Developer Keen Software has announced that they have released the source code of their game Space Engineers to the public.
In a press release, the Czech developer's CEO and founder, Marek Rosa, stated "We’ve been working for months to find a way to give our community a bigger role in Space Engineers development. We finally decided that the best way was to give them 100% access to the game’s source code.”
Not only has the source code been released, but Keen Software is also offering modders extra support by setting up a fund of $100,000 for those who wish to build total conversion mods to Space Engineers, or their VRAGE Engine.
"We are...aware of the risks that this decision has but our team is prepared to face any challenge that may appear," sated Rosa. "We are very concentrated on the game’s development and I assure you that we will continue at the same pace as we have done for 2 years and deliver a game that everyone will love playing!”
Space Engineers was released on Steam Early Access back in October 2013, and according to Keen Software, now boasts over 3,000 mods and 10,000 items on the Steam Workshop. The title is a sandbox-style crafting game set in outer space, where players would build spaceships and mine asteroids. The game features several single and multi-player modes, and according to Keen Software, "There is nearly no end to what can be built, what can be played, and what can be explored."
Keen Software is an independent Czech developer whose aim is to "create games that are based on real science, real facts, real physics and real emotions." A second game, titled Medieval Engineers, has recently been announced.
Currently, the game is available for purchase both on Steam and and the developers website. The source code, along with the VRAGE Engine, has been released on github.
So is this a good move by Keen Software, or a bad one? Leave your comments below.
