RimWorld Update 1.7 Moves Game to In-House Waylith Engine
Ludeon Studios has released RimWorld Update 1.7 on Steam's unstable branch, replacing Unity with its own Waylith engine.
Ludeon Studios announced RimWorld Update 1.7, which migrates the game from Unity to the studio's in-house Waylith engine. The update is already playable on Steam's unstable branch.
The studio said internal tests show performance improved 2 to 4 times. In a stress test with a late-game colony, Update 1.7 recorded 2.2 times the performance of version 1.6. With a mod pack of 1,500 mods, loading time reportedly dropped from 14 minutes to 6 minutes.
Save data from version 1.6 can be loaded in 1.7, and 1.7 saves can be played in 1.6. Most mods work in 1.7 without changes by their authors, though some may show a yellow warning. PCs more than 10 years old may not run 1.7.
Ludeon Studios also said it is developing a new work that uses Waylith, without revealing details. RimWorld was officially released in 2018. In March 2024, Update 1.5 and the expansion Anomaly were announced together, and in June 2025, Update 1.6 and the expansion Odyssey were announced together.
The news was reported by GameSpark.
Quick answers
How do I try RimWorld Update 1.7?
Update 1.7 is already playable on Steam's unstable branch.
Will my RimWorld 1.6 saves and mods work in 1.7?
Save data from 1.6 can be loaded in 1.7, and 1.7 saves can be played in 1.6. Most mods work in 1.7 without changes by their authors, though some may show a yellow warning.
What are the performance changes in RimWorld Update 1.7?
Ludeon Studios says internal tests show performance improved 2 to 4 times. A late-game colony stress test recorded 2.2 times the performance of version 1.6, and a 1,500-mod pack loading time reportedly dropped from 14 minutes to 6 minutes.