Space Engineers 2, the Highly Anticipated Sandbox Sequel, Launches on Steam Early Access January 27th
Today, Keen Software House officially revealed Space Engineers 2, the highly anticipated sequel to their popular sandbox game about construction and survival. Along with this announcement, the studio shared the Early Access launch date on Steam, which is set for January 27th, 2025. Preorders for the game are now available.
Space Engineers 2 takes everything the studio has learned over the past 10 years working with Space Engineers, a beloved sandbox game with over 5 mln copies sold, and reimagines it with more depth, creative freedom and intuitiveness. Powered by the next-gen proprietary VRAGE3 engine, the game’s creation and destruction feel and look better than ever before.
Space Engineers 2 will begin its journey in Early Access with the Alpha stage on January 27th, inviting players to dive into Creative Mode, one of the most loved features with plenty of space to build and experiment. For the first time, engineers can explore the revolutionary 25cm unified grid system, allowing them to build anything with great precision. The game now also offers new blueprint tools like snap-to-grid, partial copy/paste, toolbar assignments, and powerful building tools such as the voxel hand, symmetry tools, line/plane building, a flexible paint tool and grid undo/redo, all providing players with freedom to bring their most intricate ideas to life.
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In Space Engineers 2, players travel to the distant Almagest system, a newly discovered, mysterious planetary system that awaits the first colonizers. Initially, it serves as a canvas for space engineers, but as players develop it, the system will unveil a captivating narrative with intriguing stories and memorable NPCs, coming later in Early Access.
Space Engineers 2 is set to become one of the best-looking sandbox experiences of this generation. The game received ray-traced global illumination, realistic shadows, a new skybox, tessellated voxel materials, parallax effects for armor, and much more, adding depth and realism to every scene. Powered by VRAGE3, Space Engineers 2 is designed for smoother performance and a more immersive experience. During Early Access, the studio will focus on further optimizations, letting players build bigger ships and fly more of them over time.
While being a notable aspect of the game, the controls in the original Space Engineers were often quite complicated for new players. In Space Engineers 2 the controls and UI have undergone a major overhaul, making the game more accessible and intuitive for both new and experienced players, without losing the depth of the constructing process.
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The future of Space Engineers 2
Creative Mode is just the beginning. In the coming months, Space Engineers 2 will receive new exciting features, including a UGC Workshop for sharing creations, advanced modding tools with the VRAGE HUB, and various gameplay improvements. Down the road, players can look forward to planets and survival, volumetric water for new engineering challenges, and more with multiplayer, NPCs, and a story campaign.
Keen Software House introduces a unique approach to future content updates, focusing on individual Vertical Slices - fully playable portions of the game with specific core features. Given the game’s complex mechanics, it is important for the studio to stay in touch with players, learn about their experiences with each slice, and incorporate their feedback before moving on to the next major content update.
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Roadmap:
VS 1.1: UGC Workshop (Mod.io): Players will be able to share their creations with other players.
VS 1.2: Improved mechanics and interface refinements.
VS 1.5: Modding: VRAGE HUB, VRAGE Editor.
VS 2: Planets and Survival: Explorable planets and the new Almagest System. Engineers will get access to new tools like backpack building and projection building, while experiencing improved progression and engaging challenges.
VS 3: Water: Planetary-scale volumetric water will transform gameplay. Players will b*e able to engineer across oceans, rivers, and lakes, as well as construct boats and submarines for underwater exploration.
More to Come: The studio plans for additional Vertical Slices that will expand upon core mechanics, introduce new features, and ultimately build towards a complete Space Engineers 2 experience. On the horizon: Multiplayer, NPCs, Story Campaign and more.