Revision 1

The management layer of Westlanders turns a survivor into the head of a working economy. Players recruit people they meet in the wild, assign them to production, and link settlements with roads and trade. The game is unreleased, so this describes plans and pre-alpha material.

Recruiting workers

The current store text says players recruit the NPCs they meet to live in their settlements. The former co-publishing partner's game page, written in late 2025 and early 2026, said other wanderers can be attracted and recruited, each with unique skills and professions, from master craftsmen to steadfast guards. The publisher's page, current as of October 2026, talks about recruiting loyal companions.

Recruiting and managing NPCs was one of four core systems highlighted in the gameplay trailer released in March 2026.

Production work

A March 2026 press release said recruited NPCs can manage essential labor, naming mining, logging and animal husbandry. Other official texts describe these production activities:

The store text says players optimize production lines through research and worker automation. The publisher's page describes establishing robust production lines through mining outposts, lumberyard operations, animal ranching "and more". Buildings for production are covered on Building and Settlements, and the research side on Crafting and Tech Tree.

Workers in Early Access

In a pinned FAQ on the game's Steam discussion board in January 2026, the team explained how workers will behave at the start of Early Access. Workers will stay assigned to their station and perform only the tasks tied to it. They will not move around to rest, socialize, change tools or respond to distant events.

The FAQ called this "a deliberate choice" that lets the team stabilize the AI, measure performance and balance task priorities without the added complexity of pathing, collisions and contextual routines. Richer behaviors are planned once that foundation is validated.

Biomes and resources

The same January 2026 FAQ said the world is not uniform: certain biomes and locations are better suited to farming, livestock, mining or production, which encourages trade and route building. The publisher's page says each zone has plenty of unique resources and that players explore to find the best spots to harvest them. The regions are described on The Westlands.

Trade and economic networks

The January 2026 FAQ said trading with other towns and factions is part of the plan. In March 2026, a staff reply on the Steam discussion board described the later game as forming trade agreements and hiring people to develop larger businesses where the player settles.

The March 2026 press release described coordinating with friends to optimize economic networks between settlements. The store text adds roads and logistic networks connecting outposts and settlements.

Ranching and gold

Asked in January 2026 about cattle herding and gold panning, the team said cattle herding is something it wants to explore in the content planned for Early Access, along with ranching activities in general, and that husbandry plays a key role in its vision for the full game. It said it had no particular plans for gold panning at that time, but that this might change. Gold itself is named as a resource in the March 2026 press release.

Not Yet Confirmed

• A list of worker professions or skills (not published as of October 2026).

• Which towns and factions players can trade with (not named as of October 2026).

• When workers will gain richer behaviors beyond their stations (no date as of October 2026).

• Whether NPCs react to threats such as animals or bandits (a player question with no official answer as of October 2026).

• Gold panning (no plans as of January 2026; not announced as of October 2026).