KSP 2

Kerbal Space Program 2 is a space flight simulation video game developed by Intercept Games and published by Private Division. It is the sequel to 2015's Kerbal Space Program and released in early access on the 24th of February 2023 for Microsoft Windows, with versions for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S coming after the 1.0 version for PC has been released.

Early Access Poster

Gameplay

This sequel builds on the sandbox features of its predecessor Kerbal Space Program, while at the same time introducing new propulsion methods (e.g. the Orion drive), habitation modules for building on-surface, orbital and planetary colonies, a multiplayer mode, as well as interstellar travel.

Development

Kerbal Space Program 2 was announced at Gamescom 2019 on August 19, with an initial release date set for early 2020. The game was in development by Star Theory Games, formerly Uber Entertainment, which changed its name in order to display a stronger association with the Kerbal Space Program franchise. Development was shifted to Star Theory in part so that Squad could focus on developing further updates for the original game. To ensure that the experience felt "grounded", the team consulted a panel of scientists and experts including Dr. Uri Shumlak, the associate chair of the University of Washington's Aeronautics and Astronautics department, Scott Manley, an astrophysicist and prolific Kerbal Space Program YouTuber, and Dr Joel Green, also an astrophysicist. The game also received feedback that the original game was too overwhelming for new players. Therefore, the team aimed to make the game more accessible by introducing more tutorials in order to give more guidance to players to ensure they understand the game's various gameplay systems.

However, for various reasons, the release date was pushed back to Q3 2021. Take-Two established a new unnamed studio under Private Division to continue development of Kerbal Space Program 2, with some of Star Theory's employees brought into it, leaving it unclear what Star Theory's role remains on the title. Later reporting by Bloomberg revealed that Take-Two was in talks to acquire Star Theory but abruptly changed course, set up a new studio to develop the game (Intercept Games), and then poached a third of Star Theory's developers including the creative director and the lead producer. Star Theory closed its doors three months later.

In November 2020, creative director Nate Simpson announced that the release date was delayed again to 2022. In June 2021, it was announced via the game's official Twitter account that the game would also be launching on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2022.

In May 2022, Intercept confirmed that KSP 2 has been pushed back to an “early 2023” release date on PC. The console release has been delayed even further.

KSP 2 Feature video episode 6 confirmed the early access release date to be 24th of February 2023.