Flyntwick

A viable business model isn't really a mystery and, on a related note, KSP 2 was never a necessity. Maxis has thrived for years, for example, on expansion packs for the Sims franchise while delivering ridiculous amounts of content, gradually enhancing feature sets on top of a pretty solid base game, and making absolute bank in the process. In my opinion, this is currently the most elegant solution for all simulators and would've made for a premium pipeline to deliver Colonies, additional solar systems, texture & technology packs, multiplayer features and more. Why TT ever tried going the route they did boggles my mind.

Unfortunately, the feasibility of an e-sport boils down to its audience. Not that watching grand plans unfold for mission objectives wouldn't be interesting (I certainly think it would be), but that type of entertainment just isn't as gripping as combat, racing or time-intensive strategy that draws in larger and more profitable crowds. KSP inherently revolves around planning, though, and that just isn't very riveting. Plus, it really takes playing and understanding the game to fully appreciate all of the effort that goes into accomplishing missions. There are a lot of viewers that might find the concept interesting, but that wouldn't have the same contextual frame of reference to hold their attention for very long.

Not to beat a dead horse but, as a console player, it would at least be nice to have the most current PC version. Setting alarms and performing field construction with engineers seem like such awesome QoL enhancements.