Coffee Stain Studios has announced Core Values, the first paid expansion for Satisfactory. After two years of free updates following the game's 1.0 release, the factory-building sim is sending pioneers underground. The expansion adds a subterranean setting with its own resources, flora and fauna, plus new buildings and production lines to fit an underground factory network. It was revealed during Coffee Stain's Big Break Showcase on September 29, and its store pages went live on Steam and the Epic Games Store the same day.
What Core Values adds
Coffee Stain's own description is short. The expansion is "taking the Satisfactory gameplay to new depths", and the studio calls it "a major expansion" rather than a content drop. Pioneers will dig into the crust of MASSAGE-2(A-B)b, the alien planet the base game is set on, and find "a different setting" below the surface.
The official feature list names four things:
- A new underground setting beneath the existing world, rather than a separate map or planet.
- New resources, flora and fauna native to that underground layer.
- New buildings and production lines, built for an underground factory network.
- More story. Coffee Stain says players will uncover more about the world the deeper they go.
That last point matters to anyone who finished the base game's Space Elevator phases and wanted to know more about FICSIT and the planet. The pitch ends on the game's four-word loop, Construct, Automate, Explore and Exploit, alongside a nod to "FICSIT's Core Values", the corporate motto the expansion is named after.
Why going underground is a big change
Satisfactory's factories have always spread across a surface map, and a lot of late-game planning comes down to finding flat ground, stacking floors and routing conveyor belts and trains over cliffs. An underground layer with its own production chains changes that. It adds a new kind of space to build in, and presumably new logistics problems in getting materials between the surface and the depths. Coffee Stain hasn't yet said how the two layers connect, how the new chains tie into the existing tier and milestone structure, or whether you need to reach a certain point in the base game before you can start. Those are the details long-time players will want most.
The key art shows the tone. It's a dark, bioluminescent cavern of violet foliage and glowing yellow plants, with a large-eared, one-eyed feline creature in the foreground. That's the first look at the new fauna.
Release date, price and platforms
None of the three has been announced. The Steam listing says "To be announced" and shows no price, and the Epic Games Store page is also live for wishlisting. Coffee Stain's own announcement says console store pages are "coming soon", so the expansion is planned for consoles too, but no console date has been given. For now, the Steam page only lists Windows.
It will be paid DLC, and that's a first for the game. Since Satisfactory reached 1.0 on September 10, 2024, every update has been free: quality-of-life changes, fixes and seasonal events. Coffee Stain marked the game's second 1.0 anniversary this month with festive decorations in the HUB. The studio hasn't said whether a free base-game update will ship alongside Core Values.
More Satisfactory news: a board game
Core Values isn't the only Satisfactory project Coffee Stain announced this month. MOOD Publishing is making Satisfactory: The Board Game, and its crowdfunding campaign launches on Gamefound on October 13. The campaign preview page is already open for follows. Coffee Stain is running a community challenge around it: for every 1,000 followers the preview gets before launch, the board game's Space Elevator piece grows by one centimetre.
What to watch for next
For now, you can wishlist Core Values on Steam or Epic, and the teaser trailer on the Steam page is the best look at the new setting. A release window, price and console dates are the next things to expect, along with a closer look at the new buildings. We'll cover those details when Coffee Stain shares them.
