RimWorld

In RimWorld, stranded humans must build a settlement on an alien world and hold their own against hunger, disease, extreme weather and attackers. It is not about playing through a fixed campaign: the colony develops from the decisions of its inhabitants, the chosen terrain and events triggered by an AI storytelling system.

The game, developed by Tynan Sylvester and Ludeon Studios, combines base building and resource planning with detailed character simulations. A small starting group can grow into a society with divided labour – or fall apart through a raid, an operating-room crisis or a winter with missing supplies.

Ludeon gives Nov 4, 2013 as the first public release date. According to Steam, the finished PC version came out on Oct 17, 2018. For consoles, the RimWorld Console Edition, implemented by Double Eleven, followed in July 2022.

Ongoing development includes free system updates and separately available major expansions. In October 2026, Ludeon announced a switch of the PC version from Unity to its in-house Waylith Engine for version 1.7. This version is initially only available via Steam's unstable beta branch; the regular version stays on 1.6 for now. No date for the stable switch has been announced yet.

The original PC version is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. On consoles there is a separately adapted PlayStation 4 and Xbox One version with controls and interface for gamepads.

Important for choosing a platform: The Xbox One version can be played on Xbox Series X|S via backward compatibility. This does not mean a separate native Xbox Series release. Likewise, playing the PS4 version on PS5 is not equivalent to a confirmed native PS5 version.

Expansions and updates should be checked per platform: a DLC being available on PC does not automatically confirm a console version.

New colonies typically start with three survivors of a spaceship crash. First, sleeping spots, food and a safe supply of power and materials must be established. Then workshops, research, medicine, defences, trade and expeditions are added. Even the choice between temperate forest, desert, jungle and tundra determines which animals, resources, diseases and weather hazards shape daily life.

Characters have personal traits and skills. Injuries affect individual body parts and can be treated surgically or later replaced with prosthetics. Mood and relationships directly affect performance; being overwhelmed can paralyse a colony even without an external attack.

Several AI storytellers control events at different rhythms. The challenge is therefore less about solving an ideal base-building puzzle and more about setting priorities under changing conditions.

The PC version has been expanded with five major player expansions. Royalty (Feb 24, 2020) introduces an empire with noble titles, court society and psionic abilities. Ideology (Jul 20, 2021) adds belief systems, rituals and roles that let colonies develop their own culture.

Biotech (Oct 21, 2022) expands families, children, genetic modifications and controllable mechanoids. Anomaly (Apr 11, 2024) shifts the focus toward horror, containment and exploring unusual creatures. Odyssey (Jul 11, 2025) adds mobile colonies, travel with your own ship, and exploration of other places and space.

The expansions are additional content for the base game, not standalone games. On PC they each have their own Steam store pages; console availability cannot be generally inferred from these offers.

The Steam entry lists as historical minimum hardware for the PC base version a Core 2 Duo, 4 GB RAM, graphics on the level of Intel HD Graphics 4000 with Shader Model 4.0 and 1 GB free space. For macOS, the product page lists macOS 10.12. Linux is listed as a supported desktop system.

The Windows 7 listing in the game entry is historical: the current Steam client has only supported Windows 10 or newer since January 2024. Requirements for future engine versions may differ, especially on older devices. German is available as an interface language according to Steam; translations are made by the community.

With Cassandra Classic, Phoebe Chillax and Randy Random, RimWorld offers different profiles for how unexpected events unfold. The choice does not change the basic rules of farming, research or medicine, but the pacing of the story and the sequence of crises.

The generated world includes numerous climate zones and alien factions. Colonists can found caravans, trade, complete quests and relocate their settlement to another location. Wildlife is more than decoration: it can provide food, affect mood as pets, or be used in combat.

RimWorld offers extensive modding options on PC and supports the Steam Workshop. Players can change equipment, mechanics and workflows, among other things, so installation and compatibility matter especially with larger mod collections.

For the switch to the Waylith Engine announced for version 1.7, Ludeon stresses that the vast majority of existing mods should keep working without changes. Authors can still explicitly mark their packages as compatible with 1.7. The developer also mentions newer C# features and additional options for complex effects. These details initially refer to the test branch and are no guarantee for every mod setup.

Ludeon developed its own engine, Waylith, which RimWorld is set to use from version 1.7 instead of Unity. According to the studio, the game feel and visuals will largely remain intact; improvements are planned for start and loading times, world generation and simulation speed of large colonies, among other things.

The speed advantages reported by the developer come from its own tests and depend on the computer, save game and mods. In October 2026, version 1.7 is only available as an unstable beta on Steam. According to the developer, save games from 1.6 can be loaded in 1.7 and vice versa. For very old computers, the studio warns of possible compatibility issues.