PortedGames
Vangers cover art
Vangers. Vangers screenshot © K-D Lab, via IGDB. Unofficial site, not affiliated with the publisher.
PC port · Windows → PC

Vangers (open-source edition and the vange-rs remake)

K-D Lab's cult racing RPG Vangers (1998), open-sourced under GPLv3 and maintained for Windows, Linux and Mac, plus vange-rs, a Rust remake with modern GPU rendering. Needs resources from your copy.

WorkingSource portNeeds your own copyv2.0Updated

You need your own copy of Vangers. This port only runs with files from a copy you own; there is no download or play button here. No copy? These play in your browser right away, no files needed: Warzone 2100 (open-source edition, desktop and Web Edition), BO1 Zombies (vel.gg), GTA 3 Online (quenq III Web).

What you need

Game resources (maps, sounds, textures) from your own Vangers on Steam or GOG; the Fostral world data is open (CC BY-SA). Plus a Windows, Linux or Mac computer; the open-source build needs SDL 3.

Official releases ↗GitHub repository ↗

We do not host any files. Only download from the project's official source.

Every version of Vangers 2

  1. Vangers (open-source edition and the vange-rs remake)This page

    WorkingSource port

    The video game that combines elements of the racing and role-playing genres.

    Runs on Windows (64-bit), Linux, macOSNeeds files from a copy you own★ 7432.0 · Nov 27, 2021

    GitHub ↗

  2. vange-rs

    ActiveEngine remake

    Rusty Vangers clone

    ★ 489terrain-paper · Aug 26, 2026

    GitHub ↗

We link to each project's own page and host no game files. Version data from project pages, our daily checks and awesome-decomp-games (CC0).

Short answer

Vangers (1998), K-D Lab’s cult mix of racing and role-playing, is open source under GPLv3 and maintained by its community for Windows, Linux and macOS. A separate project, vange-rs, remakes it in Rust with modern GPU rendering. Both need resources from your own copy on Steam or GOG (the Fostral world data is openly licensed).

This site is not affiliated with the Vangers community, vange-rs or K-D Lab. We do not host any files and only link the projects’ official pages.

What it is

Vangers, by Russian studio K-D Lab, came out in 1998: you drive biomechanical vehicles between strange worlds, trading and fighting. Its source code was later published, and the community has kept it running.

Vangers on GitHub is described as a “video game that combines elements of the racing and role-playing genres”. The README states: “All source code is published under the GPLv3 license”, and the Fostral world data is published by K-D Lab under CC BY-SA 4.0. “Other resources necessary for the complete game (maps, sounds, textures, etc.) can be obtained from copies of the game purchased” on Steam or GOG.

vange-rs is “a Rusty Vangers clone” that aims “to replicate the old look and behavior, but with native hardware acceleration for the graphics”, using wgpu, with several rendering techniques including voxel ray tracing.

Current status

  • Vangers (open source): Working, actively maintained (last update 1 November 2026), with CI builds for Linux, Windows 64-bit and macOS. Tagged releases: 2.0 (2021).
  • vange-rs: in development; v0.4.0 on 15 April 2026 with macOS, Ubuntu and Windows builds.

What you need

  • Resources from your own Vangers, bought on Steam or GOG.
  • A Windows, Linux or Mac computer. Building the open-source edition needs SDL 3.2+, SDL_net 3.2+ and libvorbis.

We do not link any copies of the game resources.

How to get started (overview)

  1. Buy and install Vangers from Steam or GOG.
  2. To use the latest open-source build, get it from the project’s CI or build it with the README’s instructions.
  3. Point it at your game’s resources and play.
  4. To try vange-rs, download its release or build with cargo run, with the original game data configured.

FAQ

Is Vangers open source?

Yes. The game's source code is published under the GPLv3 by the Vangers community, and the Fostral world data is under a Creative Commons licence. Other resources such as maps, sounds and textures still come from a purchased copy on Steam or GOG.

Does Vangers run on Linux and Mac?

Yes. The open-source edition builds on Linux, Windows (64-bit) and macOS, with automated builds for each, using SDL 3.

What is vange-rs?

A separate remake of Vangers in Rust by kvark that replicates the original look and behaviour with modern GPU rendering through wgpu, including a voxel ray-tracing renderer. It needs the original game for full play.

Where can I buy Vangers?

The README links Steam and GOG. Those copies provide the resources the open-source build needs.

Unofficial. This page is written by an independent directory. It is not made by, endorsed by or affiliated with Interactive Magic (developed by K-D Lab) or KranX and the Vangers community; kvark (vange-rs) (Vangers (open-source edition and the vange-rs remake)'s author). We do not host any files, and we never link to game files, ROMs or ISOs.

Sources

This page was last updated on Nov 3, 2026. A date after a source is the day we read it. Versions and steps follow the official project; if they differ, the official source wins.

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