Prague, January 27th, 2025 — Today, Keen Software House officially launched Space Engineers 2, the long-awaited sequel to their popular sandbox game, now available on Steam Early Access. Players can dive into the game's Alpha, featuring a single-player Creative Mode with plenty of freedom for building and experimentation. On this occasion, Keen Software House also released the Alpha launch trailer, highlighting the process of building with advanced tools and other standout features of the sequel.
About the Alpha:
Keen Software House introduces Creative Mode first, as it plays a crucial role in the Space Engineers series. The original game still hosts one of the largest workshops on Steam, filled with incredible creations from players around the world.
In Space Engineers 2 Alpha, players step into the role of a solo space engineer, venturing into the asteroid cluster of the distant Almagest system. This environment acts as a personal playground in space, where engineers can do whatever they want: from building massive ships, crazy contraptions and experimenting with wild ideas, to simply blowing everything up just for fun.
For the first time, players can explore the groundbreaking 25cm unified grid system, giving them the ability to build with incredible precision. The game also introduces 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 giving more freedom to bring the most creative ideas to life.
“Space Engineers 2 is currently in its first alpha phase, and while we're proud of what we've built, we understand some players may prefer a more complete experience. If you'd like to wait for more features and polish, we encourage you to wishlist the game and follow our development journey. With survival mode, multiplayer, and many other exciting updates on the horizon, we'll be ready to welcome you whenever you decide to join us. Thank you for your support and understanding as we continue to evolve SE2.” — Marek Rosa, CEO of Keen Software House.
About the game:
Space Engineers 2 is an open-world sandbox game where engineering meets exploration, and survival in the vast expanse of space. Become a pioneer in the distant Almagest system, an uncharted world full of endless possibilities for creativity and discovery. Build everything from starships to space stations as you carve your own path in this highly anticipated next chapter of the Space Engineers series!
Key Features:
-
Creation and destruction never felt this good: Space Engineers 2 builds upon a decade of experience, reimagining space engineering with more depth and freedom. Powered by the updated VRAGE3 engine, it delivers enhanced creation and destruction in a boundless sandbox where your imagination can truly flourish.
-
Build with unmatched precision: Try next-level construction with the 25 cm Unified Grid System. Effortlessly merge blocks for intricate builds — no more struggling with large versus small grids. With improved mounting point visualization and grid lines, building is more straightforward and accurate than ever before.
-
Enhanced controls and mobility: Our upgraded system introduces blueprint building, Grid Undo, and refined CTRL controls for exact rotation and zoom, ensuring seamless design throughout. Push your creations to greater speeds with an increased maximum velocity: characters can now reach 310 m/s and grids 300 m/s. And you’ll never have to worry about falling off platforms or asteroids — magboots and auto jetpack activation are here to support you!
-
Smarter UI and smoother play: The redesigned UI/UX making building smoother and more intuitive for both newcomers and pros, giving more freedom to bring your intricate ideas to life. Thanks to VRAGE3, Space Engineers 2 is set to deliver better performance for a smoother play. As Early Access progresses, you’ll be able to build bigger ships, fly more of them, and enjoy epic destruction in a truly immersive ride.
-
Next-level visuals: Enjoy the beauty of space, industrial designs and battle encounters, reimagined with next-level realism. In Space Engineers 2 we introduced new ray-traced global illumination, realistic shadows, a new skybox, tessellated voxel materials, parallax effects for armor and much more, to bring depth and realism to every scene.
-
Stories of the Almagest: For the first time, Space Engineers 2 will receive a full narrative with an exciting story campaign, featuring human NPCs, AI-driven vessels and factions that bring the Almagest System to life. In the future updates, players will be able to trade with local inhabitants, complete quests, and uncover ancient mysteries, giving new purpose to their engineering skills.
Roadmap
Creative Mode is only the beginning. Over the coming months, Space Engineers 2 will introduce exciting new features, including a UGC Workshop for sharing creations on Steam Workshop, replacing the originally planned Mod.io integration, advanced modding tools through the VRAGE HUB, and various gameplay improvements. In the future, players can expect explorable planets, survival mode, volumetric water for new engineering challenges, and more with multiplayer, NPCs, and a story campaign.
VS 1.1: UGC Workshop (Steam Workshop): 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 be able to engineer across oceans, rivers, and lakes, as well as construct boats and submarines for underwater exploration.
More to Come: Keen Software House will continue releasing additional Vertical Slices that will expand upon core mechanics and introduce new features. On the horizon: Multiplayer, NPCs, Story Campaign and more.
With the release of Space Engineers 2, the team at Keen Software House will continue to support the original Space Engineers game. Players can look forward to a new update for SE1 that adds more PvE content and refreshments for Cargo Ships.
Space Engineers 2 is now available on Steam Early Access, alongside the Pioneer Edition, which includes the game's soundtrack, exclusive wallpapers and behind-the-scenes materials.
The press kit is available here or at keenswh.com
More information about the game can be found in the latest blog post.
About Keen Software House:
Started by Marek Rosa in 2010, Keen Software House is an independent game development studio, based in Prague, and known for its best-seller Space Engineers (over 5 million copies sold) with the 4th largest Workshop on Steam offering over 500K mods, ships, stations, worlds, and more. The studio strives to deliver immersive worlds that celebrate science and encourage creativity, all powered by the proprietary VRAGE3 engine with advanced voxel and volumetric technologies, enabling unparalleled physics-based interactions, expansive sandbox environments, and dynamic gameplay. For more information, visit www.keenswh.com.