Kerbal Space Program 2 is a space flight simulation video game created by Intercept Games and published by Private Division. It follows the 2015 game Kerbal Space Program and became available for testing on February 24, 2023, for Windows computers only.
Take-Two Interactive started making Kerbal Space Program 2 in 2017 and planned to release it in 2020. However, problems during development and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic made the release date change several times. Job losses at Intercept Games and Take-Two Interactive, along with Intercept Games closing in 2024, have made it unclear whether Kerbal Space Program 2 will continue to be developed. The game last received an update in June 2024.
Gameplay
Kerbal Space Program 2 includes the same open-ended gameplay features as Kerbal Space Program. During its development, Private Division intended to include new ways for spacecraft to move, living spaces for astronauts, spaceships and bases on planets, a multiplayer mode for players to interact together, and the ability to travel between stars in the final version of the game.
Development
Kerbal Space Program 2 was announced at Gamescom on August 19, 2019, and was planned to release in early 2020. Star Theory Games, which was previously known as Uber Entertainment, was originally responsible for creating the game. The development team for Kerbal Space Program 2 worked with experts in the field, including Dr. Uri Shumlak, who is an associate chair at the University of Washington's Aeronautics and Astronautics department, and Dr. Joel Green, an astrophysicist. The team said they wanted to make the game easier for players by adding more tutorials to help them learn how to play.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the release date for Kerbal Space Program 2 was delayed to the third quarter of 2021. In 2020, Take-Two Interactive tried to buy Star Theory Games. However, these plans did not work out by June 2020, and Intercept Games was formed under Private Division to continue developing the game. More than one-third of Star Theory Games' employees, including the creative director and lead producer, stayed to work on Kerbal Space Program 2 at the new studio.
Announcements in 2021 said the game would be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Squad, the company that created the original Kerbal Space Program, would also help develop the new version. Delays in the game's release from 2020 onward meant the early access version was finally scheduled for early 2023. However, according to Engadget, features like an exploration game mode, colonies, interstellar travel, multiplayer, improved exploration, and resource gathering would be added later in the game's development.
In December 2023, the first major update for Kerbal Space Program 2, called "For Science!", was added to the game. This update included a new game mode called "Exploration Mode," which replaced the original game's "Science" mode.
According to Bloomberg, Take-Two Interactive planned to close Intercept Games in May 2024. The company denied these claims, and the CEO of Take-Two Interactive, Strauss Zelnick, confirmed this denial. However, former developers at Intercept Games, such as design manager Quinn Duffy, said the team would be laid off on June 28, 2024. In November 2024, Take-Two Interactive sold Private Division to an unnamed investor.
Reception
Kerbal Space Program 2 has mostly bad reviews since it was released. According to PC Gamer, players said the game had problems with how it runs, many errors, and not enough things to do when it first came out. However, players liked the better pictures, improved music and sounds, and small changes that made the game easier to play compared to Kerbal Space Program. The "For Science!" update was well-received because it fixed errors and added a new way to play that lets players advance step by step. Later, after reports that workers who make the game lost their jobs in 2024, the game received many negative reviews on Steam.