Star Birds
Asteroid mining factory sim with birds from Kurzgesagt.
Star Birds is a factory simulation and resource management game centered on asteroid mining. It was created and published by Toukana Interactive in partnership with Kurzgesagt, a German animation studio. The game entered early access on Steam on 10 September 2025.
The development collaboration was announced in March 2024, with the project initially codenamed "Project Mango." The game was officially unveiled as Star Birds on 9 June during the PC Gaming Show. Toukana and Kurzgesagt first connected at Gamescom in 2022. The game’s art style mirrors Kurzgesagt’s signature animation. The full release is planned to follow within 6 to 12 months after early access.
Players control the birds that frequently appear in Kurzgesagt videos, who are building an empire and seeking new resources. The gameplay involves gathering materials from procedurally generated asteroids and using them in factories. Players must construct pipe networks to process resources and complete quests, with the challenge arising from the fact that pipes cannot cross each other and each asteroid offers only a limited building area. Once all quests in a star system are finished, the birds move to a new system with unique materials and resources. An in-game wiki provides recipes and manufacturing processes.
Reception was generally positive. PC Gamer noted the game starts easily but quickly becomes complex. ComicBook.com praised the visuals and design but found the story unengaging and disconnected from gameplay. GameLuster described it as low-stress and a good entry point for newcomers to automation management games. On Steam, the game earned an "overwhelmingly positive" rating, with 95% of reviews being positive. Over 200,000 people played the free demo in early 2025. Toukana has stated that Star Birds will be available in autumn of 2026.
- developer
- Toukana Interactive
- publisher
- Toukana Interactive
- collaborator
- Kurzgesagt
- genre
- Factory simulation, resource management
- platform
- Steam
- early_access_release
- 10 September 2025
- full_release_expected
- 6–12 months after early access
Lore & Background
Star Birds was announced in March 2024 as a collaboration between Toukana Interactive and Kurzgesagt, a German animation studio. The game, originally codenamed 'Project Mango', was revealed on 9 June at the PC Gaming Show. The two studios first met in 2022 at Gamescom. The art style of Star Birds resembles Kurzgesagt's animation.
In the game, players control birds that appear in Kurzgesagt videos, who are expanding an empire by gathering resources from procedurally generated asteroids. Players build networks of factories to process resources and complete quests. Each asteroid has limited building space, and pipes cannot cross over each other, adding challenge. Once all quests are done, the birds move to a new star system with unique materials.
The game includes an in-game wiki for recipes and processes. It was released in early access on Steam on 10 September 2025, with full release expected within 6–12 months.
Reader's Guide
Star Birds represents a notable crossover between educational animation and video game development, leveraging Kurzgesagt's distinctive art style and bird characters to create a factory simulation game. Its early access release on 10 September 2025 garnered an 'overwhelmingly positive' rating of 95% positive reviews on Steam, with over 200,000 people playing the free demo in early 2025. Critics noted the game's easy start that becomes complex, praised its visuals and design, but found the story unengaging. GameLuster called it a low-stress 'perfect entry to automation management games for newcomers.' The game's procedural generation of asteroids and limited building space, combined with non-crossing pipes, create a unique spatial management challenge. Toukana announced that Star Birds will be available in autumn of 2026, likely referring to a full release or console port. Its legacy may lie in demonstrating how educational content creators can successfully expand into interactive media, while offering an accessible entry point to the factory simulation genre.
Did You Know?
- Star Birds was originally codenamed 'Project Mango'.
- The game was revealed on 9 June at the PC Gaming Show.
- Over 200,000 people played the free Steam demo in early 2025.
- The game received a 95% positive rating on Steam.
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