Coffee Stain Studios is taking Satisfactory beneath the surface for its first expansion, Core Values, introducing an underground environment where restricted space, poor visibility and a new approach to logistics are expected to reshape the factory-building experience.
Rather than simply recreating the original game inside caves, the developers say the expansion will introduce new machinery and resource-moving systems designed specifically for its subterranean setting.
Core Values Introduces a Different Approach to Factory Logistics
In the original Satisfactory, players establish increasingly complex production networks across the open landscape of an alien planet. Conveyor belts are a fundamental part of moving materials between extraction points, factories and storage facilities.
Core Values will retain some familiar systems, but Coffee Stain Studios wants underground production to operate differently.
“There will still be some of the logistics from the base game,” game director Emmet Burke said. “And you’ll still use the same ingredients to actually build those, but we’ve added enough extra logistics to connect your factory that are unique to Core Values that I think will avoid repetition. You will not be using belts. Belts would be there, but there’s going to be other logistics.”
The approach is intended to prevent established players from simply transferring highly optimised strategies from their existing surface factories into the expansion.
New Resources Will Unlock New Systems
Coffee Stain also wants new underground resources to have a meaningful purpose rather than merely forcing players to rebuild familiar equipment with different materials.
Art director Torsten Gunst said: “We would feel if it [were] just ‘Oh, you’ll find that new underground resource. This is now what you need to make belts’ would just not be very rewarding. You want new resources to get you new logistics that expand the game. We are not cheaping out on this expansion. There’s a lot of new stuff coming.”
The studio has not yet revealed exactly what those logistics systems will involve.
Burke did, however, describe a noticeable change in the character of the machinery. While the equipment in the base game resembles highly engineered technology, the expansion is moving towards more industrial equipment.
“The base game machines are quite precise, like refined super computers,” Burke said, while describing Core Values machinery as “more rugged, heavy machines. Big grinding gears, hammers bashing against resources.”
Underground Caves Change How Factories Can Be Designed
The underground setting also places physical restrictions on construction.
Surface factories in Satisfactory can spread across large areas or expand vertically. Inside caves, players will instead have to work around tunnels, walls and naturally restricted building spaces.
“We want to be very careful how much space we allow for different players, because you still want to have the cave feeling,” Burke said. “You want to have little tunnels to explore, and you want to make sure there’s always enough area that if people want to unleash their creativity, they have the space to do that, but then you don’t want to just give them a big box [where they can] just build whatever they want.”
The challenge for Coffee Stain is therefore balancing the confined atmosphere of an underground mine with the freedom that has traditionally allowed Satisfactory players to construct elaborate factories.
Navigation Becomes Part of the Challenge
Moving underground creates another complication: navigation.
Without the open horizons and natural light available on the surface, players may find it harder to determine where they are. A HUD marker showing that a destination is only 20 metres away becomes considerably less useful when a solid cave wall stands between the player and the target.
“That’s been a tricky point,” Burke said.
Coffee Stain is introducing recognisable landmarks, including waterfalls and crevasses, to help players navigate. Players will also be able to create their own methods of finding their way through the underground network.
“To some extent, it’s up to the player to make sure they never get lost,” Gunst said, suggesting players could use signposts, follow their pipe networks or remember areas according to the machinery they have installed.
“Navigation and orienting yourself is part of the fun,” he added. “It’s not going to be a hardcore challenge for the player because they still need to do their job of building factories.”
Coffee Stain Plans More Core Values Updates
Many details about Core Values, particularly its new logistics equipment, remain under wraps. However, Coffee Stain intends to provide considerably more information following the expansion’s reveal.
Burke said the studio will become “much more active again with community”, with plans for posts explaining new features, videos showing the expansion in action and renewed engagement similar to the relationship Coffee Stain maintained with players during Satisfactory‘s early-access period.
For existing players, the underground environment therefore represents more than a change of scenery. Restricted construction space, difficult navigation and new logistics systems are being designed to make Core Values a distinct factory-building challenge while remaining connected to the wider Satisfactory experience.
Thomas Hawthorne is a contributor to Nintendo-power.com, covering a broad range of topics including news, business, technology, entertainment, lifestyle, and current affairs. He focuses on delivering clear, accurate, and accessible reporting that helps readers stay informed about important developments and emerging trends. With a reader-first approach, Thomas aims to provide useful context, balanced insights, and engaging stories that reflect the issues, events, and interests shaping everyday life.