SpaceEngine
Early access since Jun 2019
The world's first science-based photorealistic interactive 3D planetarium that models the entire Universe, using procedural generation for uncharted areas.
96% positive · 17K reviews
Not yet
In early access, still in active development
High confidence
Active Development
Not yet
In early access, still in active development
High confidence
Active Development
Where to buy
Steam $29.99
Can't confirm — worth a look
We couldn't confirm these stores carry this game.
Green Man Gaming Steam key Search IndieGala Steam key Search Prices in USD, as listed by each store.
Buying through an affiliate store helps support the site
Evaluation
SpaceEngine is a science-based universe simulator that remains in Early Access, and Cosmographic Software continues to develop it at an active pace. The game has seen a strong and sustained stream of updates across its Early Access lifecycle — including major procedural overhauls, feature additions, bug fixes, and ongoing astronomical catalog expansions.
The three major content milestones visible in the news posts span from September 2023 through August 2026:
- **September 20, 2023**: Build 0.990.46.1980 introduced the Climate Model — a comprehensive simulation of surface temperatures, atmospheric behavior, and seasonal variation for every planet and moon.
- **November 19, 2025**: Build 0.991.49.2090 ("The Universe Generation Update") overhauled the procedural generation systems that create planets, star systems, and galaxy structures. The update post stated: "We've made a solid leap with 0.991, and have much more planned for future updates."
- **August 17, 2026**: Build 0.991.50.2155 shipped the most recent major update, adding new spacecraft material configuration options for modders, catalog corrections, and the addition of the first-ever catalogued exosatellite (CD-35 2722 B b). This release came just one month after a public beta phase that opened on August 10, 2026.
Between these major updates, the developer shipped multiple feature patches and bug fixes — including a significant overhaul of the video encoding system and file path structure in May 2026 (Build 0.991.50.2140). Across 50 scanned news posts, the developer produced 3 major content releases, 8 feature patches, and 10 bug fix posts, reflecting a consistent development rhythm.
The store description also notes that the spacecraft Flight Simulator mode is "in early development but fully usable," which is an explicit signal from the developer that meaningful feature work remains ahead. No statement of completion or intent to leave Early Access has been made.
Evidence
Build 0.991.50.2155 shipped with new spacecraft material configuration options, the first catalogued exosatellite (CD-35 2722 B b), catalog corrections, and various bug fixes. Most recent developer communication as of today's date.
Build 0.991.49.2090 ('The Universe Generation Update') launched with major overhauls to procedural planet, star system, and galaxy generation. The post states: 'We've made a solid leap with 0.991, and have much more planned for future updates.'
Content
12 of 12 released · no outstanding content
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
Cosmographic Software
Achievements
—
Platform
Windows
Controller
partial support
Steam Deck
Unsupported
Players
Single-player
About this game
SpaceEngine is a 1:1 scale science-based Universe simulator, featuring billions upon billions of galaxies, nebulae, stars, and planets, all shown at their full real-world scale. Explore Earth and our neighboring worlds in the Solar System, orbit a black hole in a galaxy billions of light-years away, or visit anything in between seamlessly, with no transitions.
All of time and space are yours to explore – cruise between the stars at a million times the speed of light, and accelerate time to watch the orbital motions of a thousand worlds play out before your eyes. Every planet you encounter in your journey will feature procedural 3D terrain with detailed textures. Everything you see in the sky – stars and galaxies, planets and moons, asteroids and comets, black holes and neutron stars, star clusters and nebulae – are yours to explore at the press of a button.
Spacecraft with Newtonian physics and pilot-assist autopilot features (in early development but fully usable) are yours to fly anywhere in the universe in the Flight Simulator mode. SpaceEngine is also very friendly for creators of mods and add-ons – create your own planets, star systems, even galaxies, import your own spacecraft models, create custom GUI skins, and more, all easily sharable with others.
With SpaceEngine, the possibilities are limitless.
SpaceEngine Planetarium capabilities:
All of time and space are yours to explore – cruise between the stars at a million times the speed of light, and accelerate time to watch the orbital motions of a thousand worlds play out before your eyes. Every planet you encounter in your journey will feature procedural 3D terrain with detailed textures. Everything you see in the sky – stars and galaxies, planets and moons, asteroids and comets, black holes and neutron stars, star clusters and nebulae – are yours to explore at the press of a button.
Spacecraft with Newtonian physics and pilot-assist autopilot features (in early development but fully usable) are yours to fly anywhere in the universe in the Flight Simulator mode. SpaceEngine is also very friendly for creators of mods and add-ons – create your own planets, star systems, even galaxies, import your own spacecraft models, create custom GUI skins, and more, all easily sharable with others.
With SpaceEngine, the possibilities are limitless.
SpaceEngine Planetarium capabilities:
- Astronomy
All types of celestial objects are represented: galaxies, nebulae, stars and star clusters, planets and moons, comets and asteroids. Known celestial objects are represented using data from catalogs: galaxies (NGC/IC), stars (HIPPARCOS), star clusters, nebulae, and planets (Solar System and known extrasolar planets). Regions of space not yet cataloged feature procedurally generated objects: galaxies, stars, star clusters, nebulae, and planetary systems. - Controls
You are free to move around the universe – travel seamlessly between any object and any distance, from surface to orbit to interstellar and intergalactic space. Moving through space is as easy as "click and go", as well as game-style free flight using the WASD keys or a gamepad. Also, time travel is possible: you can accelerate, decelerate, or reverse the flow of time, and jump to a specified date. Detailed interactive tutorials will familiarize you with the controls. - Graphics
Volumetric 3D models of galaxies and nebulae with interstellar dust clouds, and 3D landscapes on planets and stars. For many Solar System bodies, actual data from space probes is used, with huge, high-resolution texture packs available as free DLC. For unmapped and procedural planets, the surface is generated procedurally using your computer's GPU. Other features include realistic atmospheric scattering, eclipse shadows, animated auroras and comet tails, and physically-based light warping near black holes and neutron stars, with animated accretion disks and jets.
- Physics
Realistic and physically-based generation of procedural objects (galaxies, star systems, planets) and their physical properties (mass, radius, temperature, atmospheric parameters, etc). The orbital motion of planets, moons, and stars in multiple-star systems are accurately calculated and displayed. Realistic space ship design concepts and physics: orbital motion, atmospheric flight model, and Alcubierre warp drive physics. - Virtual reality
SpaceEngine supports Oculus (via native library) and SteamVR (HTC Vive, Valve Index, WMR and other headsets). Support of VR controllers is partial: you can select objects with one controller and move around with the other one. Please note that VR support is still a work in progress, and new users should become familiar with the program in 2D before trying to use VR. - Sound
Original background music tracks made by many authors, with context-sensitive playback. Sound effects for planetary environments and space ships are in development. - Tools
Built-in tutorials will help you start using the Planetarium. Search for celestial objects by name and search for the nearest star systems. Browse the cosmos using a scalable Universe map and planetary system chart. Saving, exporting, and importing of locations is supported, which can easily be shared between users. The program keeps an automatic journal of objects you have recently visited. Learn every detail about the objects you find using the built-in “Wiki” info system, with additional hand-written descriptions of many known objects. Display the orbital paths of celestial objects, labels and markers, constellations, and other informational tools. - Multi-language support
Currently SpaceEngine is available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, Croatian, Czech, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Catalan, Chinese, Japanese, Korean languages. Many new localizations are under development. Only localizations which are 100% complete are displayed on the Steam store page, but you can enable others in-game. - Modding
SpaceEngine supports creating and importing user add-ons: catalogs, models and textures for deep space objects, planets, and space ships. Spacecraft models, representing both real and fictional designs – including from popular sci-fi franchises – are commonly imported and shared by the community on the Steam Workshop.
Are these done yet?
Last evaluated Sep 18, 2026
Something about this evaluation looks wrong Report illegal or harmful content