Yes. RimWorld is worth buying, and the smart move is to start without the expansions. Play the base game thoroughly, then start modding, then pick up the expansions you actually want. After 1,200 hours on Steam and owning every expansion, that's the honest recommendation.
The base game is $34.99 on Steam , down to $27.99 during sales at the time of writing , and it's currently on version 1.6. Ludeon has released five expansions since the full launch in October 2018, and you don't need all of them.
Is RimWorld Worth It in 2026?
If this is the type of game you're into, absolutely. The catch is that it's hard to know whether you're into it, because not many games do what RimWorld does as well as it does. There are a lot that try.
You run a small colony on a distant planet, and the game's storyteller throws raids, disease, bad weather, and mental breakdowns at you. Every colonist has their own traits and needs, so no two runs play out the same.
Should You Buy RimWorld With or Without DLC?
Start without it. The base game on its own is enough for hundreds of hours, and even if you can't afford the expansions, the modding scene could mean you only ever need vanilla.
Here's what's available, with release dates and full prices from each expansion's Steam page:
| Expansion | Release Date | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Royalty | February 2020 | $19.99 |
| Ideology | July 2021 | $19.99 |
| Biotech | October 2022 | $24.99 |
| Anomaly | April 2024 | $24.99 |
| Odyssey | July 2025 | $24.99 |
That's $114.95 on top of the base game at full price if you buy everything, though all five were 10–20% off on Steam recently. Play vanilla first and add the ones you actually want.
Which RimWorld DLC Is Worth It , and Which Can You Skip?
Royalty is the one to mainly skip. Some expansions are better than others, and it's pretty widely accepted which way that goes. Anomaly is also skippable unless you're specifically into '80s gore horror , outside of that theme, it doesn't add too much. That leaves Ideology, Biotech, and Odyssey as the stronger picks.
Here's what each expansion adds, going by Ludeon's own Steam descriptions:
- Royalty: the Empire, royal titles earned through quests, and psychic powers.
- Ideology: belief systems for your colony, from charitable ranching cowboys to piratical nudist cannibals.
- Biotech: mechanoids you control, families with children, and genetic modification.
- Anomaly: horror, with flesh infestations, cultists, shambling undead, and an evil machine god.
- Odyssey: your own ship to travel the planet and launch into space, with asteroids and abandoned space stations to scavenge.
If one of those sounds like the colony you've always wanted to run, that's your first expansion. If none of them do, the base game and mods will keep you busy for a long time.
What Are the Must-Have RimWorld Mods?
With 796 mods subscribed on Steam , though only 27 active during a recent difficulty run , a light-touch recommendation isn't really possible here. But there are some standouts worth knowing.
A personal favourite is Colorblind Minerals, which recolours minerals to make them far easier to distinguish at a glance. Beyond that, there are plenty of quality-of-life mods that don't change how RimWorld plays , they just make the everyday jobs of running a colony quicker and clearer:
- Pick Up And Haul: colonists carry more than one thing at a time.
- RimHUD: a clearer readout of each colonist's stats and needs.
- Smart Speed: faster game speeds when you need them.
- Numbers: sortable tables of your colonists, animals, and prisoners.
- Quality Colors: item quality shown at a glance.
What About Combat Extended?
Combat Extended is the big one. Once you've played with this combat overhaul mod, going back to the standard auto turrets feels noticeably worse. That's how much it changes RimWorld's fights.
Should You Build a Killbox in RimWorld?
Killboxes work, and that's why everyone builds them. That said, experimenting with different styles is more interesting than defaulting to the traditional setup that always wins. For example, keeping the lights off in the corridor raiders have to walk down adds a thematic layer , the idea of raiders struggling through darkness to reach your base is genuinely funny, and it still functions as a killbox.
Final Verdict: Is RimWorld Worth It Without DLC?
Yes. Buy the base game, play the heck out of it, start modding, then pick the expansions you want. Skip Royalty, and probably Anomaly unless you want horror. RimWorld is one of the few games worth putting over a thousand hours into, and the base game is where those hours start.
