Kerbal Space Program continues to see updates as the developer Squad stays in the news. At the end of May, two big announcements came to the forefront. The first is the release of Kerbal Space Program version 1.3. Just days later, Squad announced that Take-Two Interactive is now the game’s official publisher. While the news was about Valve more than anything, news also broke mid-May that several former Kerbal Space Devs moved over to the industry giant behind the Steam platform.
Version 1.3
Released on May 25, the patch to Kerbal Space Program may seem a bit underwhelming for existing players. However, for new international players, this is a significant change. Kerbal Space Program 1.3 brings Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese-Simplified localization to the table. This is a big move that should see an influx of new players and get Kerbal Space Program into new markets. Existing players are more likely to notice the updated runway, stock addition of the Asteroid Day Mod, and bug fixes. You can find the complete list of changes here.
This patch marks the first patch since major developer turnover earlier in the year. Specifically, many in the community believed that KSP version 1.2.2 would be the last update after the departure of the creator, Felipe “HarvesteR” Falanghe, back in March. Despite this, Squad has continued to promise to continue developing Kerbal Space Program for the foreseeable future, including the addition of paid DLC. The Squad announced the first DLC “Making History.” You can check out Turk Fezzik’s article on the DLC and patch here.
Take-Two Interactive
May 31 saw the announcement that publisher Take-Two Interactive is working with developer Squad. Take-Two is most known for their work with developer Rockstar Games and their flagship title Grand Theft Auto, and 2K Games, most known for Bioshock and XCOM. According to Squad, Take-Two has asked for some time to take over the publishing. Though they are now working together, Squad and Take-Two will remain independent outside of the KSP franchise, and Squad will remain the sole developer.
With the addition of new potential markets by way of localization and a powerful new publisher, the time is right for growth; we could see a resurgence of popularity for Kerbal Space Program. Add in the potential profit from existing players by way of paid DLC, and things do look promising for Squad. However, we will have to see how both work out.
Hot Air
Around May 23, news broke that several Kerbal Space Program developers had moved on to Valve. Some outlets implied it was the entire development team. In truth, only a handful of individuals that had left the company earlier in the year.
Still, this is far from the first time that Valve picked up some young and proven talent. Nearly 10 years ago, Valve released Portal after acquiring several new video game developers. While Valve invested heavily in Portal’s development, the premise of Portal was based on the new hire’s college project game: Narbacular Drop. This has led to a lot of speculation as to the new hire’s role in the company. Much like the partnering with Take-Two, this news is still only mostly speculation. On that note: KSP has three letters. They had three original characters. And, it just released version 1.3. Half Life 3 confirmed.
