Which RimWorld DLC Should You Buy First? Five Expansions Compared

Pick the new story, not a completion checklist

The useful first question is what you want your next colony to do differently. A DLC purchase should unlock a specific kind of play you want to learn. Buying every expansion at once can make it harder to tell which system created a new need or problem.

The comparison below summarizes each official product page and adds our editorial 'buy now / wait' judgment. It is not a ranking based on hands-on testing or a requirement that every player follow the same order. All five linked Steam products require the base game.

References: RimWorld — Royalty: official Steam listing · RimWorld — Ideology: official Steam listing · RimWorld — Biotech: official Steam listing · RimWorld — Anomaly: official Steam listing · RimWorld — Odyssey: official Steam listing

Three common first-purchase decisions

If your favorite part is individual colonists and their long-term relationships, Biotech is a reasonable first candidate. Its family and genetics systems change how you think about the future population. If instead you enjoy designing a themed society with rules that change everyday choices, compare Ideology first.

If you mainly want new tactical and quest progression, Royalty is the more focused comparison. Psychic powers and Imperial status create different decisions from managing children or writing a belief system. Choose the activity you actually want to spend the next session doing.

These are preference-based recommendations. A player who dislikes children, genetics or mechanoid management does not need Biotech just because someone else calls it the best value. Read the linked product descriptions and choose the systems you want, not the largest feature list.

References: RimWorld — Biotech: official Steam listing · RimWorld — Ideology: official Steam listing · RimWorld — Royalty: official Steam listing

When Anomaly or Odyssey makes more sense

Choose Anomaly when a colony-horror campaign sounds more interesting than another general-purpose expansion. Its containment and research theme changes the kind of uncertainty you manage. If the theme is the main attraction, buying it before a more broadly recommended DLC can be entirely reasonable.

Choose Odyssey when staying on one map is the part you want to change. Its gravship is a travelling home, so exploration and maintaining a mobile colony become central considerations. That is a different promise from adding a few new objects to a static base.

For either choice, ask what you would stop doing to make room for the new systems. If you are already juggling too many unfamiliar tasks, try one expansion in a fresh learning colony instead of layering all of them onto a valued save.

References: RimWorld — Anomaly: official Steam listing · RimWorld — Odyssey: official Steam listing

Check platform, bundle and mod dependencies

Open the listing through the source links and verify the platform, base-game requirement, language and regional checkout. The Steam pages here do not prove the same expansions or features are available on console. Check the storefront for the device you actually use.

A bundle is only useful if you want its contents. Compare the final total for items you do not already own, not just the advertised percentage. If a mod prompted the purchase, read that mod's exact DLC requirements first; one expansion does not automatically satisfy another's dependency.

Keep a save backup before changing an established colony's content setup. Starting a new test colony with the selected DLC makes it easier to understand its mechanics and to distinguish an expansion feature from a mod interaction.

A simple stop-buying rule

Write one sentence before checkout: 'I am buying this because I want my next colony to…' If the ending is only 'own everything' or 'follow someone else's list,' waiting may be the better decision. The base game still provides the core colony-management loop.

The official product links on this page are ordinary, untracked links. GamerWin has not received a commission for these recommendations and has not benchmarked a value-per-hour claim. Live prices, refunds and regional availability remain the store's terms to verify.

Before you play

• One desired colony experience chosen.
• Correct platform and base-game ownership checked.
• Only wanted bundle items counted.
• Required DLC for intended mods verified.
• Save backup or fresh learning colony planned.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & revision notes

Editorial revision: September 11, 2026. Source notes give the scope of each reference; the revision date is not a gameplay test date. Official documentation describes the publisher's system; community sources can contain errors. Use your installed game's own descriptions when they disagree.

1. RimWorld — Royalty: official Steam listing (Official)

   Source checked September 11, 2026. Game options and platform support should still be checked in your installed version.

2. RimWorld — Ideology: official Steam listing (Official)

   Source checked September 11, 2026. Game options and platform support should still be checked in your installed version.

3. RimWorld — Biotech: official Steam listing (Official)

   Source checked September 11, 2026. Game options and platform support should still be checked in your installed version.

4. RimWorld — Anomaly: official Steam listing (Official)

   Source checked September 11, 2026. Game options and platform support should still be checked in your installed version.

5. RimWorld — Odyssey: official Steam listing (Official)

   Source checked September 11, 2026. Game options and platform support should still be checked in your installed version.