“Dwarf Fortress’ Roguelike Tear Mode Set to Launch on Steam This Month”

After nine months of public beta access, the highly acclaimed colony simulation game Dwarf Fortress‘ roguelike Adventure Mode is scheduled for its significant Steam launch on January 23rd.

Adventure Mode, for those unfamiliar, introduces an additional narrative thread within Dwarf Fortress’ exceptionally intricate, procedurally generated environments – swapping conventional colony management for a roguelike RPG experience, featuring procedural quests, NPCs, and turn-based combat.

Adventure Mode isn’t entirely new, of course. It has been available as a part of the free (and nearly two-decade-old) ASCII version for many years, but it wasn’t included when the game transitioned to Steam as a notably polished paid release – showcasing sprite-based graphics, a mouse-driven interface, and Steam Workshop support – in 2022.

That changed last May when developer brothers Zach and Tarn Adams released a public beta version of Adventure Mode for Dwarf Fortress on Steam. At the time, the sisters noted that the beta had “some missing elements” present in the ASCII version – ranging from additional graphics and sounds to butchery, crafting, and trading – that would be integrated before its full release.

Now, after nine months of beta access, Adventure Mode’s full launch is officially scheduled for January 23rd. “Thank you to all the players who participated in the beta and provided their valuable feedback,” the Adams siblings stated in an announcement on Steam. “The mode has evolved significantly since it first debuted in beta, and we couldn’t have achieved this without your assistance!”

“We’re eager to refocus on Fortress Mode soon,” the announcement continued, “but this is by no means the conclusion of Adventure Mode development. Numerous updates will be made for both modes in the future, and there are still more features to introduce to Adventure Mode ahead. As with everything in Dwarf Fortress development, it will…”