Wild West Pioneers

Wild West Pioneers is a town-building and management game set in the American West during the Gold Rush. As the leader of a pioneer group, you open up new territories, found several settlements and develop them from simple camps into functioning towns.

Building is tied to a told journey: alongside supplies, production and growth, it's about following the trail of the player character's missing father and getting to know the people who head west with you.

Wild West Pioneers launched in Early Access on PC on Sep 25, 2026. It is released via Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store. Developer EmpireCraft Studios plans to use the Early Access phase to develop the game further with community feedback and to add extra content and systems.

Currently PC is the confirmed native platform. Early Access launched on Windows via Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store. A native console version is not currently officially announced.

At the heart of the game are classic town building, resource management and production chains. You lay out roads, build homes and workshops, and process raw materials into building materials, tools and luxury goods. At the same time, you need to keep an eye on your settlers' food, shelter and contentment.

Progress doesn't come only from bigger towns: Journey tasks give experience for new buildings and specialisations, while decisions about people, offices and events can affect relationships and the development of your settlements.

For 1080p on low settings at around 30 FPS, Steam lists at least an Intel Core i5-4570 or AMD Ryzen 3 1300X, 12 GB RAM and a GeForce GTX 1060 with 6 GB or Radeon RX 590 with 8 GB. For 1080p on medium to high settings at around 60 FPS, 16 GB RAM and a GTX 1660 SUPER or Radeon RX Vega 56 are recommended. Around 14 GB of storage space is required.

Wild West Pioneers does not focus on a single town. Scouts open up new regions and settlement sites, each with its own resources and challenges. In every settlement you build local supplies and production chains and develop the infrastructure to suit the needs of the residents.

Buildings can be placed freely and connected by roads. Decorations and facilities serve more than looks: they fulfil settlers' wishes and help them settle permanently.

Scouts uncover new locations, resources, traders and quests. Exploration targets lead out of the existing settlements and can open up further sites for building new towns.

In parallel, the game tells a personal story about the missing father of the player character. Dialogue is fully voiced; choices can affect relationships with companions and residents, as well as the development of your own settlements.