Oxygen Not Included: The Bionic Booster Pack from Klei Entertainment adds an alternative survival loop to the space-colony simulation by introducing mechanical colonists and industrial upkeep. The expansion supplies Bionic units that run on Oil or Petroleum and require lubrication, specialized maintenance, dedicated buildings, and Booster modules for role bonuses. Those additions create new late-stage objectives and customization options. The pack targets established players who enjoy deep resource planning and the challenge of redesigning mature colonies' production networks.

This expansion shifts survival from life support to industrial logistics

Bionics replace biological needs with fuel and maintenance, so colonist care moves away from food and oxygen and toward fuels like Oil or Petroleum, lubricant production, and routine servicing. The core play loop centers on producing energy and maintenance supplies, routing them through dedicated infrastructure, then applying upgrades to specialized workers. Players who prefer supply-chain thinking encounter new decision points around fuel sourcing, lubricant throughput, and charging schedules.

Mechanics reward specialization via Boosters and purpose-built buildings

Booster modules let you tailor workers to tasks, granting stat bonuses and utilities for mining, research, or construction. The pack adds buildings for creating, charging, and upgrading mechanical units, and Bionics are obtained through those new production chains rather than standard arrival cycles. Existing colonies accept the new systems, so you can introduce mechanical labor into current saves or start a fresh build focused on industrial automation.

The expansion assumes familiarity and extends late-game progression

Designed for players already comfortable with base systems, the pack leans into multi-stage production and upkeep loops that reward optimization. Maintenance tasks, lubrication application, and fuel logistics form progression gates that scale with colony size. The complexity suits methodical play, since effective Bionic deployment requires planning for charging points, spare parts, and role-specific Booster configurations rather than basic life-support routines.

Replay value comes from revisiting colonies with a mechanical focus

The pack encourages both hybrid and fully mechanical strategies, offering a reason to rework established bases or design new colonies around machines. Customizable Boosters and dedicated infrastructure create different optimization paths each playthrough, and the expansion integrates with the game's existing systems and art language so it feels like a coherent extension rather than an add-on pasted on top of the base experience.

A tactical extension best suited to players who redesign mature colonies

This content pack is a strategic choice for methodical players who enjoy long-term engineering challenges and careful supply-chain adjustments. Introduce it once core production is stable, since the systems favor sustained campaigns with deliberate redesigns over short, casual runs. Expect campaign-length play sessions focused on tuning industrial throughput and extracting efficiency from the mechanical workforce.