Dwarf Fortress Now Uses Version Control After Years Without It

A Notorious Holdout

Simon Willison, the developer and blogger behind Simon Willison's Weblog, wrote on 11th October 2026 that he had heard some time ago that Dwarf Fortress did not use version control. The fact had lodged in his head, because given the game's inherent complexity he has trouble imagining a codebase that would benefit from version control more. When he went looking into the current state of affairs, he was sad to report that the days without version control appear to have ended.

Tarn Adams, Year by Year

Willison collected statements from Tarn Adams made over time. In March 2013, Adams said, "I don't use version control ... I didn't like the feeling of having the code get committed into a black box thingy with no immediate upside." In March 2016, he remained unconvinced: "I don't even use version control ... I'm just not cut out for it, in a sense. It's been 15 years, so the reasons have change over time." Then, in March 2023, the tune shifted: "I've got Discord channels to check and version control stuff to use now, so the process is definitely a little more involved."

The Steam Milestone

The March 2023 quote comes from an interview about the release of Dwarf Fortress on Steam, which made its creators millionaires. Willison admits he is a tiny bit sad that they gave in on version control before they hit that milestone, but he calls their run impressive all the same. The post is tagged version-control.

Sources: Simon Willison