RimWorld similar games & best alternatives

RimWorld - Trailer
RimWorld - rimworld_1.avif
RimWorld - rimworld_2.avif
RimWorld - rimworld_3.avif
RimWorld - rimworld_4.avif
RimWorld - rimworld_5.avif
RimWorld - rimworld_6.avif

RimWorld

Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac • 2018

Should you play it?

A sci-fi colony sim driven by an intelligent AI storyteller. Generates stories by simulating psychology, ecology, gunplay, melee combat, climate, biomes, diplomacy, interpersonal relationships, art, medicine, trade, and more.

What works

  • Deep emergent storytelling
  • High replayability with mods
  • Complex colony management
  • Strong emotional attachment to characters
  • Extensive customization and creativity

Things to keep in mind

  • Steep learning curve
  • No official multiplayer
  • Can be stressful and unforgiving
  • Simple graphics
  • Long play sessions require attention

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Rogue AI Simulator

  • Eador: Genesis

  • Soulash 2

  • Space Haven

  • Songs of Syx

  • Gnomoria

Less leadership-focused

Games that feels like RimWorld but with less leadership over others

  • Creeper World 2: Anniversary Edition

  • Creeper World: Anniversary Edition

  • The Doors of Trithius

  • Super Fantasy Kingdom

  • Tinkerlands: A Shipwrecked Adventure

  • In Celebration of Violence

More social

Games that feels like RimWorld but with more teamwork and cooperation

  • Necesse

  • Terraria

  • Grim Realms

  • Tinkerlands

  • Keplerth

  • Creator of Another World

Less dominating

Games that feels like RimWorld but with less domination over others

  • From Glory To Goo

  • The King is Watching

  • dotAGE

  • Odd Realm

  • Stardeus

  • Shortest Trip to Earth

Less intimate

Games that feels like RimWorld but with less focus on close relationships

  • Infection Free Zone

  • Age of History 2: Definitive Edition

  • Age of History 3

  • Territory: Farming and Warfare

  • Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal

  • KeeperRL

More competitive

Games that feels like RimWorld but with more competition against others

  • Particle Fleet: Emergence

  • Supreme Ruler 1936

  • Making History: The Great War

  • Conquest of Elysium 4

  • Europa Universalis IV

  • Wyrmsun

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with RimWorld. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with RimWorld. These titles are not in What to play next.

RimWorld: Less representative of its motivational profile, with noticeable differences. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Cooperation, Fellowship, Intimacy, Leadership. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Domination. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Cooperation, Fellowship.

Last update: 21/08/2026