Colony Sim Games Like RimWorld: 14 Picks on Steam

The best games like RimWorld give you a small group of people with moods, wounds and grudges, then let a living world push them around until a story comes out of it. You love RimWorld because the raid, the mental break and the botched surgery all happened to characters you knew by name. The picks below keep that feeling, each in its own way.

What makes RimWorld so hard to replace?

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RimWorld, from Ludeon Studios and released on October 17, 2018, is a sci-fi colony sim. That’s short for colony simulation: a management game where you don’t control a single hero. Instead you direct a group of settlers who also make their own choices. You start with three shipwreck survivors on a freshly generated world and try to keep them fed, sane and alive. Meanwhile an AI “storyteller” decides which events hit you next, from pirate raids to toxic fallout.

The detail is what keeps you playing. Colonists fall in love and break up. They get addicted, lose limbs and get bionic replacements. Steam Workshop support adds hundreds of mods; the Workshop is Steam’s built-in mod hub, where you subscribe to fan-made add-ons with one click. On Steam the game is single-player on Windows, macOS and Linux, with an Overwhelmingly Positive rating from more than 248,000 reviews.

We judged games like RimWorld on three things. Do they give you people with their own needs? Does the world create trouble on its own? Do the stories come out of the systems instead of a script? Few games manage all three, so the closest fits come first.

Colony sims closest to RimWorld

Dwarf Fortress

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RimWorld’s own store page names Dwarf Fortress as an inspiration, so this is where the idea started. Bay 12 Games has worked on it since 2003. The Steam version, published by Kitfox Games on December 6, 2022, adds pixel graphics and in-game tutorials. You generate a world with its own history of rising and falling civilizations. Then you guide a band of dwarves as they carve a fortress into the ground, keep each other happy and try not to dig too deep.

The simulation goes even further than RimWorld’s: combat tracks body parts, materials, pain, nausea and poisons, and every dwarf has a personality. It suits players who found RimWorld’s late game too comfortable and want something stranger and harder. It’s single-player with Steam Workshop support on Windows and Linux, and its reviews are Very Positive.

Going Medieval

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Going Medieval is the closest thing to the RimWorld loop in a different setting. A plague has wiped out civilization, and you start with three lost travellers in a wilderness that nature has taken back. Each settler is a full character with skills, a personality, a religion and preferences about clothes and food. Meet those needs and they work well. Ignore them and things go wrong.

The big difference is 3D terrain. You can build multi-storey forts, dig winding underground caverns and set traps for waves of raiders. Of all the games like RimWorld here, this is the best fit if you have wished RimWorld had height. Foxy Voxel developed it and Mythwright published it. It released on March 17, 2026, is single-player with Steam Workshop support on Windows, and is rated Very Positive.

Space Haven

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If the crashed-ship start was your favourite part of RimWorld, Space Haven keeps you in space. You lead a ragtag civilian crew looking for a new home, and you build their ship tile by tile, placing every hull piece, wall and door yourself. Crew members sleep in your beds, complain about noisy rooms and need oxygen and CO2 kept at the right levels. Explosions can release hazardous gases, so you’ll need to build scrubbers.

You’ll also meet other space-faring groups, so the trouble isn’t only life support. Bugbyte Ltd. released it on May 13, 2026. It’s single-player with Steam Workshop support on Windows, macOS and Linux, and is rated Very Positive. It’s one of the strongest games like RimWorld for sci-fi fans.

Norland

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Norland is for players whose best RimWorld stories were about relationships rather than raids. You lead a noble family in a medieval kingdom left behind by a fallen empire. Each family member has their own ambitions, strengths and weaknesses. They can work together or scheme against each other, while class conflict, religious tension and plots from rival rulers build up around them.

Norland is in Early Access, which means it’s on sale while still in development and can change. Long Jaunt develops it and Hooded Horse publishes it. It launched on July 18, 2024, and is single-player on Windows, with a Very Positive rating.

Clanfolk

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Clanfolk slows the RimWorld formula down to the turn of the seasons. You start with an empty plot in the Scottish Highlands and your closest family. You fish, hunt, gather and farm to get ready for winter. Over the generations your clan marries, has children, grows old and dies. You might grow the homestead into an inn or a trading post.

It’s a good pick if you enjoyed the quieter parts of a RimWorld colony, such as the harvests and the stockpiles, more than the firefights. If that cozier side appeals, our list of the best cozy games on Steam has more. MinMax Games develops it and Hooded Horse publishes it. It’s in Early Access, released July 14, 2022, single-player on Windows, and rated Very Positive.

Survival colony sims with deeper engineering

Oxygen Not Included

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Klei’s space-colony sim swaps RimWorld’s open map for a side-on view of an asteroid’s interior. Oxygen, warmth and food start running out from the moment you begin. You control everything from digging to plumbing and power, and temperature is a constant worry: too cold and your colonists freeze, too hot and they cook. Your colonists, called Duplicants, react to stress in their own and sometimes destructive ways, so leisure, good beds and good food matter.

It suits players who loved designing RimWorld’s freezers and power grids. Released July 30, 2019, it’s single-player on Windows, macOS and Linux, with an Overwhelmingly Positive rating.

Timberborn

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Humans are gone, and beavers are rebuilding. In Timberborn you pick one of two factions, the nature-friendly Folktails or the industrious Iron Teeth, and keep your colony alive through recurring droughts and toxic seasons. The tools are what set it apart: 3D water physics, dams and floodgates, canals blasted with explosives, and buildings stacked on top of each other to save space.

You manage the colony as a whole rather than as named characters, so expect less personal drama. In return you get a lot of satisfying planning. Mechanistry released it on March 12, 2026. It’s single-player, lets you play at your own pace, and includes a level editor and Steam Workshop support. It runs on Windows and macOS and is rated Overwhelmingly Positive.

Factorio

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Factorio starts the way RimWorld does: you crash, gather by hand and slowly build up. From there it becomes about automated factories, with belts, oil refining and logistic robots. The local creatures don’t like what you’re doing to their planet, so you also need defenses. It’s not a colonist sim, but it gives you the same long sessions of “just one more fix.” Our guide to factory games like Factorio covers this side in depth.

It’s also the main multiplayer pick in this list. Wube Software released it on August 14, 2020. Steam lists single-player, online co-op, LAN co-op and cross-platform multiplayer, plus a level editor, on Windows, macOS and Linux. It’s rated Overwhelmingly Positive.

Sandbox and management games that create RimWorld-style stories

Kenshi

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Kenshi is often named among the best games like RimWorld, but it plays very differently. It’s a free-roaming squad RPG set in a harsh desert world that its store page says covers more than 870 square kilometers. You can be a trader, a thief, a farmer or a warlord, or end up as a slave. You build a squad, train weak recruits into fighters, carry wounded friends home, and eventually set up a fortified base where you can research and craft.

It suits players who wanted to leave the colony and go out into the world. Lo-Fi Games released it on December 6, 2018. It’s single-player with Steam Workshop support and a level editor on Windows, and it’s rated Overwhelmingly Positive.

Prison Architect

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Lots of RimWorld fans also love Prison Architect, and it’s easy to see why. You design a prison, then deal with what happens when real needs collide with your layout: floods, fires, fights and full riots. Every prisoner has a criminal history that needs its own treatment, work schedule and reform programs. Besides the main mode there’s Escape Mode, a Sandbox mode, and an Online mode for playing prisons other players have built.

Introversion Software and Double Eleven developed it and Paradox Interactive published it. It released on October 6, 2015, and is single-player with Steam Workshop support and a level editor on Windows, macOS and Linux. It’s rated Very Positive.

Frostpunk

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Frostpunk calls itself a society survival game. You rule the last city on a frozen Earth and manage its people and its infrastructure as conditions get worse. RimWorld asks whether you’ll harvest organs from a prisoner. Frostpunk asks the same kind of question for a whole city, and the choices are rarely clean.

Free updates added an Endless Mode and an extra scenario, The Fall of Winterhome. 11 bit studios released it on April 24, 2018. It’s single-player on Windows and rated Very Positive.

City builders for when your colony outgrows RimWorld

Songs of Syx

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Songs of Syx takes RimWorld’s idea that every person is simulated and applies it to tens of thousands of people. You grow a small village into a fantasy empire. Each citizen has their own religion, fears and desires, and real-time battles can involve huge armies. Small events can spiral into the collapse of a kingdom, which is the same chaos RimWorld has, on a much bigger scale.

It’s in Early Access, and its store page recommends playing the demo before you buy. Gamatron AB launched it on September 21, 2020. It’s single-player with Steam Workshop support and a level editor on Windows, macOS and Linux, and it’s rated Very Positive.

Against the Storm

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Against the Storm is a roguelite city builder. “Roguelite” means each run can fail, but you keep resources and upgrades for the next one. You found settlements of humans, beavers, lizards, foxes and harpies in a land battered by endless rain. Each race has its own housing, food and leisure needs to balance. Runs are shorter and more focused than a RimWorld colony, so it suits players who rarely finish a long save.

Eremite Games developed it and Hooded Horse published it. It released on December 8, 2023, and is single-player on Windows with a Very Positive rating.

Banished

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Banished is the quiet older relative on this list. A group of exiles starts over with only a cart of supplies. Your townspeople are born, work, have children and die, and they are your only real resource. There’s no money and no skill tree. Trade ships bring livestock and new crops, and sometimes disease.

It suits players who liked the slow, fragile early days of a colony. Shining Rock Software released it on February 18, 2014. It’s single-player on Windows and rated Very Positive.

Are there games like RimWorld but multiplayer?

Not many. RimWorld is single-player on Steam, and so is almost every colony sim that resembles it closely, including Dwarf Fortress, Going Medieval and Space Haven. These games run deep simulations, and that makes playing them together over a network hard.

Of the games like RimWorld in this list, Factorio is the one with full multiplayer support on Steam: online co-op, LAN co-op and cross-platform play. You and your friends can divide the work, with one person on defenses while another builds the oil setup, which is close to what running a colony together would feel like. If you mostly want to survive and build with friends, look at our survival games like Valheim and sandbox games like Minecraft, where co-op is the main focus.

How to choose your next colony sim (and mistakes to avoid)

Start with your favourite RimWorld memory and use it to choose. Here’s a worked example:

• “My colonist’s breakdown ruined a wedding.” You want character drama. Try Norland, Going Medieval or Clanfolk.
• “I finally got my power grid and freezer running.” You want systems. Try Oxygen Not Included, Timberborn or Factorio.
• “A raid wiped out everyone except one cook.” You want dangerous emergent stories. Try Dwarf Fortress or Kenshi.
• “I just liked watching the base grow.” Try Banished, Songs of Syx or Against the Storm.

Some common mistakes:

• Starting Dwarf Fortress with the wrong expectations. Its in-game tutorials help, but it’s deeper and slower to learn than RimWorld. Give yourself a few failed fortresses before you judge it.
• Expecting named colonists in a city builder. Timberborn, Banished and Songs of Syx simulate people, but you rarely follow one person’s story the way you do in RimWorld.
• Ignoring Early Access status. Norland, Clanfolk and Songs of Syx are still in development, so check their recent updates and review summaries first.
• Forgetting platforms. RimWorld runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. Several picks here, including Going Medieval, Kenshi and Frostpunk, list Windows only.
• Assuming mods are available. If you rely on RimWorld’s Workshop, check for Steam Workshop support. Dwarf Fortress, Going Medieval, Space Haven, Kenshi and Timberborn have it.

If one of these picks works for you, our hub of games like the ones you love has lists for other favourites, and the best games on Steam sorts picks by genre.

Questions and answers

What is the best game like RimWorld?

For depth, Dwarf Fortress is the closest match, and RimWorld's own store page names it as an inspiration. If you want something easier to pick up, Going Medieval has the most similar loop: a few survivors, needs and moods, raids and base defense, with 3D terrain. For a sci-fi setting, Space Haven puts the same kind of crew management on a spaceship you build tile by tile.

Are there games like RimWorld but multiplayer?

Few colony sims support multiplayer. RimWorld is single-player on Steam, and so are most of the games that resemble it most closely. Factorio is the strongest option for friends. Steam lists online co-op, LAN co-op and cross-platform multiplayer, and you build and defend a base together. It focuses on factories rather than colonist drama, but it has the same kind of long, planning-heavy sessions.

Is RimWorld 2 coming out?

There is no RimWorld 2 release date to share. On Steam, RimWorld remains the game Ludeon Studios released on October 17, 2018, and it still holds an Overwhelmingly Positive rating with Steam Workshop mod support. If you have played it to exhaustion and want something new, try Going Medieval, Space Haven or Dwarf Fortress. Each one offers a different take on the same colony sim formula.

What are some free games similar to RimWorld?

None of the games in this list is free to play on Steam. If you want to try before you commit, check each store page for a demo. Songs of Syx, for example, recommends playing its demo before buying because it is still in Early Access. Also check each game's review summary and platform list so you know what you are getting.

Is there a game like RimWorld but 3D?

Going Medieval is the clearest answer. You start with three survivors, manage their needs and personalities, and defend against raiders. It adds 3D terrain tools, so you can build multi-storey forts and dig underground caverns. Timberborn is also fully 3D, with water physics, terraforming and stacked buildings, but you manage a beaver colony as a whole instead of individual characters.

What games are like RimWorld in space?

Space Haven is the most direct match. You build a spaceship tile by tile, manage oxygen and CO2 levels, look after your crew's needs and moods, and meet other space-faring groups. Oxygen Not Included is set inside an asteroid and focuses on survival engineering: oxygen, heat, plumbing and power. Both keep RimWorld's sci-fi survival tone with a different focus.