For fans of the space-flight simulator Kerbal Space Program, the wait is almost over! While Kebal Space Progam 2 was originally supposed to be released in 2020, the massive simulation game just was not ready. Today, the team at Intercept Games is ready to announce that the early access edition of Kebal Space Progam 2 will be available to purchase and play on February 24, 2023.
The announcement came with Episode 6 of the developer videos the game creators have been releasing on their YouTube channel. The description for the video gives a bare-bones description and includes the “introductory price of $49.99.” While the quirky space sim will eventually be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, for the early access period it will only be available for PC through the Kerbal Space Program website, Steam, and Epic Games Store.
The video below explains the team’s reasoning for making the game early access, and honestly, it’s pretty compelling. Nate Simpson, the creative director at Intercept Games said it perfectly. “For us, failure is not only an option, it’s like absolutely mandatory. It’s the way that we learn and evolve.” He continues to say that early access kind of feels more Kerbal in the sense that they’re “gonna get some things wrong” and “fail out loud.” That’s a worthy mentality for any creative endeavor, but he makes a great point that it is especially fitting for this game, which is all about learning by failing.
In the game, players will are trying to colonize planets in a huge interstellar setting. They will have to custom-build ships to get off of each planet and make the necessary flight to the next planet, and things will go wrong. Taking into account different levels of gravity and weather and more, you’ll have to tinker and make the wrong choice and try again, so there is a sort of poetic parallel happening with the launch of the game.
Kerbal Space Progam 2‘s Steam page gives the details of what to expect from the early access version. It also mentions that the 1.0 version will offer significantly more features and changes based on the early access feedback and so will cost more as well. What is the team looking for from those of you who are looking to play with early access?
“Your feedback will be crucial in helping to make KSP 2 the best it can be, and we want to hear about everything that is important to you. Are the tutorials effective and are there enough of them? Have the user interface changes made a meaningful impact? Is the localization accurate?
Most importantly, we want players to play for thousands of hours. What will keep you playing? During Early Access there will be a form on the KSP website to submit detailed feedback. It can also be accessed from the game’s launcher and the Steam page.“
Kerbal Space Program Steam Page
There’s something so encouraging about listening to game developers who are so passionate about the game they are making. Every video from this team is full of their thoughts on what makes this game, their game, so much fun to play, and a game built by fans is bound to be fun. Keep an eye out for the early release on February 24, 2023!
