer is showing no signs of slowing down. Dwarf Fortress has shared a huge new roadmap that lays out exciting features and improvements coming to both Fortress and Adventure, and I honestly can’t wait.
In a blog post shared on Wednesday February 12, publisher Kitfox Games announced that Dwarf Fortress is entering a “new era” of development, with focus now shifting to quality-of-life fixes, more modding support, and a heap of exciting new features. While no release windows have been shared, Kitfox has provided a roadmap of the (many) planned features coming to the strategy game.
The “next few updates” Bay 12 has planned will focus on Fortress Mode, primarily improving sieges so that players have the tools and abilities to be properly prepared for attacks. Dwarf Fortress players have been calling for changes to sieges for some time, and finally, their pleas are being answered.
While not guaranteed, and some plans are a bit vague, the roadmap outlines a list of “possible” changes and fixes. These include adjustments to defensive weapons to make them more useful, changes to cage traps to make them more “intensive,” and adding the ability for siegers to track where deaths happen so they can use alternate routes. This update will also add the first Fortress Mode abilities to interact with magic systems.
After the Fortress Mode update, the developer’s focus will shift to its RPG counterpart Adventure Mode. The first post-launch feature is the highly-requested Site Building, which will allow you to create settlements. Site Building appeared in the original iteration of Dwarf Fortress, but never made it to the Steam version, so it’s great to see the feature making a comeback.
Once these updates have rolled out to Fortress Mode and Adventure Mode, the developer will take a look at the world maps, with rewrites, new additions, and “beautifications” on the cards. This will be most prevalent underground in Fortress Mode, but also above ground, with the overall aim to prepare the game “for a more magical and procedural, dynamically-reactive future.” In other words, prepare for a much more visually impressive (and fantastical) Dwarf Fortress. Alongside these rewrites, the developer plans to further differentiate existing biomes and add some extra magical and strange things.
Last, but certainly not least, the developer will return to looking at systems, including villains, army warfare, and civilizations, it was working on before the Steam release.
Dwarf Fortress is, rightfully, moving with the times, and the 2025 roadmap looks extremely promising and more than a bit magical. When exactly we’ll get to see these changes in action – and whether we’ll see them all – remains to be seen. But, it’s a good time to be a Dwarf Fortress player or to finally take the plunge.
Looking for more great games like Dwarf Fortress? Check out our pick of the best city building games and best sandbox games.
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