Kerbal Space Program 2 Modding on OpenMods

A sequel that struggled with its modding stack

Kerbal Space Program 2 (in Early Access from 2023, with the future of the project uncertain after Intercept Games's wind-down in 2024) launched without official modding support and stayed there. The community attempted to build a BepInEx-based modding stack, but the game's development uncertainty and IL2CPP transition meant the mod scene never gained the depth KSP 1's CKAN ecosystem has.

In 2026 the situation remains in flux. KSP 2's modding catalog exists but is smaller than KSP 1's, the toolchain is community-built rather than CKAN-tier mature, and many KSP modders still consider KSP 1 the more mod-friendly version.

The toolchain

• BepInEx (IL2CPP): the community-built loader for KSP 2.
• SpaceWarp: a foundational framework mod that other mods declare as a dependency. Provides hooks into KSP 2's update cycle.
• Manual install: no CKAN-equivalent for KSP 2 yet. Drop .dll files into KSP2/BepInEx/plugins/.

What you'll find on OpenMods

KSP 2's mod community is small and centred on GitHub plus SpaceDock (which extended its KSP 1 infrastructure to KSP 2). OpenMods catalogues GitHub-published KSP 2 mods.

Practical notes

• KSP 2 vs KSP 1. KSP 1 has a vastly larger, more mature mod scene. If your goal is "rich modded spaceflight gameplay", consider KSP 1 instead.
• No CKAN. Manual mod management. The catalog isn't large enough to require dependency resolution tooling but it's also not as convenient as KSP 1.
• Game development uncertainty. KSP 2's future is unclear post-Intercept Games. Mod development pace reflects this.
• Save game compatibility. Early Access game = save formats change between patches. Mod compatibility is patch-sensitive.