How to Play Ore Factory Squad

What Ore Factory Squad Is About

Ore Factory Squad is a cooperative mining and factory simulation on Steam where up to four players run a growing extraction business together. You are not chasing combat scores or battle passes — you are digging procedurally generated underground sites, moving ore to the surface, processing it through machines, and shipping finished goods to fulfill contracts. Every successful delivery pays cash you reinvest into better tools, conveyors, vehicles, and new properties.

The game released on July 16, 2026, from developer threeW with PlayWay S.A. as publisher. A free demo on Steam covers the first levels so you can learn controls, basic automation, and co-op before purchasing the full game. Whether you play solo or with a full squad, the same loop applies: extract, process, deliver, expand.

This guide explains that loop in plain terms. For deeper dives, pair it with our mining guide, automation guide, and contracts guide once you finish your first hour underground.

The Core Gameplay Loop

Each session begins at your property surface yard. From here you enter the dig site with hand tools — a shovel for soft terrain and a pickaxe for ore nodes. Break blocks, collect Copper and Iron in your inventory or nearby crates, and bring material topside when your pockets fill. Early contracts ask for modest quantities of raw or lightly processed ore, so even manual hauling works at first.

Cash from contracts unlocks machines: crushers, smelters, and assemblers linked by conveyors. Place a line from your Modular Mining Lift exit to a smelter, then to a storage bin, and suddenly one player mining underground feeds a steady surface output. The squad should split roles — one miner, one builder, one runner for contracts, one driver once forklifts and trucks unlock.

Property expansion gates mid-game progress. New deeds offer different procedural dig layouts and larger surface footprints for factory wings. Before buying, check contract boards in the city warehouse: if upcoming jobs need Gold or Diamond, prioritize properties known for deeper veins. Reinvest profits instead of hoarding; idle cash does not unlock achievements or depth tiers.

First Session Checklist

Open the contract terminal at the warehouse and accept one easy Copper or Iron job with a comfortable timer. Mark its deadline on your mental schedule — missing penalties hurt more early when margins are thin. Gather only what the contract needs plus a small buffer; over-mining without storage clogs walkways and slows co-op movement.

Upgrade tools in order: pickaxe tier for harder rock, then jackhammer for faster node clearing, then dynamite once you understand blast radius and support pillars. Dynamite is powerful but can collapse tunnels if used carelessly; always leave escape paths and communicate before detonation in co-op.

Build your first conveyor span from lift to one machine before adding complexity. A single reliable line beats three half-finished belts. Use customizable keybindings in settings if default mining and build keys overlap for your keyboard layout — many squads remap placement rotate and sprint for fewer mis-clicks.

When the demo ends or you move past tutorial properties, read our early game walkthrough for timed milestones and our keyboard and mouse controls page for the full default binding list.

Co-op Etiquette and Voice Chat

Four-player co-op shares one save progression on the host world. Agree who owns property purchases and major conveyor routing before building — demolition costs time even when refunds exist. Demo v1.7.0 added in-game voice chat with device selection; use it to call out dynamite countdowns, contract turn-ins, and when the Modular Mining Lift is ascending with a full crate load.

If voice is unavailable, ping locations with emotes or stand at contract terminals together during handoffs. Assign a temporary "foreman" each session to resolve layout conflicts. Rotating roles keeps mining fresh and helps everyone learn vehicles and warehouse robots later.

For dedicated multiplayer strategy, see the co-op multiplayer guide and the co-op gameplay video on that page. Steam invites work for friends; ensure all players match the host game version after patches.

Common Beginner Mistakes

Skipping contracts to mine "just a little more" often leads to cash stalls — you cannot buy the next machine tier without payouts. Accept parallel contracts only when your factory output supports both; our contract priority tool helps rank jobs by reward per hour.

Building sprawling conveyor networks before powering machines creates spaghetti that is hard to debug when ore stops flowing. Lay main trunk lines first, branch later. Another mistake is ignoring warehouse robots: manual crate stacking does not scale when Gold and Diamond contracts arrive.

Solo players sometimes under-use vehicles. Forklifts and trucks feel optional until a property spans multiple surface pads — then logistics win or lose deadlines. Finally, remember Ore Factory Squad is a factory sim, not a Roblox experience; progression is deliberate and systems interconnect. Patience and planning beat rushing depth without lift upgrades.