Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Empire Water Works
Harman Motor Works · Published by Harman Motor Works
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
Empire Water Works is a steam engine simulator based in a water pumping station. Operate and maintain your pumping station day and night, maintain city water pressure and fulfill contracts. Interact with realistic steam, coal-firing, and audio simulation in a vintage setting.
Indie, Simulation, Early Access · 2026 · More free games
Manage and maintain a vintage water pumping station, operating steam engines day and night to fulfill contracts. Experience realistic coal-firing and audio simulations in this indie simulation game from Harman Motor Works.
About this game
THE STEAM ENGINE IS YOURS TO CONTROL!
You control the speed (RPM) of the engine, fine-tune the valve gear duration and ensure that lubrication is up to snuff! Running low on bearing oil can cause power loss and bearing damage; running out of steam cylinder oil can damage the cylinder walls, resulting in massive steam leaks and power loss.
PUMP WATER RELENTLESSLY!
Your steam engine exists to pump as much water as possible to the town's three reservoirs: Residential, Municipal and Industrial, with the help of your two massive water pumps downstairs.
Check the reservoir pressures and pump water to maintain their water pressure within the prescribed pressure thresholds.
But be careful! Trying to push too much water flow through the system can cause your water pumps to moan, groan, hammer and experience bolt failures...such failures will need attention ASAP, otherwise critical events such as flooding can occur.
PERFORM 'COLD AND DARK' STARTS
At the beginning of each shift, you'll need to raise boiler pressure and warm-up the massive steam engine's cylinders and clear them of condensate before you can turn it over! You'll also have the opportunity to keep the engine warm overnight by following certain procedures before locking-up the night before...saving you time the next morning!
KEEP EVERYTHING OILED
The main bearings, valve gear linkages, and cylinders all require oil. Do your rounds and don't forget to check the levels frequently!
LOOK AFTER YOUR BOILER
The boiler is the heart of your pumping station...it supplies precious steam pressure to your steam engine! Make sure you clean out the fire tubes and keep it topped-up with water - you don't want an unscheduled explosion...
YOUR TELEPHONE IS YOUR LIFELINE
The phone will be ringing off the hook! Receive over 40 unique telephone calls, everything from reservoir pressure issues and leaks/fixes, to prank/joke/'foamer' calls and 'advisory' calls based on your current situation.
You'll also use your telephone to order supplies such as coal and steam oil, to keep your pumping operation buoyant!
FULFILL CONTRACTS AND MAKE MONEY TO STAY AFLOAT
Don't let that phone ring-out...you might miss a lucrative contract! Successfully pump the required 'contracted gallons' and score funding, reputation boost, and merit points which you can use to apply upgrades!
FEATURES
Faithful depiction of a 1920s-era steam-powered water pumping station
Operate and maintain a massive double-expansion steam engine from the bygone era, pumping water to the town's residential, municipal and industrial water reservoirs, to maintain sufficient water pressure
Perform realistic 'cold and dark' startup procedures such as warming cylinder jackets and filling oil lubricators to ensure minimal wear on cylinder liners, main bearings and other components
Interact with vintage machinery like boilers, generators, water pumps and bilge pumps
Fine-tune your steam engine's operation, by adjusting the steam regulator, valve gears and boiler water feed
Operate advanced steam equipment such as a jet condenser
Perform maintenance on equipment such as cleaning boiler fire tubes and monitoring lubrication levels
Monitor supply levels such as coal and steam oil and place orders in advance to replenish these before they deplete
Complete event-based 'contract' challenges to supply reservoirs with a given amount of water and receive funding and reputation bonuses in return
Earn 'merit' points which can be used to apply a range of upgrades to the pumping station
Experience realistic audio recorded from a real vintage stationary steam engine
Deal with critical events such as varying levels of reservoir leaks, steam leaks, flooding and machinery damage, including cylinder wear and boiler explosions
Work a realistic day or night shift with a moving day and night cycle over 24 in-game hours
Deal with ever-changing 'edicts' from the Mayor's office which impose variable conditions on how much water you can pump (whilst still dealing with water demands from the township!)
Keep records about the running of the pumping station in your ledger - but be careful to ensure the records are accurate!
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel or AMD
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1070
- Storage: 3 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD recommended
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 11
- Processor: Intel or AMD
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 3070 or better
- Storage: 3 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD recommended
Supported Languages
*languages with full audio support
Latest news
Patch NotesOfficial
Demo update 20260818 has landed
Hi everyone!Just a quick 'regular' update to the Demo, again mostly 'porting' some changes over from the latest Early Access developments (including a bug fix).--Cosmetic: 'Dirty Wooden Planks' material for the main floor instead of the concrete. --Bug fix: Improved the 'water splashing' SFX triggers so that they should trigger a bit more reliably only when the player is actually stepping in (or is otherwise 'immersed' in) flood waters.--Cosmetic (in the demo at least): Added the coal crane prop to the demo! This will be an upgrade-unlock item in Early Access and will be fully functional, allowing you to quickly and easily lift and lower around 8 coal sacks from main floor level to basement (or vice versa). If you want to see this (and other behind the scenes content) in more detail, check out my Patreon, where your support will also reward you with your name in the Early Access game's credits! Once again, your support is very much appreciated and I look forward to bringing you more, soon!CheersRead full article on Community Announcements (HarmanMotor)Patch NotesOfficial
Empire Demo Update 20260808 is live
Hi all!Just checking-in to let you know of another update that just dropped for the Empire Water Works demo. This takes the demo to build 20260808 (you can confirm this from the main menu and on-screen during play)Details below:BUG FIX: increased the bounding box that controls whether items can dropped onto the workshop table; items should now more reliably get 'placed' onto the table when player is standing near it (still not 100%, but better than before); see also related QoL item below...QoL: If player is holding 'eligible' workshop table place-able item (Boiler Brush, Lighter, Lantern, Wrenches, Adjustable Wrench) AND they are standing near enough to workshop table, then the UI display changes to 'Place on Table (F)', letting the player know if they hit 'F' at that moment, the item is guaranteed to be placed on the tableBUG FIX: when holding Boiler Brush, the 'Drop Item (F)' widget was not displaying on-screen Cosmetic: Add a 'driver' 3D model to the supply truck! No more ghost trucks! 😅Cosmetic: Added pipes for the flow meter props in the basementCosmetic: New diesel engine running sound effect for diesel generatorCosmetic: For the supply truck, the coal sack props in the back of the truck no longer 'unload' if the delivery does not include coalThat's it for now, thank you so much for all the recent feedback commentary! I appreciate it so very much and apologies if I don't always respond immediately, I do read all comments regardless and I am so very grateful for the engagement! Remember to add your demo feedback here if and when you have any. It's much appreciated!Feel free to hang out in the Discord and post any bugs in the relevant channels as well (and feel free to chat and post screenshots in the relevant channels, too!)Otherwise, Early Access development is steaming along at full-pace! I will continue to post news and links to content regarding it as time goes on, but you can always get the very latest members-first access to such content (as well as gett...Read full article on Community Announcements (HarmanMotor)AnnouncementsOfficial
Empire Demo 20260801 is here!
Hi all, We've hit August! (well, according to my timezone 😅)Another regular update to the Empire demo which takes it to build 20260801 (confirm from the main menu). This update is a combination of your feedback, some QoL, plus some 'ports' from the Early Access build (teasers, admittedly...).Here's the list of changes:Balance: increased coal order qty max to 10 (was 7) - you can now order a maximum of 10 coal sacks in one go, instead of just 7. I have also re-done the coal sack placements when they are delivered (development screenshot below):QoL: reduced Gatehouse night shift whistle blast requirement to 30s total not 60s - admittedly, blasting the large whistle outside for one whole minute was a bit of an ask, so I have halved this to just 30 seconds to summon the Gatehouse after hoursQoL: when the player attempts to go to rest and the phone is ringing, the "Telephone ringing..." error now also mentions: "(accelerate time with 'Page Up' key)" to help (hopefully) reduce the player's frustration - you can accelerate time until the phone stops ringing then you can rest. I have on my to-do list a QoL task to 'silence' the phone/cancel any incoming calls when the player attempts to rest with the phone ringing, but it's proving a bit more complex than I'd like, so this is a mitigation measure for nowCosmetic: new water flow meters have been added to the basement downstairs (these have been ported across from the Early Access build), however please note they are non-functional in the Demo. Just a teaser for what's coming soon with Early Access, where you'll be able to interact with these flow meters to record readings in your Ledger and their read-outs will also show real-time values denoting how effective your pumping strategy is!Cosmetic: water pump pistons have had a material/texture update so that their rodded portions are now a burnished metal but the other portions are rusted (you might also notice one of the the new water flow meters in the background, too); I hav...Read full article on Community Announcements (HarmanMotor)AnnouncementsOfficial
EARLY ACCESS ANNOUNCEMENT! + YouTube Dev Log #4! + New Discord!
Hi everyone!I have been absolutely head-down and busily working on Early Access development now for the past several weeks, and I am very pleased to 'officially' announce the Early Access release date for Empire Water Works......drum roll...November 27th 2026!It's a few months out, and whilst I'm being slightly conservative with the date, it's mostly because I am (believe it or not), a bit of a perfectionist....and I must add that the date also seems scarily close! 😅Without promising too much, in a nutshell, on day 1 of Early Access launch I do plan to include:Everything from the demo + no day limit (obvious!)At least 3 more upgrades (right now, I'm working towards the Jet Condenser, Cylinder Temp Gage and Boiler Water Tank Electric Pump)Addition of the 'Repair Service' - formerly known as the 'Machine Shop' - (allows the ability to repair damaged/destroyed equipment, such as the boiler, cylinder liners, etc)Enhanced steam cylinder lubricator features (ability to control oil flow and view oil drops in the sight glasses; danger of causing cyl. wear if valves are improperly set) - very much in the bag already!Enhanced boiler sight glass features (drain-able sight glass; water level indication can 'freeze' and provide inaccurate readings unless drained periodically) - also complete currentlyFlow meters down in the basement which will display how much water you're actually pumping! (and the ability to record these values to the Ledger)More contracts (over a dozen more for initial EA release, with more to be added over time)More phone callsAnything else I can cram in prior to November 27th!As part of this announcement, I have created a new dev log with more info! Check it out below!Over on my Patreon, I have first-drop news and more information (such as early-access to dev logs like the one above) and more frequent posts and polls on this project, so if you're feeling like you'd like to help support me for the long development road ahead, it is very much appreciated!That...Read full article on Community Announcements (HarmanMotor)Patch NotesOfficial
Empire Water Works Demo update 20260722 is here!
Hi everyone! Another demo update is here! This takes the demo to version 20260722 (confirm this from the main menu). Here's the details of this update!Balance: a rather important change with this update is that for the first time, loose water pump head bolts will actually affect pumping volumes! Previously the bolt looseness only contributed to basement flooding. This is a key balance change that will add more value to tightening the bolts, and I have been careful to test it to ensure that the game hasn't become overly difficult on the 'default' settings. I found that at the default setting of 25% maximum pumping losses (with the pump bolts loose), the player is still able to maintain reservoir pressures, so long as they increase the River Inlet Valves to ~60-70% (and perhaps 100% during reservoir leak periods).This new change is controlled by a brand new setting "Minimum water pump efficiency". By default, the maximum pumping loss from loose bolts (per pump) will be 25% (which maps in the UI to display a minimum efficiency of 75%). To help clarify what this means: as an example, if the River Inlet Valves are open 100% for a given pump, it would normally move a maximum of 100 gallons of water (per stroke) - now, on the default efficiency setting of 75%, the gallons pumped can drop to as low as 75 gallons, once the head bolts reach a certain looseness level.The cool thing here is that you are able to adjust the amount of efficiency loss from the Game Options dialog - so if you dislike this new change, you can set the minimum efficiency to 100%, and your pumping losses will be ZERO no matter what state the water pump bolts are in. Conversely, setting the efficiency to 50% (the harshest setting) means that in the above example, instead of moving 100 gallons at 100% inlet valve setting, you'll only move 50 gallons per stroke, once the bolts are loose. You can view the Ledger at any time to get a sense for how many gallons you're actually pumping at any moment.For new pl...Read full article on Community Announcements (HarmanMotor)
