Space Engineers is a voxel-based sandbox game, developed and published by Czech independent developer Keen Software House. In 2013, the initial developmental release of the game joined the Steam early access program. During the following years of active development, Space Engineers sold over one million units. As of 2024, the game has sold over 5 million copies. In May 2015, for approximately a year and a half, the game's source code was officially available and maintained by KSH to assist the modding community. On December 15, 2016, the game entered Beta and was later officially released on February 28, 2019.
Gameplay
Space Engineers is 3D singleplayer and multiplayer sandbox game, which doesn't have a specific end goal. Instead, the players (Space Engineers - Astronauts) are encouraged to create their own goals, which they have to achieve, by utilising engineering, in space and/or planetery environments (including asteroids and moons). More specifically, the players use a combination strategically placed "blocks", game mechanics and system interactions, to gradually build up to their goal. For example, creating a space ship that can go to space. Although, for players that want a more specific end goal, the game includes some built-in npc interactions, but it also provides a collection of pre-included story driven scenarios to choose from, while also providing the ability to use custom instances created by other users, both based around the core game. Expanding on that, the game furthermore offers the ability of using custom player made scripts and/or mods, to enchance or build on the already existing in-game vanilla content, which are also sometimes used in custom made scenarios. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the players can also share their builds amongst them, through the use of blueprints, has two modes, survival and creative, and that the game has the unique characteristic, compared to other games in its genre, to be able to allow players to fully interact with their creations, without any major limitations.
First steps into the game Players begin by selecting whether to play in single player mode, or to join a multiplayer server.
There are multiple multiplayer servers, all with different content and therefore different persistent worlds. These settings determine features such as the number and arrangement of asteroids, the inclusion of planets, and the starting equipment provided. During world creation, advanced options allow players to modify gameplay dynamics, such as tool and machine efficiency, inventory capacity, and whether procedural generation is enabled—effectively creating an infinite universe.
Once in-game, the player controls a customizable astronaut, known as a "Space Engineer," equipped with tools including a drill, welder, and grinder (if enabled). Gameplay revolves around the construction and management of voxel-based structures, starting with the placement of foundational blocks. Players can create grids by placing blocks freely in open space, which form the basis of ships, stations, or other constructs.
Each block has specific properties, serving structural, functional, aesthetic, or interactive roles. For example, armor blocks are the primary building material and can deform or be destroyed through collisions or weapon fire. Functional blocks, such as assemblers and refineries, require power, which can be generated by solar panels or reactors.
Structures and Grids Players can create three types of structures:
Small Grids: Used for small ships, rovers, and fine detailing, requiring fewer resources per block. Large Grids: Used for large ships, rovers and stations, enabling more robust and complex designs. Static Grids / Stations: Immovable structures anchored to a terrain voxels, which can be converted into ships if disconnected.
Grids are classified as small or large based on initial block size. The player cannot place small grid block onto large grid blocks and vice versa. A block intersecting terrain forms a station, and a stationary large grid ship can be converted to a station via the ship interface. Functional connections often use conveyors for resource and power transfer. Grids can connect through methods like connector blocks or landing gear.
All placeable objects can be colored before they are placed using a slider-based graphical user interface (GUI). Players can adjust the hue, saturation, and value of the color, allowing for a wide spectrum of options. There are 14 slots available to save new colors for future use within the same world.
Movement and Physics Ships can be moved and rotated as long as they have power, a gyroscope, a thruster system, and a cockpit or remote control block. For effective movement and stabilization, thrusters must be placed in all six directions, and inertia dampeners can be enabled to assist in stopping motion automatically. Gyroscopes allow for rotational control, while additional thrusters enhance thrust and movement capabilities.
Astronauts can move freely in all environments using a jetpack, which allows for six degrees of motion: forward, backward, up, down, left, and right. In gravitational fields (natural or artificial), movement is restricted to a standard horizontal plane when the jetpack is disabled, mimicking standard terrestrial physics. "Mag-boots" enable players to walk on surfaces lacking gravity but will disengage upon jumping.
Resources and Environment The environment includes editable voxel terrain like asteroids, planets, and moons, which can contain numerous resources. Players can mine these materials to craft components needed to make blocks and expand their grids. While asteroids lack gravity, planets and moons feature natural gravitational fields that affect players and ships. Artificial gravity can be generated on ships and asteroids using gravity generator blocks.
Asteroids and planets are made up of terrain voxels, which are significantly different from blocks. While players can destroy these terrain voxels, they cannot create them unless they are in creative mode. Celestial objects, such as planets and asteroids, are fixed in space and do not move. However, rock and mineral chunks that have been mined are affected by gravity and will react accordingly. Asteroids can take on various basic shapes, including spherical, toroidal, and rod-shaped forms, as well as other variations or combinations of these shapes.
Planets are somewhat resource-rich, though extraction of useful products from the surface can be difficult. Resources are spread out, and due to planetary gravity and the inefficiency of ion engines within the atmosphere, the player must build ground-based alternatives. Atmospheric flight is possible even on worlds with oxygen-deprived atmospheres. In order to leave a planet, the player will need to use hydrogen engines with sufficient fuel or build a hybrid spacecraft with atmospheric engines (for liftoff) and ion engines (upper atmosphere to space).
Planets in Space Engineers were released on November 12, 2015, after being in development since February 2015. There are several types of planets, themed after Earth, the Moon, Mars, Titan, Europa, and an "alien" planet. All of these feature multiple space stations that can be traded with for entire grids and materials or gases. The alien planets feature Sabiroids, hostile 6-legged, spider-like NPCs, and the Earth-like planet features wolves, hostile dog-like NPCs.
Creative mode In creative mode, players are able to spawn unlimited resources, can instantly build tools and blocks, and are invincible. Some building tools, such as symmetry mode and copying and pasting of ships, are only available in this mode. Players are also able to build and manipulate asteroids or planets using a space tool known as "Voxel Hands." Although resources are available for collection and refinement, they are not required to create new ships or stations. Creative mode was initially the only mode available in the game. This mode eliminates the survival aspect of the game, allowing players to implement ideas quicker and easier. Grids that you build can also be, copied, pasted, or saved as blueprints.
Survival mode In survival mode, players need to mine, collect, and refine various chemical elements from asteroids and planets in order to craft tools, weapons, and blocks as well as produce electricity. Resources can be mined manually using a hand drill, or by using ships with the necessary equipment. Components are produced by assembling them from raw materials; however, they can also be harvested by salvaging cargo ships. To avoid death, players must monitor their health, energy and oxygen levels. Damage can be inflicted on the player by collisions, weapons, contact with thrusters, meteor showers, or by running out of space suit energy. As the acceleration value of gravity generators stacks, damage from falling can be much more dangerous when multiple gravity generators are active. A player's health and energy can be restored using a Medical Room block, or a Survival Kit block. Energy can also be replenished by sitting in the cockpit of any powered structure.
Materials and items In the survival mode of the game, all actions, including survival itself due to the power requirements of the space-suit's life-support system, depend on the gathering and refining of certain minerals. These minerals can be found on asteroids or planets, plundered from randomly spawned ships, or recovered from unknown signals. Raw materials are extracted from ore deposits on asteroids and then transported to a refinery, where they are processed into minerals for use in assemblers. The refined materials are formed into various components in the assembler which can then be used in the construction of ships or stations.
Single-Player and Multiplayer Space Engineers supports both single-player and multiplayer gameplay. In single-player mode, players can explore and build independently within their world, focusing on creative construction or survival challenges by themselves. Despite the lack of other players, Space Engineers allows players to transfer grids over to different factions present within the game. This allows for solo plays to still partake in combat with AI controlled versions of their grids.
In multiplayer, players can connect with others through various options:
Dedicated Servers: Players can join (or host) online servers, allowing for cross-platform play between PC, PlayStation and Xbox users. Dedicated servers offer persistent worlds with customized settings managed by a server hosts. A dedicated server can only be started from a PC and requires you to have a copy of the game installed to gain access to the dedicated server creation tools. Alternatively, you can hire a server from the official hiring website or join an official server hosted by Keen Software. Local Hosting: Players can host their own multiplayer sessions directly from their platform. These sessions are limited to players using the same platform (e.g., PC-only or Xbox-only) and are ideal for smaller, cooperative gameplay experiences between users. The maximum number of players who can join a local hosting world is dependent on the capabilities of the platform used. As a default, it is set to four, but can be extended to upwards of 32.
Multiplayer supports collaborative construction, resource sharing, and competitive gameplay, enabling large-scale projects or faction-based conflict. Server settings can be customized to include rules, mods, and gameplay scenarios.
Modding Space Engineers features modding capabilities, allowing players to customize and enhance their gameplay experience. The game supports user-created modifications, including new blocks, tools, scripts, environments, and entirely new gameplay mechanics.
Mods can be accessed and shared through two platforms: