Are People Still Playing RimWorld In 2026?
Officially launched 8 years ago, RimWorld is knocking on a bit now. But it’s had numerous patches and fixes, as well as a raft of DLCs, with more expected soon. And it’s never exactly been known for its cutting-edge graphics. So, despite not being a live service game, RimWorld’s player number figure has continued to increase throughout its life.
RimWorld spent just over 2 years in early access and had already been available in pre-alpha for 3 years before that.
DLCs Brought New Players
On release, it enjoyed a peak player count of just under 30,000 and maintained a rough player count of 15,000 until its first DLC, Royalty, launched in March 2020.
Royalty brought a peak count of slightly more than 40,000 and pushed the base player count up to 20,000.
Subsequent DLC launches had similar effects. Ideology (August 2021) and Biotech (November 2022) were next and saw the player count peak at 50,000 and 60,000 respectively.
Anomaly came next in April 2024, although its launch only pushed the peak count up to around 62,000.
Odyssey, the game’s most recent DLC, hit Steam in July 2025 and saw the peak player count fly to nearly 100,000.
As is typical a year or so after significant releases, RimWorld’s player base has dropped again now, but currently around 40,000 people are still playing the game on Steam.
RimWorld did launch on console in 2022. But, the console version has less DLC and no mod support. No official figures have been released but it doesn’t appear very popular on console.
Continued Popularity
One of the reasons for the game’s increased popularity is its replayability, especially once you throw a DLC or two on. Players regularly boast thousands of hours of game time because of the different storytellers, open-ended gameplay, and the many challenges the game offers.
It’s also relatively cheap. At least, the base game is. Generally, you can expect to pay around $35, or £30, although you can occasionally see it with a slight discount.
But, be warned, it does get seriously expensive when you consider adding all the extra content. The DLCs cost between $20 and $25 at full price, so you end up paying nearly $150 for the full package. Fortunately, vanilla RimWorld is an excellent game in its own right.
