Solar Expanse is a space economy sim about conquering the Solar System, coming in April

A trailer dropped for Solar Expanse – a space economy sim where players build an interplanetary business empire, starting with the early days of commercial spaceflight in the 21st century and eventually working up to terraforming planets and launching interstellar expeditions. Early Access launches on April 9, 2026 on PC (Steam).

Gameplay revolves around realistic mission planning: every flight requires budgeting, scheduling, and accounting for orbital mechanics. Celestial bodies are always in motion, so gravity assists and precise route planning are central to running a profitable operation.

Players take control of a private or national space agency and compete against other organizations for resources and economic dominance.

One of the core gameplay elements is the asteroid belt, which contains hundreds of thousands of objects – some rich in water ice, others packed with precious metals.

Using telescopes, probes, and other equipment, players survey the system, identify the most valuable targets, and plan mining runs. Extracted resources can be shipped back to Earth or to colonies, but there's a more aggressive option too: dropping asteroids onto planetary surfaces to terraform them – or simply to make life difficult for rivals.

As the company grows, permanent bases become available across the Solar System. The buildable structures include fuel depots, launch pads, mass drivers, orbital elevators, and full-scale cities.

The overarching goal is making planets and moons habitable, which takes centuries of in-game time, massive resource investment, advanced technology, and thousands of missions. Late-game objectives include redirecting water-rich asteroids to Mars, mining Io and Titan, and constructing an interstellar vessel.

The final stretch takes things well beyond the Solar System, opening up millions of real and fictional star systems. The developers specifically mention Alpha Centauri, Proxima Centauri, TRAPPIST, Gliese, and Kepler systems.

The developers say Solar Expanse aims to model the real economics of space exploration – including trade between competing agencies – rather than just the technical side of getting from point A to point B.