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.

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.

Build everything from starships to space stations as you craft your own path in this next chapter of the Space Engineers series!

Keen Software House has officially expanded Space Engineers 2, currently available on Steam Early Access, with Vertical Slice 1.1.

Players can now access the UGC Workshop, featuring full Steam Workshop integration, letting them easily share and discover Blueprints and Worlds. Along with this, VS 1.1 brings additional changes and improvements for gameplay experience.

 

Players can now easily share and explore Blueprints and Worlds through the UGC Workshop, fully integrated with Steam Workshop. The Space Engineers 1 Steam Workshop already hosts over 500,000 creations, making it the fourth-largest on Steam. Now, with the new possibilities of SE2 and future content on the way, the developers hope it will grow even bigger and surpass its predecessor. To further expand creative possibilities, Space Engineers 2 will receive mod support in the following Vertical Slice 1.5. In addition, VS 1.1 introduces Mouse Sensitivity Controls, an Inverted Mouse Setting, and an improved Grid Pasting Mode with a projection preview, bounding box effect, and 'Pasting' banner. Pivot controls were also refined, automatically setting and highlighting the pivot point for better placement accuracy. On top of that, the developers have added advanced world settings for all saves and improved performance when pasting and placing grids. The full list of changes can be found here.

SE2 continues to grow, following the roadmap previously announced by the developers. Up next, players can look forward to advanced modding tools via the VRAGE HUB, along with various gameplay enhancements. The development team is actively working on future content updates, including explorable planets, survival mode, volumetric water for new engineering challenges, and more featuring multiplayer, NPCs, and a story campaign.

Roadmap:

• 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: 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

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.

Key Features:

• Creation and destruction never felt this good: Space Engineers 2 builds on 10 years of experience, reimagining the space engineering experience with greater depth and freedom. Powered by the new VRAGE3 engine, it offers improved creation and destruction in a vast sandbox where your creativity can shine.
• Build with great precision: Explore next-level construction with the 25 cm Unified Grid System! Seamlessly combine blocks for complex builds — no more large vs. small grid. Enhanced mounting point visualization and grid lines make building easier and more precise than ever.
• Enhanced controls and mobility: Our new system includes blueprint building, Grid Undo and refined CTRL controls for precise rotation and zoom, ensuring intuitive design at every step. Take your creations to new speeds with an upgraded max velocity: characters up to 310 m/s and grids up to 300 m/s. And you don’t need to worry about falling off platforms or asteroids — magboots and automatic jetpack activation have got your back!
• 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 offer 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.

Space Engineers 2 is in development for PC (Steam).