Keepsake’s Early Access debut turns piloting, spacewalks, and scrappy FPS shootouts into a glorious, four‑player juggling act—with just enough chaos to make the stories sing.
There’s a particular kind of co‑op magic that only happens when everyone is doing something essential at the same time. One friend is yelling about rerouting power, another is literally on fire, a third is halfway across the void grappling onto an enemy corvette, and you’re trying to land the ship without turning the hangar into modern art. Jump Space lives for that moment. It’s a mission‑based PvE co‑op game for one to four players where you crew a spaceship together, switching seamlessly between piloting, on‑foot firefights, and nerve‑wracking spacewalks—often within the same minute. The whole thing launched into Early Access on Steam and Xbox Game Preview on September 19, 2025, at $19.99, and it already feels like a night‑in staple for any friend group of four.
What is it, really?
Jump Space comes from Swedish studio Keepsake Games, and in Early Access the team is self‑publishing on PC and Xbox. The pitch is disarmingly simple: pick a mission, jump to a sector, and improvise your way through a gauntlet of hazards that bounce you between ship management, space combat, EVA repairs, and corridor gunfights. Crucially, everything swaps without friction—no loading screens or clunky mode changes. That seamlessness is the secret sauce; few games sell the fantasy of being a small, capable crew in a hostile galaxy quite this well.
Under the hood, missions are a blend of hand‑crafted objectives with random elements, which is why runs tend to produce fresh “you had to be there” stories. You can swap roles on the fly—pilot, gunner, engineer, away‑team grunt—because there are no fixed classes. You’ll also scavenge parts to upgrade and maintain your ship between jumps, deciding whether to push speed, beef up shields, or bolt on a bigger bite. It’s an approachable design that invites teamwork without forcing it.
The vibe: “Sea of Thieves, but in space, and no PvP”
If you want a quick mental model, imagine a co‑op “hangout” game where the PvP drama is replaced by PvE misadventure, and you’re close. The comparison isn’t mine; PC Gamer pegged it on day one, noting the game’s early popularity and chill, teamwork‑first rhythm (it peaked above 15,000 concurrent Steam players within hours of hitting Early Access). Add the shared‑ship crunch of FTL and the jetpack freedom of a breezy space shooter, and you’ve got the tone. It’s relaxed until it very much isn’t.
It also landed with real momentum. After a standout Next Fest showing, Jump Space reportedly racked up over a million wishlists pre‑launch—then promptly converted that hype into strong day‑one interest. Clearly, a lot of people are hungry for co‑op that makes every role feel heroic, whether you’re extinguishing a fire on the hull or yo‑yoing through the void on a grapple line.
A run in Jump Space (and why it works)
The loop is brisk. You gather at the Galaxy Map in your hangar, pick a mission (twenty‑minute milk run or hour‑long odyssey), and start jumping sector to sector. Each leg can throw something different at you—cargo raids, salvage ops, rescue beats, giant cannon captures—across roughly nine mission types and a wide spread of sectors in this build. That variety matters because the game’s best beats are emergent: asteroid storms that hit mid‑dogfight, solar flares that fry systems, or a desperate decision to abandon the ship to board an enemy battery while the pilot white‑knuckles through incoming fire.
The highlights, for me, are the transitions. You might be accelerating through debris one second and, the next, you’re out of the airlock on gravity‑plated hull panels, upside‑down over a planet while spot‑welding a radiator. Or you’re jetpacking across the gap to sabotage a hostile fighter and then bailing off its exploding hull, trusting your grapple to snap you home. It’s the kind of set‑piece energy most games script; Jump Space lets it happen because the systems are just there.
Two ships, two moods
Early Access currently features two playable ships that shape the cadence of a run. The C3‑Catamaran is the big, social hub—pizza oven, bunks, medbay, the works—and it comfortably houses a full four‑person crew with a forgiving shield pool. The D4‑Dart is leaner and nippier, with more forward guns but less cushion, and it’s a better fit for duos and solo play. The vibe difference is real: the Catamaran encourages “space sitcom” chaos; the Dart feels like a high‑wire act.
Between sorties, you pour earned materia ingots into upgrades. It’s not a loot treadmill so much as a ship‑as‑character evolution: you’re constantly deciding whether to tune the power grid, slot better components, or slap more armor on the nose. That small‑scale tinkering gives Jump Space a satisfying long tail, even in this first release.
Shooting feels good because it’s not the only thing
On‑foot combat is punchy and legible—closer to a modern arcade shooter than a mil‑sim. Enemies (largely machines corrupted by a galaxy‑scale virus, if you follow the story breadcrumbs) push you around with chunky projectiles and numbers you can quickly read. The fights are tight, but they don’t dominate the runtime; you’re equally likely to be bolting together ammo, manning a turret, or firefighting in zero‑G. That balance is the difference between a co‑op shooter you churn through and a co‑op toybox you come back to.
Solo? It’s doable…but this one’s built for friends
A smart addition for lone wolves: the game includes a Buddy‑bot that helps reload weapons and handle basic chores when you’re short a crew. It’s a welcome safety blanket, especially on the D4‑Dart. But Keepsake is refreshingly upfront on the Steam page: single‑player is “quite weak” for now. You can play solo; the game just comes alive when someone else is shouting “I’ve got the fire!” while you route juice to the shields.
Early Access: the fine print (and a few bumps)
To its credit, Jump Space wears the Early Access badge honestly. Keepsake says the goal is to co‑develop with the community for “roughly five months, ideally longer,” with plans to raise the price as new content rolls in. The roadmap targets more missions and broader polish before 1.0, and pre‑launch notes teased new enemies, weapons, an additional player ship, text chat, and a public server browser in the pipeline. It’s a healthy, transparent stance for a game that already feels feature‑complete on a good night.
There are quirks. Mid‑session joining is limited—you can only drop in after a jump, not mid‑objective, due to the technical gnarliness of syncing worlds in progress. The PC version ships with sensible toggles, but the team has published troubleshooting advice for choppy framerates (think V‑Sync settings or forcing DX11), and an Xbox crash patch was flagged right after launch. None of that’s unusual for a first Early Access pass, and the devs are communicative about what’s being fixed.
On voice work: the team is temporarily using AI‑cloned placeholder voices (their own) for a few bits, with a clear note that proper voice acting will replace them during development. Not everyone will love that approach, but the disclosure is explicit.
Cross‑play between PC and Xbox isn’t in yet either, which will split some friend groups for now. It’s not a deal‑breaker, but it’s the one feature I hope climbs the priority list quickly.
Performance, polish, and early reception
The good news: Jump Space has that “just works” feel more nights than not. You press a button, you go to space, and the funniest thing that happens is your fault. That’s reflected in its Early Access reception, which sits at “Very Positive” on Steam (about 90% positive across 4,000+ English reviews at time of writing). Day‑one interest was strong, too; the game peaked above 15,000 concurrent players within hours according to PC Gamer’s launch‑day roundup. None of this guarantees longevity, but it does suggest Keepsake nailed the tone.
Anecdotally, some outlets and players remarked that it “feels finished” even now—a testament to how cleanly the core loop holds together. I’m inclined to agree: this is not a proof‑of‑concept with a hope and a Trello board; it’s a sturdy co‑op machine that you can reliably drop into for a couple of missions after dinner.
The story: enough to push you forward
While the narrative is very much a background beat right now, there’s a coherent setup—humanity fighting back against a machine “corruption virus,” a stranded Atiran survivor, and an AI helmsman called Iris who helps you get back into the fight. It’s more scaffolding than saga at present, but having that light connective tissue makes the galaxy feel like a place rather than a playlist.
Price, platforms, and the “is this worth it?” test
At $19.99, it’s a no‑brainer if you can wrangle even one friend, let alone three. The Early Access build includes online co‑op, achievements, cloud saves, and support for a dozen languages, and on Xbox it arrives Optimized for Series X|S with a TEEN rating for violence and blood. Given the scope already on deck and the developers’ plan to raise the price later, jumping in now feels like the right play if the premise clicks.
Rough edges (and how they might smooth out)
What would meaningfully improve the experience? Cross‑play tops the list. Mid‑mission joining would follow—right now, missing the start of a run means waiting for a jump window. Solo quality‑of‑life could also use love; the Buddy‑bot is helpful, but the studio itself admits single‑player needs work. Longer term, a larger menagerie of enemy types and ship upgrades will stretch the sandbox further; the roadmap suggests Keepsake agrees.
Verdict: jump in
Jump Space is the kind of co‑op that manufactures memories. It’s approachable enough for casual crews, deep enough to reward good communication, and chaotic enough to fuel a group chat for weeks. The key is that everything matters: the person putting out a fire is just as vital as the pilot threading a landing or the boarder yoinking a power core. That egalitarian heroism is rare in games, and it’s why Jump Space stands out.
If you’re allergic to Early Access wobbles or you only play solo, you can safely keep it on your radar while the team sands down the edges. For everyone else, especially crews of two to four, this one shines—bright, hot, and just a little bit dangerous. Buy with confidence, and bring a friend who likes shouting about power grids.
Quick facts (for the busy captain)
- Developer/Publisher: Keepsake Games (self‑published in EA)
- Platforms: PC (Steam Early Access), Xbox Series X|S (Game Preview)
- Price: $19.99 (may increase as content is added)
- Players: 1–4 (online co‑op; no PvP)
- Core loop: Seamless piloting ↔ spacewalks ↔ FPS missions; ship upgrades and power management; run‑based structure with handcrafted/randomized elements.
- Caveats: No cross‑play yet; mid‑run join limited to after jumps; Solo is playable but not the focus; some performance quirks being patched.
