The Kitten Space Agency pre-alpha is live, and Kerbal Space Program's spiritual successor is already "much more than a tech demo"

The first Kitten Space Agency pre-alpha has arrived, and you can try it for free right now. Its name is no coincidence; it's a bold play from Dean Hall, founder of developer RocketWerkz and the creator of the original DayZ mod for Arma 2. Built in collaboration with several ex-KSP developers, it's very much angling to deliver a fresh take on the Kerbal Space Program experience. RocketWerkz says it's hoping to capture "the depth and realism of true space exploration" in an easy-to-understand experience "that inspires the next generation of space explorers."

As Kerbal Space Program 2 sits in a weird limbo, with developer Intercept Games shut down and no updates in a year and a half despite its continued $50 price tag on Steam, Hall wants Kitten Space Agency to be the true successor to one of the best space games of all time. Indeed, he previously revealed that RocketWerkz was originally among the top three bids to build KSP 2. Denied that opportunity, the team instead opted to recruit the assistance of several veteran Kerbal developers including creator Felipe 'Harvester' Falanghe and Ghassen 'Blackrack' Lahmar to work on its own project.

The result is Kitten Space Agency, which has now been in full production for a year. While it's previously been in closed testing, there's now a public pre-alpha available to anyone who's interested in trying it. The developer says that the current build is "much more than a tech demo, but less than a game," with the focus on "establishing solid core fundamentals that will provide a safe scaffold to build all that we want to on top."

As it currently stands, you're able to "move preconstructed vehicles around a sketch of the real-world solar system." Only some planets have been textured, but RocketWerkz says it should "give you a good indication of where the project is at." It also includes access to the internal debug tools and supports basic modding, although the developer cautions that a lot of the systems are "heavily in development" and will likely change dramatically.

Rocketwerkz is also planning to keep KSA as a free PC game, stating that it "represents our hope that we can reject some of our old ways of selling and marketing games." You're able to donate to the project right now if you wish, but the studio says, "Everyone, everywhere in the world, no matter who they are or how much money they have, will be able to play this game. We firmly believe that games like this play an important role in fostering trust and interest in science, which has never been as important as it is now."

The Kitten Space Agency public pre-alpha is available to download for free. You can do so here, although note that you'll need to create an account on the Ahwoo page first. "I can say the last year has been my favorite year in my whole career," Hall notes. "I'm absolutely honored to be working with such a talented team. I think, largely, their work speaks for itself."