Spacebase Startopia has been delayed until 2021

(Image credit: Kalypso Media Digital)

Just over a month out from its launch date, nostalgic space station sim Spacebase Startopia has been delayed and won't be appearing on October 23. 

This could be a result of beta feedback. The closed beta kicked off in July for anyone who preordered the game. Kalypso Media and Realmforge Studios haven't mentioned any specifics, just that it needs more polish and won't be appearing until spring next year. 

"The new release date will allow for more development time to further polish the game," the update reads, "ensuring that it reaches the highest quality level possible and meets the high expectations of fans and beta testers. In addition, the delay means that the game can launch in more territories and on more platforms from day one." 

I liked what I saw a hands-off demo at Gamescom last year, though I was surprised just how closely it stuck to the original Startopia, which Kalypso doesn't actually have the rights to—this is an unofficial spiritual successor, despite everything, including the name, being almost identical. 

Given the dearth of space station sims and my love of Startopia, however, I'm OK with Spacebase Startopia not fiddling with the formula too much. I think. It has been a wee while since I played its inspiration. I guess I'll find out if it still holds up next year. 

Fraser Brown
Online Editor

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog. 

Latest in Sim
PowerWash Simulator 2 screenshots
'More evolution than revolution': PowerWash Simulator 2 is coming late 2025, and it's bringing online multiplayer and split-screen co-op with it
A child stands on top of a dinosaur exhibit, hugging the nose of a dinosaur skull.
As a real life museum employee, I'm a bit confused by the amount of pirate ghosts in Two Point Museum—but it's not going to stop me trying to make the most realistic exhibits I can
A citizen of a city
A lot is going on for Cities: Skylines' 10th anniversary—from freebies to new creator packs—but there's still a big ol' elephant in the room
Staring eyes in a face covered in oil
Death Stranding 2's PS5 release date is in June, let's hope it doesn't take 8 months to hit PC this time
Cities: Skylines 2 screenshot - street level at night
Cities: Skylines 2's asset editor remains a distant dream: Colossal Order is still working on it but says it's 'proven more technically challenging than initially anticipated'
Town in Tales of Seikyu with two townsfolk sat on the stairs
Tales of Seikyu is just your regular farming simulator, apart from the fact I've got shapeshifting abilities and I'm engaged to a pretty persistent kappa
Latest in News
A smiling man in military fatigues
Get in here, stalker: Stalker 2’s Patch 1.3 is here with a whopping 1,200 fixes
Public Eye trailer still - dead-eyed police officer sitting for an interview
I'm creeped out by this trailer for a generative AI game about people using an AI-powered app to solve violent crimes in the year 2028 that somehow isn't a cautionary tale
Gallywix wears an uneasy smile as he's confronted by Xal'atath in WoW: The War Within.
After 12 days and 100s of wipes, World of Warcraft's latest world first raid ends in anticlimax: 'That's the boss?!?'
A photograph of the opening slide of a Microsoft lecture on Cooperative Vectors at GDC 2025
AMD, Intel, Microsoft, and Nvidia are all excited about cooperative vectors and what they mean for the future of 3D graphics, but it's going to be a good while before we really see their impact
Larian CEO Swen Vincke brandishes a sword at the camera and smiles.
Larian’s Swen Vincke subtweets anyone still fixated on singleplayer games’ commercial viability: 'They just have to be good'
Machinery tools and equipment,Rolls of galvanized steel for production metal pipes and tubes for industrial ventilation systems in factory.
New super-thin '2D' metal sheets could enable ultra-low power chips and can you guess how they're made? Yup, by squishing stuff really hard