Artemis II launch sends legendary astronaut sim Kerbal Space Program rocketing to its biggest Steam player peak in 10 years

Space is having a bit of a moment. After years of the empty regions between planets feeling like a billionaire's playground, the folks at NASA are bringing back the good vibes with the Artemis II launch. Meanwhile, Project Hail Mary is taking space exploration to big box office heights. And all the while, there's been an unexpected beneficiary of all this space love: Kerbal Space Program, which just reached its biggest Steam player count since launch.

Kerbal Space Program reached a peak of 11,890 concurrent players on Sunday, April 5, as SteamDB shows. That's the biggest peak since the game's 1.0 launch in 2015, and a massive increase over the past few years. It had been reaching daily peaks of around 3,000-4,000 concurrent players, but those averages started rising dramatically around the Artemis II launch on April 1.

If you're not familiar with Kerbal Space Program, it's a simulation where you run your own space missions. There's a goofy charm to its cute little alien astronauts and the absurd vehicles you can construct, but its robust aerodynamic and orbital physics systems are hardcore enough to make you feel like a heroic NASA engineer. I've played very little of the game myself, but I've watched enough Scott Manley videos and other Let's Plays to have a great deal of affection for it.

And certainly, a broader upswell of love for space exploration is bringing in plenty of new fans. The Kerbal Space Program subreddit is filled with folks who've picked up the game for the first time in the wake of the Artemis II launch, veterans posting memes about the mission, and tips about how to follow the same flight path in-game. There's even at least one person who went down to see the launch in person while representing the fandom.

"What Artemis II and Project Hail Marry do to people," as one comment succinctly describes the phenomenon. Typo or no, it's clear that the world's broader enthusiasm about the game's subject matter is giving it a fresh life.

As the Artemis II crew return to Earth, Starfield on PS5 is a great way to keep your space exploration fantasies alive.