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About Endless Sky
Endless Sky is a 2‑D space trading and combat game set in the 31st century. Players start with a modest shuttle, cargo ship, or fighter and can upgrade to a fully customized flagship while exploring a galaxy of hundreds of star systems.
The game includes a main storyline of roughly 8‑16 hours and over a hundred hours of additional story content. It is free, open‑source, supports plugins, and runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux with regular community updates.
01 / THE GUIDE
Starting Locations and Backgrounds
Choose a starting location and background, then begin your journey in command of a new ship.
The selection does not force a narrative direction; after the start you may join a civil war, focus on independent trade, or simply explore the galaxy at your own pace.
- Try several starts to see which ship type matches your early goals.
- Observe the first mission offers; they often hint at profitable routes.
02 / THE GUIDE
Story Lines and Playtime
The main storyline takes about 8‑16 hours, while the galaxy holds many smaller and larger arcs that together exceed a hundred hours of content. The rest of the galaxy contains additional stories of different lengths.
Beyond deliveries and trade, the listed earning options include convoy protection, taking bounties, asteroid mining, and seizing or looting hostile ships.
- Follow mission markers to uncover hidden story arcs.
- Mix combat and trade missions to keep income steady.
03 / THE GUIDE
Extensive Plugin Support
All game content is built with a text‑based plugin system, allowing anyone with a text editor and a paint program to add ships, weapons, missions, and more. Vanilla assets use the same format, so custom additions integrate seamlessly.
The capabilities of plugins are fully documented on the project's GitHub wiki, encouraging community expansion and personal modification of the game world.
- Start with a simple ship plugin to learn the format before creating missions.
- Back up original files before testing new plugins.
04 / THE GUIDE
Community-made and Open Source
Endless Sky is free, open‑source software maintained by hundreds of volunteers for over ten years. Updates arrive regularly, with three major releases each year that add missions, alien species, and quality‑of‑life improvements.
Because the same source runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, the game is broadly accessible without purchase barriers.
- Read the changelog after each major update for new mission opportunities.
- Consider contributing art or code to help shape future releases.
05 / THE GUIDE
Single‑Player Exploration
The game is designed for single‑player experiences, letting you travel, trade, and fight at your own pace without any multiplayer coordination.
Features such as Steam Cloud and Family Sharing are supported, but they do not alter core gameplay; they simply provide convenient save handling across devices.
- Enable Steam Cloud if you switch computers to keep progress synchronized.
- Family Sharing lets other household members try the game without a separate purchase.
COMMUNITY
Player discussion