Poxviruses replicate in viral factories in the host cell cytoplasm. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Katsafanas and Moss identify discrete poxviral factory subdomains that contain locally synthesized virus proteins and specifically imported host proteins, and within which viral transcription and translation take place simultaneously. These factories thus comprise a highly structured virus organelle that isolates and coordinates late viral replication events, facilitating competition for cellular resources.