Kerbal Space Program 2 trailer shows off Nuclear Propulsion, Metallic Hydrogen, Torchships

Kerbal Space Program 2 may have been delayed, but that hasn't slowed down development or the dreams of a billion tiny green things. A new mini-documentary slash trailer from the new studio Private Division talks about the near-future technologies that have been included in the massive sequel to everyone’s favorite rocket explosion simulator. Kerbal Space Program 2 is pretty highly anticipated around here, given that the first game was long considered one of the best games on PC.

Included first is nuclear propulsion, a real-life concept that was scrapped due to everyone's fears of using actual nuclear bombs to get around the solar system. Kerbals, however, have no fear and are ready to use nuclear propulsion to the fullest. The second new tech is metallic hydrogen, a theoretical fuel that burns with strength profoundly greater than the oxidized liquids used in the original Kerbal Space Program's highest-end rockets. Producing this fuel in space will be a major focus of planetary colonies. At the mid to late game, metallic hydrogen rockets will use magnetic fields to shape their thrust. Late-game interstellar transit is also discussed using much larger rockets. Finally, KSP2 will include Torchships, gigantic and absurdly powerful rockets like those depicted in popular sci-fi show The Expanse. If you are like me and grew up on mid-century sci-fi, just the word Torchship gets you very excited.

If all of that was too technical for you, just say it with me: Bigger rockets go bigger boom. If you’re not caught up, here's everything we know about Kerbal Space Program 2. Here's the video:

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Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.