Factorio 2.1 update: free and stable since Oct. 23, with mixed rockets, Space Age without Quality and new graphics

Wube plans 2.1 as the last major Factorio update, and it brings polish rather than new planets, with big changes to space logistics. Here’s what’s in 2.1, what it costs and what to do before you update.

When did Factorio 2.1 come out?

Wube marked 2.1 as stable on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, two years to the week after Space Age came out on Oct. 21, 2024. It ran in the experimental branch all summer, and Wube says much of the final tuning came from player bug reports. To mark the release, Wube updated the classic Factorio trailer one last time.

Is the update free?

Yes. 2.1 is free for every owner of Factorio. The base game costs $35 on Steam, and the Space Age expansion costs another $35. Many of the biggest 2.1 changes, from rockets to platforms and Quality, only matter if you own Space Age.

Space logistics and platforms

Space platforms are the core of Space Age, and 2.1 makes them far more flexible:

• Mixed rocketsOne launch carries several different items.
• Import from AnyLeave the “Import from” slot blank to pull items, such as fuel, ammo and repair packs, from every location.
• Platform-to-platform transfersPlatforms in orbit request items from, and provide items to, each other.
• Hub requests by circuitThe circuit network sets space platform hub requests.
• Radar Universe modeCircuit signals travel between planets and platforms on a shared channel.

Platforms also fly and take damage differently. Asteroid damage depends on the asteroid’s remaining health instead of its speed, the platform hub gets more health and resistances, and drag depends on mass instead of width, so long, thin “pencil ships” are no longer the only way to go fast.

Landing pads and the circuit network

A new landing pad unloading bay lets inserters take items out of the landing pad, straight into trains, chests and belts, and elevated rails can run over cargo bays.

The circuit network gets an Input/Output split, which sends reads and writes to different wire colors. Labs set research by circuit condition, boilers, heat exchangers and pipes connect to circuits, and land mines work as tripwires and enemy detectors.

Quality, fluids and biters

• Space Age without QualityThe Recycler is its own mod, and Quality is a recommended mod, on by default.
• Quality trainsQuality locomotives and cargo and fluid wagons.
• The “space casino” is closedQuality modules no longer work in asteroid reprocessing.
• Fluid mixing preventionIs back, and fluid flow scales properly at high throughput.
• Pumpjacks and burner minersCan be flipped.
• Biter expansionsScale with evolution, and early map exploring no longer reduces expansions near your base.

New graphics and ARM64 Linux

Wube calls 2.1 its last big pass over the game’s graphics: new assembling machines, oil refinery, rocket silo and heat exchanger, a diagonal flamethrower turret and planets in the background of space platforms. Factorio also runs natively on ARM64 Linux, so it plays on Valve’s Steam Frame, Raspberry Pi headless servers and Asahi Linux on Apple Silicon MacBooks.

Will 2.1 break my 2.0 saves?

2.0 saves load, but some changes, such as the circuit Input/Output split, can break existing factory designs. Saves and blueprints from 2.1 can’t be downgraded to 2.0, so back up what you care about first. Most popular mods were updated during the experimental period, but check yours before loading a big save.

For another factory game with new content on the way, see our Satisfactory DLC release date page, and for the next chance to buy games for less, our next Steam sale page.

This page is updated as soon as Wube releases a 2.1 hotfix or announces the next Factorio update.