Axolot Games seems to be heading the way of Keen Software House when it comes to striking it big while in Early Access. Axolot’s Scrap Mechanic has scrounged up just over half a million sales on Steam while it’s still in Early Access.

The developers sent out a press release highlighting how they’ve moved 500,000 digital copies already despite the fact that it wasn’t even fully finished.

According to Kacper Antonius, the CEO of Axolot Games, he mentioned in the press release…

”It has been an amazing first year for us at Axolot Games. We owe this remarkable achievement to our passionate and creative community, who constantly surprise and inspire us with their Scrap Mechanic creations. It’s the players that help us drive the game’s development forward, allowing us to ensure that Scrap Mechanic is the best game that it can be. We can’t wait to share the exciting new things we’ve been working on later this year!”

It reminds me of a big boy version of Legos.

The game sees players hoping into the open-world sandbox and creating anything that their imagination can come up with. Using pulley systems, motors, pipes, conveyors and propellors, the sky is the limit to what you can create… and then some.

The sandbox creation kit launched last year on January 20th in 2016. The Early Access campaign has been wildly successful, marking a year-long milestone of 500,000 sales as they continue to update, improve and iterate the game on its way toward a full release on Steam.

One of the reasons the game has been so popular is that Axolot has been quick to communicate with the community and address issues in a timely and open manner. They just recently issued a hotfix just two weeks ago following another major milestone update.

They hold a “Very Positive” rating on Steam at the moment and they don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Keen Software House had the exact same momentum with Space Engineers when it first launched into Early Access several years ago. They’ve iterated the game so much that it’s not even the same thing anymore. In fact, if they keep heading in their current direction they’ll be competing with Star Citizen pretty soon.

As for Scrap Mechanic… Axolot promises a brand new survival mode in 2017 that will add new crafting options, loot and exploration to the game. It currently has a single player and multiplayer sandbox crafting mode but the survival mode could add a whole new layer of depth to Scrap Mechanic.

If you’re interested in checking the game out, it’s currently available in Early Access over on the Steam store for $19.99.