Groundwork Simulator FAQ
Short answers to what players actually asked in the first twenty-four hours, each one tied back to the store page, the official site or a launch-day thread.
It costs $19.99, it is in Early Access, it runs on Windows and macOS, it has 25 store languages, and it plays solo or in online co-op for up to four players.
Short answers to the questions players actually asked in the first day. Each answer points at where it comes from: the Steam listing, the developer's own site, or a thread from October 22.
The basics
How much does Groundwork Simulator cost? $19.99 on Steam, shown at launch as 20% off a $24.99 list price. There is no separate Mac purchase — one Steam purchase covers both platforms.
Is it finished? No. It is in Early Access, released October 22, 2026. The developer's site calls the current build a pre-release version still in development, and the roadmap plans three updates before full release.
Which platforms? Windows and macOS. No Linux build is listed, no console version is announced anywhere in the official material.
Can I play alone? Yes. Single-player is a listed Steam category and the entire loop — drill, dig, haul, wash, sell — is designed to be run by one person. The beginner guide is written for exactly that.
How many players in co-op? Up to four. Steam lists Co-op and Online Co-op; the official site says "play solo or with up to 3 friends". The co-op guide covers how to split the work.
Is there split-screen or local co-op? Not listed. The Steam category is Online Co-op, and no official material describes local play.
Languages and settings
Does it have my language? The store lists 25 languages, including English, French, Italian, German, Spanish (Spain and Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Czech, Romanian, Bulgarian, Greek, Hungarian, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Malay. English is the only language with full audio; the rest are subtitles and interface text.
Can I turn the music off? Yes — and this was the most-asked question of launch day. The speaker icon that toggles the main-menu music is in the bottom-left corner of the main menu. There are also custom volume controls in the options.
Is there a difficulty setting? The store lists Adjustable Difficulty, along with Playable without Timed Input, Save Anytime and Family Sharing.
Performance and platforms
What specs do I need? Minimum on Windows is a GTX 1070 and 16 GB RAM on Windows 10; recommended is an RTX 3060 or RX 6600 with 24 GB RAM on Windows 11. Macs need Apple silicon from an M4 up. The full tables are on the system requirements page.
Why is it demanding when it does not look demanding? The store page answers this itself: the detailed soil and water physics load the CPU, so the game is heavier than its visuals suggest. That is a developer statement, not a guess.
Does it work on Linux? There is no Linux build, but players reported it running through Proton on launch day, including on CachyOS. That is a player result rather than a supported configuration.
Does it work on Steam Deck? No official source describes Steam Deck support, and players were still reporting controller quirks on Deck on day one, so treat it as an unofficial setup.
Problems
The game crashes on startup. What do I do? This was the loudest launch-day thread. Players tried reinstalling and verifying files in Steam without success, which points at the build rather than at your install. A patch has been announced. Launch week tracks the reports.
The main menu will not respond to clicks. Also reported on day one. One reply in the thread notes that if you previously opened the map, pressing P can clear it — a stuck overlay rather than a dead menu. If that does not work, the official Discord is where the developer is collecting reports.
My gold map is stuck open. Press P, or close it with the X in the top-right corner rather than Escape. That workaround circulated in the launch-day threads and is repeated on the launch week page.
Dirt disappears through my dump truck. Reported by several players on October 22, with one tying it to switching from the DT-44 to the DT-88. It is a build issue rather than something you are doing wrong.
A controller honks the horn or ejects me at speed. Reported with PS5 pads and on Steam Deck. Until it is fixed, keyboard and mouse avoids the mapping problem entirely.
Where do I report bugs? The official Discord, linked from the developer's site and pinned in the Steam discussions on launch day, or support@groundworksimulator.com. This site is a fan project — reporting here reaches a person who writes pages, not the developer.
Content
Is there a codes system? No. There is nothing to redeem, and any page offering Groundwork Simulator codes is generating clicks from nothing.
Is modding supported? Not yet. Modding support and a Map Studio are planned for Update 3, the full-release step, per the published roadmap.
Will there be a second map? Update 1, already marked in progress, adds a new region with new gold deposits and story-mode objectives.
