Conversely, if you’re only interested in building absurd spaceships and watching them explode on the launch pad, there’s no better avenue for such tomfoolery than Kerbal Space Program. If you want to learn what an “apoapsis” is, figure out how to reliably calculate a launch window, or master the art of achieving escape velocity without vastly overshooting your target, Kerbal will gladly oblige. The original Kerbal is revered among space simulation enthusiasts and lovers of wacky antics alike, as the game manages to deftly walk the line between both. Take-Two subsidiary Private Division will publish Kerbal Space Program 2. Squad, the original studio behind Kerbal Space Program, hasn’t been involved in the franchise since Take-Two Interactive purchased the rights to the game in May of 2017, after creator/lead designer Felipe Falanghe left the Kerbal team to pursue Lü Bu another project. Almost exactly a year ago, Uber Entertainment split into two new studios: Planetary Annihilation Inc, which would continue development and support for Planetary Annihilation, and Star Theory Games, which we now know is constructing the new Kerbal. Kerbal Space Program 2 is being developed by Star Theory Games, a Washington-based indie development studio that previously operated under by name Uber Entertainment - Super Monday Night Combat, Planetary Annihilation, and Wayward Sky were Uber’s main claims to fame.

Whether these actually are new features, or are just window dressing for the announcement, remains to be seen. The cinematic reveal trailer (embedded below for your convenience) doesn’t showcase any actual gameplay, but it does hint at several new constructions that weren’t possible in the first game, including wheel-based ground vehicles and expansive colony structures. But beyond the fact that Kerbal Space Program 2 launches sometime next year on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, details are light.

Kerbal Space Program 2 was announced earlier today during Gamescom 2019’s opening festivities, delighting fans of complex space sims and janky-ass spaceship explosions in equal measure.

Kerbal space program xbox one launch