Space Engineers: Porting a Proprietary Voxel Sandbox to PlayStation

Space Engineers PlayStation, a voxel sandbox by Keen Software House, ported to console by Sickhead Games

Title: Space Engineers
Original Release: 2023
Developer: Keen Software House
Publisher: Keen Software House
Platforms: PlayStation 4
Engine: VRAGE 2.0 (proprietary)

Space Engineers is a voxel-based open-world sandbox from Czech developer Keen Software House in which players engineer, build, and pilot spacecraft, vehicles, and planetary outposts across fully destructible environments. With over five million copies sold on PC and a successful Xbox One release already behind it, the game finally came to PlayStation in 2023, and Sickhead handled the PlayStation 4 port.

The challenge was that VRAGE was built with C# and DirectX 11. We built a wrapper that provided a fake DirectX 11 interface to the existing C# layer which could mimic DirectX on PlayStation 4. It also required custom shader building tools to generate shaders compatible with PS4 without making modifications to the existing DX11 shaders. These new systems formed the core of VRAGE PlayStation support and was extended to created the PlayStation 5 release as well.

The PlayStation launch shipped with full crossplay on day one, meaning PlayStation 4 and 5 players could join the same servers as Xbox and PC players through Epic Online Services.


Sickhead Games is the leading game porting studio, bringing Unity, Unreal, Godot, and custom engine titles to console and handheld including PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS. From codebase assessment to post-launch support, we're trusted by solo indies and major publishers alike, including Humble Games, Sony Interactive, Nintendo, Annapurna, Good Games, ConcernedApe, MegaCrit, 17-Bit, Maddy Makes Games, Zachtronics, Keen Software House, Thomas Happ, Pocketwatch Games, EXOK, Young Horses, Taito, Jaleco, and Microsoft. We've shipped over 100 releases, among them Stardew Valley, Slay the Spire, Axiom Verge, Space Engineers, and Celeste. We specialize in bringing retro masterpieces, indie darlings, and PC classics to modern audiences like Grandia, Enclave, and Jaleco Sports titles.