A developer going by ofcistilloveyou has publicly released MeitouClient, a complete reworking of Kenshi's engine in C#, .NET 10 and Vulkan. The project is out as an alpha and already works with the original game files. I collect all my articles, guides and mods for the game in the Kenshi section of my site.
What we know about MeitouClient
Kenshi has long been held back by its old C++ and Ogre engine, particularly when it comes to modding and performance. The project's creator decided to rewrite the engine from scratch, using Claude as an assistant under his supervision. He says he handles bugs and architecture himself, while AI takes care of some of the routine work.
The aim is for it to become a full replacement for the original client, but this is still an early version. The creator makes no secret of the bugs—much like the original Kenshi, really—and says version 1.0 is intended to reach parity with the base game.
- The project is open source, but doesn't include the game's files: you need Kenshi installed to run it.
- It works with saves and Forgotten Construction Kit mods, although you shouldn't open Meitou saves in the normal game.
- The client already has combat, the entire map, recruitment and dialogue, trading, bounties, prisons and guards, unique NPCs and prosthetic limbs.
- Basic building is implemented, but production, farming and research are not available yet.
- On an RTX 4070, the game runs at 1080p and 144 FPS; on a laptop with integrated graphics, the “—low-end” launch option gives 50–60 FPS.
- Graphics improvements and quality-of-life features can be enabled individually, while “Faithful” mode stays as close to the original as possible.
In the comments, the creator promised localisation into additional languages in an upcoming build, but provided no list of languages.
🔥 To me, the main advantage of moving to MeitouClient is loading and frame-rate consistency. The creator showed a video of the world streaming in without loading screens, and the community was visibly surprised. If other users can reproduce those figures, Kenshi could finally become playable on low-end hardware.
I wouldn't rush to switch, though. The game is still rough, proper resource production is missing, and some ReKenshi mods won't work. The creator considers mods such as Dust unnecessary, since the graphics can be changed directly in the client's code.
How it got here, and what happens to mods
Kenshi has depended on its modding community for years, and ReKenshi has already expanded what mods can do considerably. But it remains tied to the old engine, and MeitouClient's creator acknowledges that full compatibility is unlikely. He hasn't ruled out partial support, and one user is already writing a compatibility layer intended to bring those mods back.
For modders, the most interesting plan is support for loading custom DLLs and using JSON data. For now, Harmony can be used to patch the game's code.
When could MeitouClient replace regular Kenshi?
The client is still an alpha, and its creator hasn't given a firm timeline. He's looking for testers and developers and intends to work on co-op, but that's only a plan for now. I'd wait until production and research are available before moving a main playthrough over.
The creator also wants to talk to the people behind ReKenshi and multiplayer mods about bringing their projects over. You can always find the latest mod updates in the modding section. For multiplayer on the original game, Anarchy's Kenshi Multiplayer already offers a shared world, with its own limitations.
