Instead, the game evolved into a single-ship-based game, set in the Space Empires universe. The game was initially planned as the combat engine for Space Empires V, but it was decided that it was not "deep" enough for that purpose. Space Empires: Starfury is the first game developed by Malfador Machinations to use three-dimensional graphics. Missions range in difficulty level from simple reconnaissance to taking part in large fleet battles. The player travels to different colonies and starbases, performing various missions that advance the story. The player works undercover for the TCN (Terran Confederation Navy) to determine the cause of a recent escalation of pirate attacks in the Neutral territories. The game features 24-bit three-dimensional graphics, but movement is restricted to two dimensions. There are multiple campaigns contained within a single storyline that the player can progress through, or the player can choose to roam the universe freely. The player's commander is able to level up, with each level granting attribute points of the player's choosing.
Some of these, however, cannot be controlled by the player. Various types of space vessels are featured in-game, such as small fighter craft, cargo ships, pirate ships, and space stations. Each purchasable spaceship features different hull configurations, each with different patterns for weapon hard points and weapon firing arcs.
Ship design is restricted by the ship's total tonnage capacity. Gameplay involves traveling between planets, accepting missions, and customizing the spaceship's hull slots with component modules of weapons, armor, shields, engines, and other modules such as life support, crew quarters, combat sensors, long range sensors, ECM, etc. In Space Empires: Starfury, the player controls a single spaceship in real-time, as opposed to controlling an entire intergalactic empire in a 4X turn-based fashion as seen in previous games in the Space Empires series.