Astroneer

A relaxed space sandbox about terraforming planets and building automated extraction, rail, and sorting networks — though the automation tools unlock late.

AutomationCo-opExploration
Astroneer colorful planet exploration, terrain tool, and modular base building
Buy on SteamOfficial site

The Game Foundry take

Astroneer fills the gap your beginner-friendly co-op automation shelf was missing: finished, cheap, cross-platform, and lower-friction than Satisfactory, Foundry, StarRupture, or Oddsparks. The catch — and it matters for Finder matching — is that auto arms, extractors, sensors, and rail networks unlock late. Automation is a sandbox reward here, not the early-game spine. Hand it to mixed groups where someone isn't a systems person; send Factorio seekers elsewhere.

Best for

Co-op groups with mixed systems patienceRelaxed exploration-first automationPlayers who want a finished, cheap, cross-platform factory-adjacent sandbox

Quick facts

Developer
System Era Softworks
Release Year
2019
Platforms
Pc
Difficulty
Easy

Related Game Foundry guides

Two players coordinating production lines and machinery across a shared automation world
Best OfFactory games
19 min read

Best Overlooked Co-Op Factory & Automation Games

Co-op automation games beyond the belt-and-megabase shortlist — factory defense, terraforming, station engineering, shared industry, and city builders where production chains are the co-op job.

co-op

Similar games

Satisfactory 3D factory building with conveyors and vertical layouts

Satisfactory

A first-person factory builder focused on elegant layouts, verticality, and relaxing large-scale automation.

Oddsparks An Automation Adventure cozy automation with Spark helpers

Oddsparks

A cozy automation adventure where tiny helper creatures called Sparks carry, craft, and defend your base solo or with up to 3 friends.

Foundry voxel factory building in a first-person sandbox

Foundry

A voxel-based first-person factory sim that mixes block building with large-scale automation.

Not sold on Astroneer? Find similar games with the Foundry Finder quiz.