About Alpha

Before you buy

Space Engineers 2 is currently a Playable Alpha in active development.

You can play the game today, but it is not the finished experience. Features, content, balance, optimization, visuals, and performance will continue to evolve throughout Early Access.

The current Alpha already offers a substantial sandbox survival experience. Explore the Almagest System, gather resources, manufacture components, build ships and bases, manage survival systems, complete contracts, trade, discover Datapads, and begin expanding humanity's presence across the stars.

Current Alpha gameplay loop:

Explore → Gather Resources → Manufacture Components → Build Ships, Stations, and Bases → Manage Survival Systems → Complete Contracts and Trade → Unlock Sectors → Expand Colonization Across Almagest.

At the same time, Space Engineers 2 is still in the early stages of its journey. Major features including co-op, large-scale multiplayer, NPCs, campaign content, water gameplay, wheels and rovers, deeper progression systems, and additional survival mechanics are still planned for future Vertical Slices.

In the current Alpha you can:

• Land and build across the Almagest System

Explore Verdure, Kemik, moons, asteroid rings, and dense asteroid clusters. Discover handcrafted environments featuring forests, mountains, caves, cliffs, weather systems, and fully destructible terrain. Dig tunnels, reshape landscapes, mine resources, and build wherever your imagination takes you.

• Experience sandbox survival gameplay

Manage power, oxygen, hydrogen, and health while exploring and building. Mine raw materials, refine resources, manufacture components, and establish production chains. Survive planetary hazards and weather events while expanding your operations.

• Build ships, stations, bases, and machines

Use the Unified 25 cm Grid System to create everything from small utility craft to massive industrial facilities. Build in Creative Mode without limits or progress through the survival experience one block at a time.

• Build with Projection & Mechanical Blocks

Use projections to plan and construct ships and structures efficiently. Experiment with Rotors, Pistons, Hinges, Wheels and mechanical systems to create moving parts, automated machinery, elevators, hangar doors, drills, and more.

• Begin colonizing the Almagest System

Expand into new sectors using the Colonization Map. Complete contracts, earn credits, trade resources, discover Datapads, and establish a growing foothold across the system.

• Experiment with weapons, turrets, cargo ships, and early economy systems

Encounter cargo ships, collect rewards, trade goods, and experiment with the foundations of the game's developing combat and economy systems.

• Switch into Creative Mode

Build freely using advanced creative tools, Steam Workshop integration, and VRAGE3 modding support. Share Blueprints and Worlds with the community or discover creations from other players.

This is still Alpha. Survival, colonization, contracts, mechanical systems, combat, and economy gameplay are already playable, but they continue to evolve with every major update. Expect new mechanics, additional content, balance improvements, optimization work, and ongoing refinement throughout Early Access.

If the current Alpha experience sounds exciting, jump in and help shape development through your feedback. If you'd rather wait for future features, add Space Engineers 2 to your wishlist and follow development as the game grows.

Roadmap: where it’s going

Space Engineers 2 is being developed through major milestone updates called 'Vertical Slices'.

Already delivered:

Creative & Building

• Unified 25 cm Grid System

• Advanced building tools

• Improved controls and UI

UGC & Modding

• VRAGE3 Mod Hub

• Mod Editor

• Full Steam Workshop support

Planets & Survival Foundations

• Verdure and Kemik

• Early survival systems

• Colonization Map

• Contracts

• Projection and Backpack Building

Mechanical Blocks & Weapons

• Mechanical blocks

• Weapons and turrets

• Area welding and grinding

• Production systems

• Planetary events

• Economy and trading

• Expanded colonization gameplay

Drive, Automate & Detonate

• Wheels and Hinges

• Timer, Sensor, and Event Controller blocks

• Warheads

• New planetary stations and Endless Encounters

• Reworked ore distribution and survival progression

• Wind physics and environmental effects

• Rocket weapons and combat improvements

• Performance and quality-of-life improvements In development

NPCs

• Interactive NPCs

• Dynamic Sandbox Pathfinding: Navigates voxel terrain, player-built interiors, doors, and moving grids.

• Destructible Cover Tactics: Takes cover, detects when cover is blown away, and falls back.

• Squad Intelligence: Shares threat info, calls reinforcements, and reacts to fallen allies.

• Adaptive Combat: Strafes, retreats when injured, suppresses last-known targets, and attacks player ships.

• First Factions: Features Verdure's outlaw Renegades and heavy Boatmen leaders.

• Rewards & HUD: Drops randomized loot backpacks; enemy health bars can be toggled on/off.

In developmen

4 Player Co-op

• Interactive NPCs

• Four-player cooperative survival

Water & Byblos

• Planet-scale volumetric water

• Water-focused gameplay

• The Byblos water planet

Full Multiplayer & Campaign

• Large-scale multiplayer

• Long-form survival campaign

We currently expect Space Engineers 2 to remain in Early Access through 2027.

Purchasing during Early Access gives you immediate access to the Playable Alpha while directly supporting continued development. Your feedback helps shape future updates as we continue building toward the full vision of Space Engineers 2.

If you’ve been following Space Engineers 2 and thinking about jumping in, now is a great time to experience the Playable Alpha for yourself.

Space Engineers 2 is playable today and actively evolving throughout Early Access. You can already explore the Almagest System, build ships, stations, bases and machines, experiment with survival and colonization systems, complete contracts, trade, discover Datapads, and share creations through Steam Workshop.

This is still an Alpha, not the finished game. Co-op, full multiplayer, NPCs, campaign content, water gameplay, wheels/rovers, deeper long-term survival progression, and many other features are still coming in future Vertical Slices.

If the current Alpha sounds exciting, buy now and help shape development. If you prefer to follow progress until more features arrive, add Space Engineers 2 to your wishlist and follow our updates.

About This Game

What is Space Engineers 2?

Space Engineers 2 is currently a Playable Alpha In Active Development and already lets you begin building, surviving, and colonizing the Almagest System.

You arrive in the distant Almagest System on humanity’s first large-scale colonization mission. Your ship is damaged on entry, your tools are basic, and the planets below are beautiful but unforgiving. From here, everything you build is up to you.

Explore planets, moons, asteroid rings, and dense clusters. Mine resources, construct bases and starships, complete contracts, discover Datapads, trade, expand into new sectors, and push the frontier forward alone now, and later together with friends as co-op and large-scale multiplayer arrive over the course of Early Access.

Creation and destruction never felt this good

Space Engineers 2 takes everything we have learned over the past 10 years and reimagines the space engineering experience with more depth, precision, and creative freedom than ever before. Powered by our new VRAGE3 engine, creation and destruction feel better than ever.

Build ships, stations, bases, and machines. Mine asteroids, reshape terrain, carve tunnels, damage structures, and experiment in a fully destructible sandbox where engineering decisions matter.

Whether you are a veteran Space Engineer or new to the series, Space Engineers 2 gives you a growing sandbox where your creativity can shine while the game continues expanding through Early Access.

Build with great precision

Explore the next generation of construction with the 25 cm Unified Grid System. No more large-grid vs small-grid separation: blocks fit together seamlessly, making it easier to create detailed and functional builds.

Mounting point visualization, grid lines, improved controls, and more intuitive building tools help you design, adjust, and refine your creations with greater precision.

Smoother building and better tools

Space Engineers 2 introduces major building improvements such as Grid Undo, copy/paste, symmetry, blueprints, Projection Building, Backpack Building, Area Welding, refined CTRL controls, and improved rotation and zoom.

These tools are designed to make engineering smoother for both newcomers and experienced players, while preserving the depth and creativity that define Space Engineers.

Enhanced mobility and engineering freedom

Take your creations to new speeds with upgraded max velocity: characters up to 310 m/s and grids up to 300 m/s. Magboots and automatic jetpack activation help you stay in control while building, exploring, and moving around large constructions, platforms, ships, and asteroids.

Mechanical systems are also expanding. Rotors and Pistons are already available in the current Alpha, with wheels, hinges, warheads, and additional engineering systems planned for future updates.

Smarter UI and smoother play

We redesigned UI/UX to make building smoother and more intuitive for both newcomers and pros, giving more freedom to bring your intricate ideas to life. VRAGE3 is being optimized throughout Early Access; performance can vary by hardware, world size, and build complexity. 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.

Survival, colonization, and progression

The current Alpha already includes a real sandbox survival experience. Manage power, oxygen, hydrogen, and health. Mine resources, process materials, manufacture components, build production chains, complete contracts, earn credits, discover Datapads, and begin expanding colonization across the Almagest System.

These systems are playable today, but still growing. Long-term survival progression, deeper colonization, richer economy and contracts, NPCs, campaign content, co-op, multiplayer, and many additional systems will continue arriving during Early Access.

Next-level visuals

Enjoy the beauty of space, industrial designs, planetary landscapes, and destructive engineering with next-level realism. Space Engineers 2 introduces ray-traced global illumination, realistic shadows, a new skybox, tessellated voxel materials, parallax effects for armor, volumetric clouds, and many other visual improvements that bring depth and realism to every scene.

Share your creations

Bring your ideas to life and share your Blueprints and Worlds with the community through Steam Workshop integration. Explore a growing collection of creations from other players, find inspiration, and discover new engineering challenges.

Space Engineers 2 also supports advanced modding through the VRAGE3 Mod HUB and Mod Editor tools, giving creators more ways to shape the future of the game.

Playable Alpha, growing with the community

Space Engineers 2 is available now in Playable Alpha. By joining during Early Access, you can play the current version, share feedback, report issues, and help shape the game as it grows toward full release.

If the current Alpha sounds exciting, buy now and start building. If you prefer to follow development until more features arrive, add Space Engineers 2 to your wishlist and follow our updates.

Buy or add to your wishlist: Space Engineers 2 on Steam.

Living threats in a changing sandbox

Experience dynamic combat with the debut of Combat NPCs, built from the ground up to operate inside an entirely destructible universe. Encounter hostile ground factions like the Renegades and their heavily armed leaders, the Boatmen, as you explore Verdure and beyond. Unlike traditional shooter enemies tied to static corridors, these NPCs react and adapt to an environment shaped and reshaped by your engineering decisions.

Enemies intelligently navigate complex voxel terrain, explore player-built interiors, open doors, and maneuver around dynamic obstacles. In combat, they take cover behind walls, recognize when that cover has been blasted apart, reposition on the fly, retreat when injured, and communicate threat information across their squads. Fight back with a revamped character combat system featuring directional damage indicators, weapon recoil, and automated interior defense turrets or tune your HUD with customizable NPC health bars to suit your preferred level of immersion.

Space Engineers 2 is now available in more languages, making it easier for players around the world to build, explore, and engineer in space. The game is currently available in Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, French, German, Italian, Polish, Slovak, Spanish, and Turkish.