RimWorld: 3 Open Source Clones Compared
None of these three actually reproduce RimWorld's code or assets — they're different kinds of projects that happen to share its colony-sim genre. Magical Life is a separate game with its own original assets, adding RPG elements (character classes, a spellcasting system, a tech tree) on top of RimWorld-style base-building. Prepare Carefully isn't a standalone game at all — it's a mod (EdB Prepare Carefully) that depends on RimWorld's own game DLLs to run. Project Porcupine is an unrelated, from-scratch tile-based colony-sim project, originally built as a Unity tutorial, using its own assets rather than reproducing RimWorld specifically.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Unplayable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 2y ago
- Stars
- 325
- Contributors
- 112
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoProject provides its own base code and assets; no original game files required.
- Modding support
- YesSupports XML/Lua-defined furniture and highly customizable objects; designed as a skeleton for tile-based games with self-governing agents.
- Multiplayer
- —
Availability
- Status
- Semi-playable
- Platforms
- Windows
- Play in browser
- YesPlay in Browser
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 4y ago
- Stars
- 254
- Contributors
- 12
- License
- MIT
- Engine
- MonoGame
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoThe project has its own original assets.
- Modding support
- —
- Multiplayer
- Multiplayer
Availability
- Status
- —
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 1y ago
- Stars
- 249
- Contributors
- 5
- License
- MIT
- Engine
- Unity
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Modding support
- —
- Multiplayer
- —
| Title | Project Porcupine | Magical Life | Prepare Carefully |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Unplayable | Semi-playable | — |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux, OSX | Windows | Windows, Linux, OSX |
| Play in browser | No | YesPlay in Browser | No |
| Mobile | No | No | No |
| Project health | |||
| Development status | Halted | Halted | Halted |
| Last updated | 2y ago | 4y ago | 1y ago |
| Stars | 325 | 254 | 249 |
| Contributors | 112 | 12 | 5 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT | MIT |
| Engine | — | MonoGame | Unity |
| Compatibility | |||
| Requires original assets | NoProject provides its own base code and assets; no original game files required. | NoThe project has its own original assets. | — |
| Modding support | YesSupports XML/Lua-defined furniture and highly customizable objects; designed as a skeleton for tile-based games with self-governing agents. | — | — |
| Multiplayer | — | Multiplayer | — |
| Preview | | |
Frequently asked questions
Are the RimWorld clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
What license do these RimWorld clones use?
Project Porcupine (GPL-3.0); Magical Life and Prepare Carefully (MIT).
Do I need to own the original RimWorld to play these clones?
Project Porcupine and Magical Life run standalone, no original files needed.
Can I play any of these RimWorld clones directly in a browser?
Yes — Magical Life has a browser-playable build linked in the comparison table above, no install required.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to RimWorld.