Groundwork Simulator Beta: Release, Co-Op, and PC Guide

Is the Groundwork Simulator beta available?

If you’re looking for the Groundwork Simulator beta, start with the game’s Steam Early Access release, which launched on October 22, 2026. You can dig into hillsides, move heavy machinery, and build a gold-processing operation while development continues. Before jumping into the Groundwork Simulator beta discussion, understand what you’re buying: an unfinished mining simulator with solo play, online co-op, demanding physics, and launch issues awaiting fixes.

Groundwork Simulator comes from XYZ STUDIO, which develops and publishes the game. Its appeal centers on turning untouched land into a working mine, with excavation, transport, water supply, and gold recovery connected across your site.

Release detail	Current information
Steam release date	October 22, 2026
Development stage	Early Access
Developer and publisher	XYZ STUDIO
Platforms	Windows and Mac
Play options	Single-player and online co-op
Co-op capacity	Up to four players total

Early Access is the important label when following Groundwork Simulator beta news. The game is available to play, and development is continuing toward a full release. Planned additions include another map, story objectives, more machinery, and tools for creating custom mining regions.

Visit the Groundwork Simulator Steam page to buy the current release. Set your expectations around building and operating a mine while the developer works through bugs and expands the game.

Build your operation around the full gold-mining loop

Digging is only part of the job. Your operation connects exploration, excavation, hauling, water delivery, and material processing. A productive digging area still needs a route to the wash plant, and that plant needs a water supply.

Image: Steam / XYZ STUDIO

For players drawn to the Groundwork Simulator beta by the machinery, the broader challenge is coordinating those pieces. Excavators, wheel loaders, bulldozers, trucks, and processing equipment all fit into a worksite that changes as you use it.

Stage	What you do	Equipment or system involved
Explore	Drill and test for gold deposits	Drilling equipment
Excavate	Remove promising material and reshape the ground	Excavators
Move material	Load and haul dirt around the site	Wheel loaders and trucks
Supply water	Connect water to the washing operation	Pumps and hoses
Wash material	Run excavated material through the washing setup	Wash plant and sluice boxes
Recover gold	Process the concentrate	Shaking table

Test the ground before committing your excavation

Drill and test deposits before choosing where to dig. Prospecting is part of the mining loop, so use it to guide where you position your machinery and washing equipment.

Think about access alongside the deposit itself. Leave room for trucks to approach the excavation and carry material away. Plan where the wash plant and water connections will sit before digging changes the surrounding terrain.

Give your excavator room to work

Excavation changes the landscape with each bucket. Trenches, hillside cuts, and material piles affect the ground you’ll drive over afterward.

Keep access routes in mind while removing soil. Avoid digging away a useful approach without planning another route. Position material piles where they won’t interfere with moving equipment between the excavation and processing areas.

The digging system also simulates hydraulic resistance. Bucket angle, available hydraulic power, and the load inside the bucket all matter. Adjust your digging angle and work within the machine’s lifting ability rather than forcing the same cut repeatedly.

Connect the washing operation before feeding it

Route pumps and hoses to supply your wash plant, then move promising material through the sluice boxes and process the concentrate on the shaking table.

Leave space around the processing area for loading and transport. As you expand the site, revisit your water connections and equipment placement. A layout that suits one excavation area can need adjustment when the digging moves.

Coordinate co-op and keep heavy machinery moving

Groundwork Simulator supports solo play and online co-op for up to four players. You can manage the operation yourself or divide tasks among friends, with one person excavating while another handles transport.

Image: Steam / XYZ STUDIO

That division follows the game’s connected systems. Material needs to travel from the digging area to the washing setup, while machinery and water connections need attention as the site develops.

Before starting a shared session, agree on responsibilities:

• Assign excavation and hauling so both jobs have someone handling them.
• Coordinate truck approaches around the excavator’s working area.
• Plan equipment moves together when relocating to another site.
• Review water connections when changing the washing layout.

At launch, some players have encountered multiplayer sessions that admit only two people despite the four-player design. Keep that issue in mind when arranging a full crew. The intended capacity is four players, but joining problems are among the launch build’s technical concerns.

Plan transport before loading the trailer

Moving machinery involves loading it onto a trailer and hauling it by truck. Tight turns, slopes, and uneven ground all become part of the trip with heavy equipment behind you.

Inspect the route before transporting a machine. Allow room to line up for loading and unloading, and consider how the trailer will pass through turns.

Mud and rough terrain also affect movement around the mine. Watch your traction and approach slopes carefully with heavy loads. Improve troublesome ground when it interferes with access.

These decisions continue after delivery. Every excavation changes the site, so reassess routes as cuts deepen and piles grow. Keeping trucks moving can require another pass with earthmoving equipment before you return to digging for gold.

Check PC requirements and understand the launch issues

For players looking into the Groundwork Simulator beta, processor requirements deserve particular attention. Detailed soil and water simulation put a substantial load on the CPU, even when the game’s visuals appear relatively modest.

Image: Steam / XYZ STUDIO

Use the Windows requirements below to compare your system before buying.

Component	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system	Windows 10, 64-bit	Windows 11, 64-bit
Processor	Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600	Intel Core i5-12400 / AMD Ryzen 5 5600
Memory	16 GB RAM	24 GB RAM
Graphics	NVIDIA GTX 1070, 8 GB VRAM	NVIDIA RTX 3060, 8 GB / AMD RX 6600, 8 GB
DirectX	Version 12	Version 12
Storage	10 GB available space	10 GB available space

Compare your CPU, memory, and graphics hardware individually. The simulation workload makes the processor especially relevant; checking only the graphics card leaves out a major part of the requirements.

The recommended configuration calls for 24 GB of RAM, compared with the 16 GB minimum. Both configurations require 10 GB of available storage.

What is happening with crashes and controls?

The developer is preparing a patch addressing initial launch problems, with further fixes planned over the following days and weeks.

Some players have encountered startup crashes, including a crash after changing shadow quality. Other launch problems involve menus, machine controls, multiplayer joining, and vehicle behavior.

Issues encountered in the launch build include:

• Crashes when starting the game.
• Menu tabs becoming unusable after opening and leaving the gold map.
• Machine store controls failing to respond.
• Excavator and loader controls sharing bindings that players want to configure separately.
• Difficulty getting additional friends into multiplayer sessions.
• Problems with vehicle handling and transporting dirt.

These problems affect different parts of the operation. A startup crash prevents play entirely, while a menu or store issue can interrupt work after you’ve entered the game.

If you hit a bug, record the action that triggered it and send the details through the developer’s Discord bug-reporting channel. Describe which menu, machine, or multiplayer action was involved. For a graphics-related crash, include the setting you changed before the problem appeared.

When following Groundwork Simulator beta updates, check the changes attached to each patch before returning to a problem that stopped your session. The announced patch addresses launch issues; its announcement alone doesn’t mean those fixes have already reached your game.

Understand what the Early Access roadmap adds

The roadmap separates upcoming content into development stages. Keep those stages in mind when following Groundwork Simulator beta updates, especially if custom maps, expanded processing equipment, or story objectives are what interest you.

These are planned additions during Early Access and toward full release. Features and timing can change during development.

Development stage	Planned additions
Update 1 — in progress	A new map with gold deposits and terrain for planning excavation sites; story objectives
Update 2	More vehicles, wash plants, processing equipment, and deeper wash plant controls
Update 2 refinements	Adjustments to machine handling and processing balance using player feedback
Update 3 — full release stage	Community-made content, modding tutorials, Map Studio, performance improvements, and fixes for progression-blocking bugs

The new map is intended to provide additional terrain and deposits to explore. Story mode adds objectives, while the next equipment expansion focuses on more options for digging, hauling, and processing material.

Map Studio belongs to the full-release stage of the roadmap. Its planned tools cover terrain sculpting and designing custom mining sites, alongside support for community-created content.

Base your purchase on the operation you can run today. Choose Early Access if you want to work with excavation, transport, water systems, and gold recovery while development continues. Wait for relevant fixes or planned additions if those are essential to the experience you want.

Before starting, check your hardware, decide whether you’ll play solo or with friends, and familiarize yourself with the launch issues. Once you’re on site, give the operation a workable layout: test the ground, preserve access, connect water, and keep material moving toward the wash plant.

FAQ

Is the Groundwork Simulator beta the full release?

Groundwork Simulator is in Steam Early Access following its October 22, 2026 launch. Development continues, with full release positioned at the third stage of the roadmap.

How many people can play Groundwork Simulator together?

The game supports up to four players in online co-op, including the host. Some launch sessions have experienced joining problems that limit the group to two players.

What PC hardware does Groundwork Simulator require?

Minimum Windows requirements include an Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600, 16 GB RAM, and an NVIDIA GTX 1070 with 8 GB VRAM. The game also requires DirectX 12 and 10 GB of storage.

Are custom maps and modding part of the current release?

Map Studio, community-made content, and modding tutorials are planned for the full-release stage. Current gameplay centers on operating machinery, reshaping terrain, transporting material, supplying water, and recovering gold.