Usually, the older a game gets, the cheaper it gets, but in a rare reversal of fortune, the beloved factory management game Factorio will raise its price on January 26, from $30 to $35.

"This is an adjustment to account for the level of inflation since its release on Steam in 2016," Factorio's developer announced today on Twitter (opens in new tab), as discovered by Kotaku (opens in new tab). early access label in 2020. After being stripped, we reviewed Factorio and gave it a very positive 91%.

Factorio is by no means unbeatable when it comes to pricing: it is also worth noting that in a message on its Steam page, the developer tells would-be players that it does not intend to discount the game anytime soon. In 2016, the company's policy of not selling was "to respect players who have already purchased the game" and not to reward those waiting with a discount (opens in new tab).

"This game is priced at what we think is a fair price, and that's the deal," studio member Scott "Cronan" Woodhouse said at the time.

"We hope that with enough time and additional development we can convince you that it's worth it.

Factorio fans have reacted positively to the price increase announcement. Existing Factorio players are the only people who may not be affected by the price increase, as they already own the game, but it was fun to see their serious expression of affection for the 2D automation sim.

"I fully support this decision," tweeted one player (opens in new tab). 'You have created a great, timeless game and priced it right. One of the best values I've gotten in the gaming world."

"I'm very proud of you.

Even Satisfactory, a competing automation game, gave encouragement on Twitter, exclaiming (opens in new tab): "Make it $40."

Inflation is high around the world now, but Factorio's studio, Wube Software, the studio behind Factorio, is based in the Czech Republic, where it is particularly high. According to the Czech National Bank (opens in new tab), the country's average inflation rate for 2022 is 15.1%, which is how much the cost of goods and services increased from the beginning of the year to the end. For comparison, the U.S. 12-month inflation rate at the end of 2022 was 6.5%.

The $5 added to Factorio's $30 represents a 16.6% increase, similar to the cost-of-living increase to which developers are reacting.

While it is not at all unusual for prices to jump when a game leaves early access, I cannot immediately recall any other time a game has become more expensive after launch; notable 2023 games such as Star Wars Jedi: Survivor already have base edition priced at $69.99.

In the world of hardware, which is more susceptible to changes in material costs, Meta recently raised the price of its Quest 2 VR headset by $100; Meta announced this price increase before it went into effect, which is a funny phenomenon: the company is now selling the headset at a price that is much lower than the price of the original version. It's like a reverse sale: usually we wait for a price change to get a discount, but in cases like this we are encouraged to buy the product now for a future price discount.

I personally haven't spent much time with Factorio, but based on what I've heard and the enthusiastic support from fans, $35 doesn't sound expensive. As of now, it's still available on Steam for $30. The price change will take place on January 26.