[Dwarf Fortress' next update has been announced (opens in tab): Dwarf Fortress' next update has been announced (opens in new tab). This plainly titled "Baby Update" update, which does not yet have a confirmed release date, will add baby (and possibly child) sprites to "all creatures," from aardvark to gorlak. Some of the new sprites can be seen below from the official Baby Update Preview (BUP).

Adorable aside, the new art should make it a little easier to identify the various workers. Currently, dwarf children are depicted as adults in red shirts, making it difficult to tell at a glance whether a room is filled with stout, lazy workers or babbling toddlers. It would also be possible to tell whether the addicts and alligators in the room with them are cute, harmless babies or cute, harmless adults.

The update will affect "dwarves, animals, plants, and monsters" and will be released in the near future; since there are so many different creatures in Dwarf Fortress and "there are still some sprites left," neither Kitfox nor Bay 12 can give a specific Neither Kitfox nor Bay 12 can give a specific date for the update yet. The developers promise to provide more information in the coming weeks.

Dwarf Fortress has been added regularly since its Steam release last December with enhanced graphics. The last significant update added an Arena mode (opens in a new tab) that allows you to expose your minions to gladiatorial death matches (you can also test mods and tweaks you are working on). It is not possible to test new baby sprites in this mode.

Nearly 20 years after its initial release, the game is more successful than ever. An update released by the developers last month showed a 46,000% increase in revenue (open in new tab) since it hit Steam, and the game's two brothers, developers Zach Adams and Tarn Adams, are now bona fide billionaires (open in new tab ), which means they have to adapt to the reality of their situation. No game could be more fitting for this success.