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[IbizaPocholo]

In this video, I break down how Coffee Stain Studios transformed a simple "Factorio in 3D" prototype into a $200 million success story.

I make these videos for game developers. I study successful games, dig into their development stories, and pull out the lessons that actually matter. If you're working on a game right now and want to learn from real examples, you'll probably find these helpful.

• 00:00 – Coffee Stain Studios' journey from making absurd meme games to creating Satisfactory, a deeply methodical and engineering-focused factory builder.
• 00:24 – The founders meet as game development students in Sweden, build a strong team, and create an Unreal Tournament mod that gains Epic Games' attention.
• 01:07 – After releasing Sanctum and its sequel, the studio unexpectedly strikes gold with Goat Simulator, a joke project that becomes a massive commercial success.
• 01:27 – In 2016, the team prototypes multiple ideas and selects a first-person factory-building concept inspired by Factorio, leading to the birth of Satisfactory.
• 02:14 – Development focuses on combining factory automation, first-person building, and exploration, while cutting features that distract from the core experience.
• 04:04 – Satisfactory excels at gradual learning: milestones, pacing, and UI design teach players naturally without overwhelming them.
• 05:28 – The game world is a massive handcrafted map, with intentional level design and machines given personality through animation and detail.
• 06:46 – Early Access launches in 2019; player feedback becomes central, shaping updates, quality-of-life improvements, and system refinements.
• 09:10 – Performance challenges from huge factories are solved with smart optimization techniques like LOD swapping, culling, and redesigned conveyor systems.
• 11:51 – After five years in Early Access, Satisfactory launches version 1.0 to major success, proving the power of strong ideation and player-focused design.