Hit colony sim Rimworld’s next expansion will let you have kids (finally)

A new RimWorld expansion is on the way, and will provide more options to delight (and horrify) fans of the sci-fi colony simulation game. Called Biotech, the expansion adds the ability to upgrade colonists and allow them to control menacing mechanoids, have babies and raise children, and genetically modify those kids (and their parents), all in service of creating more efficient colony workers.

RimWorld is a sci-fi colony management game that tasks players with protecting three colonists who have crash-landed on a planet. Players need to feed their pawns, build protection from the elements (and hostile outsiders), and create their own society. RimWorld was recently ported to PlayStation and Xbox with updated controls to navigate the game’s dense UI. Biotech is the game’s third expansion, after Royalty and Ideology.

Babies are a major resource sink, as they require love, shelter, and caregiving — or you could just pop them into a growth vat for a relatively speedy upbringing. Players will have to entertain kids, teach them, and help mold them into a new generation of colonists. The player can select choices in skills and traits as the child levels up; the better their upbringing, the more choices one can pick.

Players can also find or create a special brain implant that allows them to psychically control mechanoids, one of the standard enemy types in RimWorld. Players can grow their own mechanoids, and there’s a whole new lineup joining the centipede, lancer, and scyther models. Why not build mechanoids to harvest your crops and cook your meals (or murder your enemies)?

Finally, gene-modding will allow players to make xenohumans. Your colony can be full of furry, powerful beastmen, or immortal big-brain geniuses with super soldiers. Players can stumble across xenohumans randomly as well, some of whom have genes that one might describe as vampiric. Neighboring colonies might be full of fiery imps or shadowy blood-drinkers, so players will need to be on their toes.

Biotech will be out “in a few weeks,” according to a lengthy blog post on the game’s Steam page from developer Ludeon Studios. The blog also goes into far more detail on each of the three new features and how they might manifest, with commentary from creator Tynan Sylvester on why these changes are coming and the kind of gameplay they might inspire. If you’re a RimWorld fan who delights in the chaos that can befall colonies, it’s worth checking out for a deeper dive on these new systems.