Should I play Space Engineers or 3d Engineers first?

If you want chronology, 3d Engineers (2015) came out before Space Engineers (2019). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.

Are Space Engineers and 3d Engineers similar?

They overlap on Simulation on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.

Does 3d Engineers have multiplayer like Space Engineers?

No. Space Engineers supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Co-op), while 3d Engineers is listed as single-player only.

Space Engineers vs 3d Engineers

Space Engineers and 3d Engineers both land in Simulation on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Simulation games on Steam. 3d Engineers (2015) is 4 years older than Space Engineers (2019). Space Engineers scores higher on Steam reviews (89.9% positive) than 3d Engineers (42.9% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.

Which should you pick?

Choose Space Engineers

Choose Space Engineers if you want an Action, Strategy, and Indie game with Multi-player, Online PvP, and PvP. On Steam, it's the newer release (2019) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 67,178 Steam reviews back the pick.

Choose 3d Engineers

Choose 3d Engineers if it's currently about 40% cheaper on the Steam Store. 3d Engineers launched in 2015.

Both Space Engineers and 3d Engineers sit in Simulation on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.

Space Engineers vs 3d Engineers — Steam metadata comparison
	Space Engineers	3d Engineers
Released	2019	2015
Genres	Action, Strategy, Indie, Simulation	Simulation
Platforms	Windows	Windows
Steam Deck	Deck Unsupported	Unrated
Price	9.99 USD	5.99 USD
Steam reviews	89.9% positive (67,178 reviews)	42.9% positive (14 reviews)
Multiplayer	Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Co-op	Single-player only
Developers	Keen Software House	Robert Dahlenburg

Side by side

Both are Simulation games on Steam.
3d Engineers (2015) is 4 years older than Space Engineers (2019).
Space Engineers scores higher on Steam reviews (89.9% positive) than 3d Engineers (42.9% positive).
3d Engineers is currently ~40% cheaper on Steam than Space Engineers (5.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
Space Engineers has co-op; 3d Engineers does not.
Space Engineers is Deck Unsupported on Steam Deck; 3d Engineers has no Deck rating yet.