Space Rangers 2: Dominators was made by Elemental Games in Vladivostok, where about 15 developers worked on it for roughly a year and a half. 1C released it in Russia on November 25, 2004 as the sequel to the 2002 Space Rangers. Excalibur Publishing brought it to Europe on June 17, 2005, and Cinemaware Marquee to North America on March 27, 2006.
In the year 3300 the Dominators, sentient combat robots of three rival types, attack the five races of the Coalition. Space travel is turn-based across a randomly generated galaxy, while planetary battles are real-time strategy in which the player can take direct control of any robot. Some planets open text quests, and trade prices follow supply and demand.
The Reboot edition came out in Russia on September 7, 2007, and the HD remaster A War Apart followed in 2013.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Space Rangers 2: Rise of the DominatorsBundled with the first Space Rangers; also sold digitally. | Windows | Mar 27, 2006 | Cinemaware Marquee | 1 |
| RU | Космические рейнджеры 2: Доминаторы | Windows | Nov 25, 2004 | 1C | 1 |
| EU | Space Rangers 2DVD bundled with the first Space Rangers. | Windows | Jun 17, 2005 | Excalibur Publishing | 1 |
| AU | Space Rangers 2CD-ROM with Space Rangers 2 only. | Windows | 2005 | Red Ant Enterprises | 1 |
| RU | Space Rangers 2: RebootExpansion edition; released worldwide in 2009. | Windows | Sep 7, 2007 | — | 1 |
| RU | Space Rangers HD: A War ApartHD remaster. | Windows | Mar 14, 2013 | — | 1 |
| WW | Space Rangers HD: A War ApartHD remaster; Steam and GOG. | Windows | Oct 17, 2013 | Fulqrum Publishing | 2 |
Also known as: Космические рейнджеры 2: Доминаторы RU1Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators NA1Space Rangers 2 EU3Space Rangers 2: Reboot WW1Space Rangers HD: A War Apart WW1
Box art by region
RU Космические рейнджеры 2: Доминаторы
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.
Version differences
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TitleNorth AmericaUK
The North American release was titled Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators, while the UK release was simply Space Rangers 2.1
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ContentEuropeAustraliaNorth America
The European DVD and the North American release bundled the first Space Rangers, while the Australian CD-ROM had only Space Rangers 2.1
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ContentReboot (2007)
Space Rangers 2: Reboot slightly improves the graphics and adds new content and quality-of-life changes; it was Elemental Games' last update.1
Translations
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English Official
Excalibur Publishing / Cinemaware Marquee2005Windows · Russian originalReleased
The English version came out in Europe in 2005 and in North America in 2006; IGN and 1Up criticized the translation.1
Where to play legally today
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GOG Purchase
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Steam Purchase
Space Rangers HD: A War Apart
2013 HD remaster; Windows; Russian and English
Checked: 2026-10-132store.steampowered.com
How to run it today
The easiest option is Space Rangers HD: A War Apart on Steam or GOG. Original discs use StarForce, which does not work on modern Windows. On Windows 7 and later the original may show a blank screen: PCGamingWiki suggests loading a random planetary battle (R, then Enter) and returning to the menu, or setting Window=True in cfg.txt and running Rangers.exe in Windows 98/ME compatibility mode.
- PCGamingWiki: Space Rangers 2: Dominators pcgamingwiki.com
Best version
The original release is no longer sold digitally; the HD remaster A War Apart is the edition available today. For the original, PCGamingWiki recommends a smooth-font replacement and its SR2ResolutionPatch for widescreen.3
Reception
Metacritic 84/100. Computer Games Magazine named it the fifth-best game of 2005, and PC Gamer US gave it its 2006 Best Turn-Based Strategy Game award. Reviewers criticized the dated graphics and English translation but praised the depth, and GameSpot compared it favorably to Star Control II.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.