The Planet Crafter

The Planet Crafter is an open-world survival game developed and published by the French studio Miju Games for Windows. Players awaken in a crashed spacecraft, tasked with terraforming a barren planet to make it habitable. Gameplay involves gathering resources, crafting tools, building machines, and gradually transforming the environment.

The game was initially created by two developers before the team grew to six members over the course of production.^[2] It entered early access on March 24, 2022,^[3] and was officially released on April 10, 2024.^[4] In October 2024, Miju Games released the first downloadable content (DLC) for the game, titled "Planet Humble". This was followed "The Moons Update" in May 2025, which added two more celestial objects to terraform, and "Toxicity" in November 2025.

The Planet Crafter received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its terraforming systems, sense of progression, and relaxing sandbox gameplay. Critics also noted the limited map, quality-of-life issues, and game-balancing concerns. Player reception was similarly favorable, and the game sold over one million copies by June 2024.

The Planet Crafter is a single-player and multiplayer^[5] open-world survival game^[6] in which players control an astronaut tasked with terraforming a hostile planet into a habitable environment. Players start on a barren, rocky planet and are tasked with terraforming planetary environments. Terraforming involves modifying environmental features such as the atmosphere, temperature, and ecology. Terraforming requires players to manage resources and plan their progression.^[7]

The player's goal is to increase the Terraformation Index (TI) and progress through intermediary stages of planetary development. This is accomplished by constructing machines that raise environmental statistics such as oxygen, heat, and pressure, and later by introducing biomass through plants, animals, and insects.^[7] Machines require power to operate, which is supplied by generators placed on planets or moons.^[8] If total power demand exceeds supply, machines stop working until power is restored.^[9]

Players can visit two new moons after completing the terraforming of their first planet. Each moon can also be terraformed, and players retain all blueprints, knowledge, and equipment from their previous progress. Additionally, resources can be transferred between planets and moons.^[10]

The first paid downloadable content (DLC) for The Planet Crafter, titled "Planet Humble", was released on October 9, 2024. It introduces a new, separate planet, also called Humble, that players can terraform from scratch, featuring new biomes, exploration opportunities, and narrative elements not present in the base game.^[11][12] "Planet Humble" is set on a planet approximately half the size of the base game's world and introduces new biomes, materials, and environmental elements.^[11][13]

The player assumes the role of an unnamed criminal sentenced on a hostile planet tasked to terraform it.^[14] The player wakes up in a crashed spacecraft, with few rations and essentials to terraform the planet.^[15] Throughout the game, the player receives intermittent communications from a character named Riley, who provides information about Planet Prime. The messages indicate that Riley and the player have a prior acquaintance. Riley coordinates a covert extraction with smugglers to remove the player from the planet, although this service requires payment.^[16]

Remnants of an ancient civilization referred to as the Wardens are found across the planet, often within locked ruins. These ruins can be accessed using Warden's Keys, of which ten are available. Collecting all ten keys grants access to various relics left by the planet's previous inhabitants.^[17]

The game features three possible endings: Subjection, Subservience, and Subversion. In Subjection, the player leaves the planet under the control of Sentinel Corp.^[18] Subservience is achieved by escaping the planet with the smugglers, while Subversion occurs when the player departs through the Warden’s portal.^[16]

Development of The Planet Crafter began as a small,^[19] two-person project and later expanded to a six-member team. The game was developed by Miju Games, an independent studio founded in 2019 and based in southern France.^[2] The studio's first title, Abracadabrew, received little attention, prompting the team to start work on a new project.^[6] Work on The Planet Crafter began in December 2020.^[19]

The team used the Unity engine and drew inspiration from survival games such as Subnautica, The Long Dark, and Don't Starve Together,^[20][21] also taking inspiration from automation games such as Factorio and Universal Paperclips.^[6] During the development, decisions were guided by the goal of creating an engaging and visually appealing game experience,^[19] with their most difficult challenge being "scoping the game."^[6] The Planet Crafter: Prologue, a free demo showcasing the game's early progression and core mechanics, was released on Steam on December 19, 2021, ahead of the full game.^[22]

The game entered early access on March 24, 2022, with its programmers and artists working fully remotely.^[2] During this period, Miju Games released a series of major updates that expanded the game's terraforming mechanics, environment, and progression systems.^[23] The developers also published development roadmaps outlining planned features and ongoing support during early access.^[24][25]

The Planet Crafter was released on April 10, 2024, for Windows via Steam and GOG.com.^[26] The 1.0 version included cooperative multiplayer for up to ten players, new biomes, additional lore, endgame content, and other features.^[27][28][29] To promote the game's release, Miju Games sponsored popular streamers to play the game, boosting sales, wishlists, and concurrent users.^[6]

The game's soundtrack, composed by Benjamin Young, was released digitally through Kid Katana Records on April 12, 2024, two days after the game's full release, with additional tracks added in later updates.^[30] On October 9, 2024,^[31] Miju Games released downloadable content for the game, titled "Planet Humble", which added new environments, resources, and gameplay features.^[11]

In May 2025, Miju Games announced a major update titled "The Moons Update". Following the release of "Planet Humble", the developer acknowledged player feedback, stating that the expansion met expectations in some areas but fell short in others. Miju planned to continue refining both planets and provide additional free updates, while noting that future downloadable content was possible but the primary focus would remain on improving the base game.^[32]

In November 2025, another downloadable content pack for the game, titled "Toxicity", was released.^[33] In March 2026, Miju Games announced a major update for The Planet Crafter, which the studio described as the "2.0" update due to the scale of changes. Following the update, the team plans to release another free moon-themed update and the third downloadable content pack for the game.^[34]

The Planet Crafter received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising its terraforming mechanics, progression, and gameplay, while noting limited early-game content. It holds a Metacritic score of 81/100.^[35] Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received strong approval, being recommended by 83% of critics.^[36]

Reviews highlighted the game's gradual terraformation system, describing it as a key part of the experience. IGN France commended its rewarding systems while noting that additional balancing and content could further improve the experience.^[37]

Writing for GameStar, Luis Teschner argued that The Planet Crafter deserved its success on Steam.^[15] In another review, Enrico Marx of GameStar rated the game an 86 out of 100, comparing it to Ridley Scott's The Martian. Marx described The Planet Crafter as a relaxing sandbox game.^[38] Hardcore Gamer praised the game's progression system and sense of transformation, describing the gameplay loop as rewarding.^[42]

Other critics praised the game's terraforming systems, pacing, and freedom of exploration, with Screen Rant awarding it 8 out of 10.^[5] GamingBolt gave the game 8 out of 10, praising its addictive gameplay loop, handcrafted environments, and audiovisual presentation, while noting a sparse early game, limited map variety, and some quality-of-life issues.^[39] PC Gamer praised the feel of being "responsible for such radical changes" in the game.^[20]

CGMagazine also scored the game 8 out of 10, highlighting its range of possibilities while noting the absence of a strong endgame objective or narrative elements.^[40] TechRaptor gave The Planet Crafter a score of 7.5, praising its survival-crafting gameplay and automation systems, while identifying issues with unclear terraforming information and certain mechanics.^[41]

Player reception was highly positive. Prior to its full release, the game earned a 96% "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating from Steam users, indicating that at least 95% of more than 500 user reviews were favorable.^[43][44][45] According to Steam Spy estimates, the game sold over 500,000 copies a few months after release.^[46] The game maintained its "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating after release.^[6] In June 2024, the developers announced that The Planet Crafter had sold over one million copies.^[47][48]

After the release of the "Planet Humble" DLC, TechRaptor reported that the positive reception encouraged Miju Games to continue supporting The Planet Crafter, with updates aimed at expanding and enhancing the game's content.^[10]