over 2 years ago - sknightly - Direct link
Yes the game can be played completely single player. There is a 'Solo' talent tree just for single player that balances the progress differently than if you play in a group.

You can access all the Prospects ("mining licenses") in the game at launch with no extra purchase.

The story of the game is that you are a Prospector in an space-age "gold rush." The missions you go on are called "Prospects", which is the gold mining term for an area of land that you have the rights to for a period of time. These are awarded by the Government (in Icarus this is the United Development Agency) like "mining licenses". You don't have to pay to access new Prospects, you will unlock them as you go.

In future there will be DLC chapters (New Horizons and Dangerous Frontiers) that you can buy which will come with more maps, biomes and extra Prospects. But we'll also keep adding Prospects to the base game for free.