Coffee Stain Studios Announces First Satisfactory Expansion Focused on Underground Logistics
Key Takeaways
- Coffee Stain Studios announced Satisfactory: Core Values, a major paid expansion featuring 400 to 500 hours of subterranean content.
- Subterranean access unlocks at Tier 3 progression, introducing new resources, power systems, heavy machinery, and an Unreal Engine 5.6 upgrade.
- The expansion will launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, with Coffee Stain Studios confirming no release will occur in 2026.
What Features Does Satisfactory: Core Values Introduce?
Coffee Stain Studios officially announced Satisfactory: Core Values during The Big Break digital showcase on September 29, 2026. The upcoming release represents the first major paid DLC for the hit factory-building simulation, transporting Pioneers into massive subterranean cavern systems beneath the surface world.
Satisfactory: Core Values introduces a massive subterranean cave system featuring distinct underground biomes, raw industrial machinery, and unique crafting logistics. The expansion adds a parallel storyline, harsh spatial building constraints, hostile subterranean fauna, and an interactable companion creature resembling an elongated feline, providing roughly 400 to 500 hours of fresh engineering gameplay.
Art Director Torsten Gunst revealed in an Inven Global interview that Core Values shifts design focus away from clean surface lines toward rugged equipment. Factory builders will construct heavy foundries, giant crushing gears, and industrial hammers designed to pulverize dense subsurface stone.
The subterranean environment imposes strict physical boundaries that restrict the sprawling footprints common across open surface biomes. Pioneers must balance confined vertical spaces against industrial throughput while encountering new hostile lifeforms alongside a friendly, Dachshund-shaped alien feline.
Coffee Stain Studios unveiled "Core Values," the first paid expansion for "Satisfactory," during "The Big Break" digital showcase.
— Inven Global (@InvenGlobal) September 30, 2026
The expansion introduces an underground cave system, new buildings, equipment, and a parallel narrative accessible starting at Tier 3.…
How Does Underground Progression Work in the Core Values DLC?
Players unlock Satisfactory: Core Values upon reaching Tier 3 research at the Space Elevator, coinciding with coal power automation. Surface production lines connect directly to subterranean networks through transfer logistics, but veteran players cannot bypass progression because subsurface recipes demand completely new raw materials and specialized manufacturing buildings.
Coffee Stain Studios designed the subterranean sector as a parallel campaign rather than an endgame checklist. Pioneers with established factories can link active networks to underground hubs, while newer players can split production down into the caverns immediately after activating coal energy generators.
The development team confirmed that transportation links exchange components fluidly across elevations. Subsurface networks feed base processing facilities on the surface without invalidating existing factory layouts.
Also, learn more about the origins and evolution of Satisfactory with our Pixel Sundays!
Technical Overhaul: Unreal Engine 5.6 and Performance Upgrades
Coffee Stain Studios is upgrading Satisfactory to Unreal Engine 5.6 to resolve the complex lighting demands of deep subterranean caverns. The engine upgrade enables seamless level streaming between surface worlds and deep cavern systems.
The development team is transitioning the core simulation architecture from CPU-based instancing to GPU-based instancing. This structural update maintains stable frame rates on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC hardware as factory lines multiply in density.
The studio will deliver ongoing performance improvements and balance updates to the core game alongside expansion milestones. Coffee Stain Studios noted that base game support will continue uninterrupted across all live platforms.
Satisfactory Core Values Platforms and Release Window
Coffee Stain Studios confirmed that Satisfactory: Core Values will not launch in 2026. The production schedule prioritizes thorough development and technical polish before the studio locks in a formal release window.
Satisfactory: Core Values will launch on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and the Humble Store, alongside PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S console versions.
Coffee Stain Studios also announced a collaborative project with MOOD Publishing for Satisfactory: The Board Game. The tabletop title will launch a crowdfunding campaign on Gamefound to translate factory optimization mechanics into physical tabletop play.
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