There are 35 characters across the SteamWorld series. The useful question is never “what exists” but “which one fits the situation you are in” — so this page lays the full roster out by type, with a short bio for each, so you can jump straight to the cluster that matches your run.
The full character list
| Name | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Armilly | Steambot | “True of heart, this adventurous grocer’s daughter aims for a membership at the local chapter of the Hero Guild. In pursuit of her dream to be just like her idol, the True Ancient Hero, Gilgamech.” -M |
| Grahame Phroggi | Unknown | Payroll is a mid-game heister found in Steamworld Heist. Payroll is adept with situations that require high mobility, additionally Payroll gets a considerable bonus to his weapon damages when attackin |
| Hank McCrank | Steambot | Hank “Cranky” McCrank was a Steambot from Tumbleton. Cranky was the local repairman, and spent his days building things from scrap metal. He owned the first shop where Rusty was able buy upgrades, alo |
| Gabriel Stubb | Steambot | Gabriel “Seabrass” Stubb is a playable Steambot in SteamWorld Heist. He is a Vanguard-class member for Piper’s crew and is able to use both Handgun and Assault weapons. This dour whaler-bot lost every |
| Captain Canary | Steambot | Captain Canary is one of the main antagonists in the SteamWorld series. Captain Canary was one of the leaders of the Void army. He fought against Armilly, Copernica and Galleo but lost and retreated. |
| Tarah & Thayne | Steambot | “Independent to a fault, these roaming grifters lack a true north and put their trust in nothing but themselves. Being away from home for so long, they’ve reconciled with the dusty roads.” - Menu Desc |
| Joe | Steambot | Joe was a key character appearing in SteamWorld Dig. He owned Joe’s Mining Inc. in Tumbleton, and spent much of his life exploring it before his death. Not much is known about Joe and his personality. |
| Lola | Steambot | Lola is a Steambot who runs the bar in Tumbleton and she is one of the last remaining inhabitants in the largely deserted town. Joe was a regular customer at Lola’s bar and she talks fondly of him wit |
| Beatrix “Bea” Baach | Unknown | Can use handguns and heavy weapons. Beatrix is a soldier without an army, the last in a long line of soldiers, just looking for war to fight. Knows how to clear a path with explosives. * Lev |
| Gilgamech | Steambot | Gilgamech is the main antagonist of SteamWorld Quest. He was once a hero who defeated the Behemoth and became a legend. Years passed and his heroic acts got forgotten, which led him to find the Void s |
| Bogdan Ivanski | Unknown | Bogdan “The Great” Ivanski is an early game character that is the embodiment of physical strength. Ivanski sets a focus on and excels at taking damage, taunting enemies and dealing that damage straigh |
| Dandy Alexander | Steambot | Dandy Alexander is an aristocratic Steambot that arrives in Tumbleton after Rusty’s mining boosts the town’s economy. He is the owner of an advanced upgrade outlet and speaks in a royal British squeal |
| Vectron | Voltbot | Vectron (Boss) is the main antagonist in SteamWorld Heist. Vectron gave Chop Sue the ability to resurrect broken parts of Steambots and turn them into the Zombot Scrappers, They were later captur |
| Dora D. Adventura | Unknown | A former scientist of the Royal Court who doubts the Queen’s true interest in science. She’s good at covering ground and knows how to shoot from a distance. |
| Jester | Steambot | The Jester is a DLC miniboss in SteamWorld Heist. = = The Jester was the firstborn of Chop Sue, although since he was picked on by his cousins, he and a band of non-Zombot Scrappers went in |
| Rosie | Unknown | Rosie is an inhabitant of the Oasis, and the main antagonist of SteamWorld Dig 2. As such, she serves as the final boss. She is thought to be the leader of the remaining Shiner clan. |
| Dorothy | Steambot | Dorothy McCrank (known as “Dot” by her friends) is a Steambot from Tumbleton. She runs a small shop that trades in Ores and Gems for cash in SteamWorld Dig. Rusty sells his findings from the mine to D |
| Ace | Dieselbot | Ace is a part of the Royalists’ Royal Guard that protects The Red Queen. He debuted in SteamWorld Heist. = = = = Ace can be encountered in-person |
| Biff Beacon | Steambot | Biff Beacon is a loud and jolly Steambot that speaks in a Texan accent. Although a native of Tumbleton, he returns only after Rusty’s mining gives an influx to the town’s economy, seeing a chance to s |
| Piper Faraday | Steambot | :“Smuggler captain Piper Faraday and her trusty pilot, Wonky, hide out in the Outskirts, far away from any royal jail. Brings out the best in her crew.” :— Piper’s character description (SWH) Captain |
| Voltbot | Voltbot | Voltbot is the primary representative for the Vectron hive mind and the main antagonist of SteamWorld Dig. He is connected to a massive blue body with several missing parts and attached to many coolin |
| Charles Babbage | Human | Charles Babbage was a british mathematician, philosopher, inventor and political economist. He was born on December 26, 1791 in Walworth, Great Britain. Charles Babbage - Wikipedia He’s known as the f |
| Great Prophet | Steambot | The Great Prophet is one of the bosses in SteamWorld Dig 2. = = The Great Prophet was the one that created the Doomsday Cultists, or at least helped create the group. He placed a Vectron Sp |
| Red Queen | Dieselbot | The Red Queen is one of the three antagonist leaders in SteamWorld Heist. The Red Queen is the leader of the diesel-driven Royalists, who originally sought to help rebuild the broken world with |
| Rusty | Hybrid | :“Could be part of my uncle’s mine, I guess. All it needs is a splash of paint.” :— Rusty to himself after accidentally breaking into Joe’s Mine (SWD) Rusty is the protagonist of SWD. He became a mine |
| Orik | Steambot | “A retired legend who sits comfortably in the periphery of heroic deeds. Returning to the life of adventure once again, he lends his skillful blade to those proving themselves worthy. His rationale li |
| Billy Gill | Steambot | Billy Gill is a recruitable character in SteamWorld Heist. The ninth SteamWorld Heist Ambassador Challenge revolved around the participants guessing his backstory. Billy lost his ability to speak when |
| FEN | Vectron Sprite | Fen is a Vectron sprite. They appear as a partner character in and as a DLC character in SteamWorld Heist, added in The Outsider DLC. In SteamWorld Dig 2 Fen serves as a partner to Dorothy throughout |
| Jack Clutchsprocket | Steambot | Jack Clutchsprocket is the main character of Steamworld Build and the father of Astrid Clutchsprocket. He also is the guide of the tutorial in Steamworld Build. (SWB) C |
| Astrid Clutchsprocket | Steambot | Astrid Clutchsprocket is one of the main characters of SteamWorld Build. (SWB) Character |
| Clark Piston | Steambot | *Whenever he speaks, he only says “yup” - similary to Billy Gill only saying “Blub” in SWH. **Billy Gill, however, uses variants of “blub” and is even capable of saying a few more words than just “blu |
| Gunn-Britt Gildenwire | Steambot | (SWB) Character |
| Trader | Steambot | *He is the only story character in SWB who has no known name. Due the fact that he suffers from amnesia, it could simply mean that he forgot his name. (SWB) |
| Core | Unknown | The Core is an interesting character. While being helpful and eager to uncover the ancient technology, it also is very sarcastic and can easily be annoying. The Core eventually ends up becoming part o |
| Big Steve | Dieselbot | :“Oh yeah! BIG STEVE!!!” :— Big Steve’s battlecry (SWH2) Big Steve is a character that serves as a mini-boss in SWH2. He can be encountered in the Shiner’s Cove level Illicit Machinations. Illicit Mac |
How the characters split by type
Steambot (21)
Armilly, Hank McCrank, Gabriel Stubb, Captain Canary, Tarah & Thayne, Joe, Lola, Gilgamech, Dandy Alexander, Jester, Dorothy, Biff Beacon, Piper Faraday, Great Prophet, Orik, Billy Gill, Jack Clutchsprocket, Astrid Clutchsprocket, Clark Piston, Gunn-Britt Gildenwire, Trader
Unknown (6)
Grahame Phroggi, Beatrix “Bea” Baach, Bogdan Ivanski, Dora D. Adventura, Rosie, Core
Dieselbot (3)
Ace, Red Queen, Big Steve
Voltbot (2)
Vectron, Voltbot
Human (1)
Charles Babbage
Hybrid (1)
Rusty
Vectron Sprite (1)
FEN
The numbers at a glance
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Characters tracked | 35 |
| Steambot — Type | 21 |
| Unknown — Type | 6 |
| Dieselbot — Type | 3 |
| Voltbot — Type | 2 |
| Human — Type | 1 |
| Hybrid — Type | 1 |
| Vectron Sprite — Type | 1 |
| Health / stat data tracked | No (source has no per-character stats) |
What the roster tells us
If you only remember one thing: the type split is the fastest way to narrow 35 characters down. Steambots are the largest group, so start your comparison there before looking at anything else. The roster is a character index — pair it with the characters guide for how they play in each game.