Kerbal Space Program 2 is the scam that won't die — How this game is still allowed on Steam as "Early Access" is beyond me

Kerbal Space Program 2 was released back in February of 2023, over three years ago. The successor to one of the more popular niche indie games ever created, the sequel should have been a slam dunk.

At least, that’s what Take-Two thought when they contracted Star Theory Games, whose storied pedigree included, checks notes, Monday Night Combat. A game so far removed from rocket science that I’m sure it had absolutely no bearing on what came next.

Once that failed, Take-Two and its publisher, Private Division, spun up another studio called Intercept Games. The new studio contained roughly a third of the developers from Star Theory Games. Confidence restored, surely it would definitely work this time.

It didn’t. To be fair, COVID-19 did happen, uprooting nearly every tech job in the industry, game developers very much included. The title was originally slated for 2020, and after years of delays and studio reshuffling, what finally arrived in 2023 was anything but interstellar.

Even bringing in Squad, the game’s original developer, couldn’t shield it from the immediate backlash over missing features, rampant (extraterrestrial) bugs, and abysmal performance. And that inclusion turned out to be something of a lie: Intercept Games had been barred from communicating with Squad until they wrapped up Kerbal Space Program 1 in 2021.

Hilariously, when the communication did occur, as noted in my piece from last year, Squad had no idea what to do.

A major update in December 2023 finally brought some life to the game, featuring content additions, performance updates, and more. But one small step for Kerbal was two giant leaps short, as Take Two would later shut down Intercept Games in mid 2024.

I originally touched on this story back in January of 2025, only a month or so after Take Two quietly sold the publisher, Private Division, and the Kerbal Space Program 2 to Annapurna. Back then, there hadn’t been a major content update in over a year, but some hope had been restored given the sale of the franchise.

I’m sad to report that since that time, the search for life has continued with nothing to show for it. Kerbal Space Program 2 has now gone two full years without an update, and Annapurna is still selling the game on Steam as “Early Access” for $50. Yes, $50 for an Early Access game!

Given the current state of Kerbal Space Program 2 and the lack of updates for two whole years, the fact that the game is still being sold feels illegal in some way, or at the very least, should be stopped by Steam. I understand that Early Access comes with caveats and may never reach full release.

However, the fact that it can still be sold on Steam without an actual update, or even a hint of an update after being sold off, is an entirely different matter. At that point, it’s false advertising to post the game as an Early Access title. Instead, it’s a “Never getting another update” title.

At the very least, the moniker of Early Access should be revoked. If a company has no public plans to release any update for two years, the title should be taken away.

This doesn’t mean I don’t hope that one day we can see Kerbal Space Program 2 given the love it deserves, but for the time being, it’s time to remove this thing so that people aren’t being sucked into the black hole of a gaming graveyard. You can’t continue to sell an Early Access game for $50 that you neither updated nor intend to update in the future.

Some would call that intergalactic highway robbery. Sorry, needed one more pun to make myself feel better.

What do you think about the whole Kerbal Space Program 2? Does it mean there should be some tighter restrictions on Steam's Early Access? Let us know below, I'm curious what others think about this.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.