T-Minus 5 Months until Kerbal Space Program 2 Launches in Early Access.
Kerbal Space Program 2 is the highly anticipated follow-up to the popular space program sim that had you building spacecraft using realistic aerodynamic and orbital physics. The sequel is set for an Early Access launch on February 24, 2023 on PC – bringing a whole suite of new features.
“We are so excited to release Kerbal Space Program 2 in Early Access because it will allow Kerbal fans to see for themselves all the amazing progress we’ve made as we reach the final stages of development,” said Nate Simpson, Creative Director at Intercept Games. “At its heart, KSP2 is about exploration, discovery, and conquering the force of gravity by adding more boosters.”
KSP 2 was supposed to be ready in 2020, but was delayed several times to create a “stable, polished whole” for game features, Intercept’s creative director, Nate Simpson, told fans on a Kerbal forum(opens in new tab) in 2021.
Kerbal Space Program 2 will bring an array of content at the launch of Early Access for players to explore, including hundreds of new and improved parts to build a variety of vehicles and rockets; time warp under acceleration allowing for improved long-distance flights; and vastly superior graphics featuring a planetary atmosphere and terrain system to make this the most visually impressive KSP game yet!
The game will also feature improved tutorials and user onboarding to provide players with the necessary knowledge to excel at space flight. Those that purchase Kerbal Space Program 2 in Early Access will help inform the future development of the game by providing feedback directly to its creators leading up to the full launch of the title.
In the video below, the developers discuss how Early Access is “The most Kerbal thing ever”. As anyone who’s created monstrously engineered vehicles in Kerbal Space Program will likely understand what this means.
The core experience are promised to be better than ever in Kerbal Space Program 2, as players will have tools at their disposal to construct advanced spacecrafts and lunar vehicles. When the game launches in Early Access, there will be over 350 new and improved parts to build with, including engines, fuel tanks, procedural part systems, and much more.
From this deep parts box, players can craft planes, rockets, rovers, and other creations for their adventures. Kerbal Space Program 2 will also introduce the ability to customize and paint vehicles, leading to deeper personalization and expression in every build.
The sequel to the original critically-acclaimed space flight simulator blasts off early next year with many exciting new features releasing over the course of Early Access
Other features coming to the game include:
- Customizable parts and new space-flight technology: Players will have over 350 new and improved parts including engines, fuel tanks, procedural parts systems, and much more. The overhauled vehicle assembly interface includes part sorting and a blueprint view for making precise adjustments, along with new part coloring.
- Improved onboarding: New animated tutorials, improved user interface, and fully revamped assembly and flight interfaces allow both experienced and novice players to quickly put their creativity to the test without sacrificing any of the challenge from the original game.
- New exploration tools: You can now use time warp while accelerating and plan complex maneuvers with ease using the new non-impulsive maneuver planner. New spheres of influence, map iconography, and atmosphere indicators take the guesswork out of interplanetary maneuvering.
- New environments to explore: Clouds, atmospheric scattering, and an all-new terrain system.
“By releasing in Early Access, we are entering a new phase in which players get to experience greatly anticipated systems, features, updates and more as they come online,” said Nestor Gomez, Lead Producer for Kerbal Space Program 2 at Intercept Games. “We will be listening and seeing the reactions to these changes; and much like the original game, this journey will help us leverage a massively powerful tool: our passionate community.”
Kerbals Space Program 2 Future Features
After Kerbal Space Program 2 launches in Early Access, Intercept Games will release multiple game-changing features throughout the proceeding months. Some of the highlights to come include:
- Next-Generation Technology: Players will unlock future technologies, allowing them to build at larger scales and use new fuels or propulsion systems. These capabilities will enable players to venture beyond the limits of the original Kerbolar System and into unexplored star systems.
- Colonies: A highly requested and anticipated feature for the sequel, players will be able to locate and extract valuable resources, then use those materials to build custom bases on distant celestial bodies or in deep space. Players will need to add power generation, habitation, and vehicle assembly models to colonies, and then can use it as a low-gravity launch complex from which to embark on more ambitious journeys!
- Interstellar Travel: KSP2 presents players with the challenge of interstellar navigation. They must venture across the gulf of interstellar space inside fusion-powered megaships capable of incredible speeds. Upon arrival at new star systems, they will be able to deploy landers and rovers to explore the planets waiting to be discovered.
- Multiplayer: Players will be able to both cooperate and compete with friends to explore space together and achieve historic milestones in their own space race. Multiplayer unlocks endless potential for adventures, completists, and “unexpected” vehicle collisions!
- Modding: Kerbal fans are keen to share the plethora of mods available for the original game, and Intercept Games plans to make the sequel even more mod-friendly by releasing additional developments aimed to support the modding community.
- And more: There will be plenty of quality-of-life improvements, bug fixes, features, and more as the game develops in Early Access, so stay tuned for updates!
Kerbal Space Program 2 will launch for an introductory price of $49.99 in Early Access on PC via Steam, Epic Game Store, and other digital storefronts on February 24, 2023. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox X|S versions of Kerbal Space Program 2 are planned to release after the PC Early Access period with further details to come later.
