Alright, buckle up, because the KSP2 saga is a wild ride. Remember when Kerbal Space Program 2 was announced? Back in 2019, hype was real. Star Theory Games was at the helm, promising a 2020 launch. Fast forward to 2021: Take-Two swoops in, creates The Intercept studio, and yoinks a third of Star Theory's devs. Ouch. Star Theory folds. The game gets delayed – surprise, surprise – landing in Early Access in 2023 at full AAA price. Talk about a cash grab.
Then, in mid-2024, layoffs hit The Intercept. Not good. And then the final nail in the coffin: Take-Two shuts down The Intercept entirely and offloads Private Division (the publisher) to… who knows? It's a mystery box. This whole mess started with a measly $10 million budget and a two-year timeline. Clearly, they didn't account for the expanded scope. Contract shenanigans also prevented proper hiring and collaboration with the original KSP team. Big mistake. They were forced to cobble together the game using KSP1's code – a recipe for technical debt disaster.
The Steam reviews tell the tale: a paltry 12% recently and 34% overall. Oof. And get this: the game's still being sold on Steam despite the ownership being a big question mark. It’s like a ghost ship sailing the digital seas. We even got an emotional video from Nate Simpson, the former creative director, basically summing up the whole debacle. Meanwhile, some ex-KSP devs have teamed up with the DayZ creator at Rocket Works, working on "Kitten Space Agency." Their focus? Solid technical foundations, not just chasing the next quick buck. Smart move.
So, where does this leave KSP2? Nobody really knows. The future is hazy, shrouded in corporate fog. This whole situation is a prime example of how not to manage an indie darling. It's a case of corporate suits prioritizing short-term profits over actually supporting development and building a solid foundation. A real clown fiesta, if you ask me.
