RimWorld tests its new Waylith engine in the 1.7 unstable beta

Image credit: Ludeon Studios

After years of colonies surviving raids, disasters, and the occasional spectacularly bad decision, RimWorld itself is undergoing a major transformation. Ludeon Studios has announced that version 1.7 replaces Unity with its own Waylith engine. The studio reports substantial performance improvements, particularly in demanding late-game colonies and heavily modded installations, alongside new opportunities for modders working with code and visual effects.

The announcement includes some striking developer measurements, including a reported 2.2-times improvement in one late-game colony and a reduction from 14 minutes to six in a heavily modded loading test. Those are Ludeon's results, not independent MNC benchmarks. At announcement time, 1.7 was available through Steam's unstable beta branch, with 1.6 remaining stable. The studio expects most existing mods to need little or no modification, though older hardware and individual configurations may present difficulties.