Build the factory, feed the guns
Mindustry is an open-ended factory game with tower defense and real-time strategy in it. You lay down conveyor belts to move ore into your core, route that material into production blocks for advanced goods, and pipe liquids where they need to go. Ammo has to reach your turrets through the same belts, so your defense line and your production line are one and the same system. Fire can break out, fliers can raid your setup, and supplying coolant and lubricant to the right blocks squeezes more out of your production. Turrets need ammo, coolant, and power; shields, regeneration projectors, and other support buildings hold the line when waves pile up.
Play together and against each other
Cross-platform multiplayer covers both sides of the game. In co-op you and your friends work the same map, splitting the job of building supply chains, placing turrets, and defending the core from waves. In team-based PvP, groups set up assembly lines to build mechanized units, then send those units at enemy bases while holding their own territory. Assembly lines turn out drones, mechs, and ships, and captured territory brings new cores and access to more resources for expansion. The campaign can be played alone or with friends, with missions you can complete together.
Campaign, maps, and servers
Two planetary campaigns are on offer: Serpulo and Erekir, across 35 hand-made maps and 250+ procedurally generated sectors. Sectors you hold produce resources while you play elsewhere, periodic invasions hit them, and launch pads move resources between sectors. Research opens up new blocks as you go. Outside the campaign, community servers run co-op, PvP, or sandbox with plugins for custom maps and gamemodes, and you can run your own public dedicated server or a private session for friends. Game rules are customizable: block costs, enemy stats, starting items, wave timing, and more.
Making your own content
The built-in map editor lets you build maps to play and share, and the Steam Workshop carries community maps and schematics. Mods add or remix content on top of that. Before starting, know that the game leans on you to plan production and defense as one layout, and that most of the depth comes from learning the 250+ technology blocks and how they chain together.