Space station sim Spacebase Startopia now has beta access for pre-orders

(Image credit: Realmforge Studios)

Kalypso has announced that upcoming sim Spacebase Startopia now includes closed beta access for anyone who pre-purchases on Steam. If you were holding off on this one because you wanted the Steam version, and you'd like to play the (unfinished) game now: Congratulations.

The beta includes "three tutorial maps, three singleplayer missions and an early version of Skirmish mode with randomized parameters, 15 rooms and five tech tree levels." Kalypso and developers Realmforge Studios will add more stuff to the beta in the run-up to the game's release on October 23rd.

The original Startopia was a game quite liked by its proponents, but not one that really took off. Spacebase Startopia is a spiritual sequel, but only spiritual, as the rights to the original lie with Square Enix. That means the alien species you'll cater to are new kinds of aliens. Nary a repeat from the first game. For example, I very specifically recall the original Startopia having telepathic sex angels and I do not see those here. 2001 was a wild time in videogames, wasn't it?

Our Fraser Brown quite liked Spacebase Startopia when he got a look at it last year, calling it a faithful successor to the original Startopia—if an unofficial one. "I've never enjoyed a space station management romp—of which there are tragically few—quite as much as I did Startopia, so the absence of changes is fine with me," he said. Perhaps that's changed since last year. Perhaps not.

Spacebase Startopia is developed by Realmforge, creators of the Dungeons series, which is underrated but pretty hard to get into. You can find it on Steam for $50, or 10% off before launch on October 23rd. The game will be available on PC, Mac, and Linux—more on that at the official site.

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.