Dwarf Fortress’ roguelike Adventure Mode gets full Steam launch this month

After nine of public beta access, hugely influential colony sim Dwarf Fortress’ roguelike Adventure Mode is getting its full Steam release on 23rd January.

Adventure Mode, if you’re unfamiliar, offers an alternative way to explore Dwarf Fortress’ ludicrously in-depth, procedurally generated worlds – trading the usual colony management for a roguelike RPG, complete with procedural quests, NPCs, and turn-based battles.

Dwarf Fortress’ Adventure Mode isn’t a new thing, of course. It’s been available as part of the free (and nearly two decade old) ASCII version for years, but it wasn’t included when the game made the jump to Steam as a notably slicker paid release – featuring the likes of sprite-based visuals, a mouse-driven UI, and Steam Workshop compatibility – in 2022.

That changed last May when developer siblings Zach and Tarn Adams launched a public beta version of Adventure Mode for Dwarf Fortress on Steam. At the time, the duo noted the beta had “some missing bits” seen in the ASCII version – ranging from additional graphics and sounds to butchery, crafting, and trading – that would be implemented prior to its full release.

And now, following nine months of beta access, Adventure Mode’s full release is officially set for 23d January. “Thank you to all the urists who participated in the beta and left their helpful feedback,” the Adamses wrote in announcement on Steam. “The mode has come a long way since it first launched in beta and we couldn’t have done it without your help!”

“We are excited to shift focus back to Fortress Mode very soon,” the announcement continued, “but this is also not the end of Adventure Mode development. Many updates in the future will be applied to both modes and there’s still more to add to Adventure Mode in the future. As with everything in Dwarf Fortress development, it will all come in due time.”

Prior to Adventure Mode’s full launch on Steam (and itch.io, where the Premium version is also available), the Adamses have released what’ll likely be one of the mode’s last pre-launch beta updates, featuring a long list of improvements and additions – as detailed the latest patch notes.