Sandboxes are a type of MMO that emphasize player freedom and expression. They frequently include mechanics for building, crafting, trading, character customization and development, roleplaying, destruction, and significant interaction with the world and other players. A sandbox that is dominated by an open-PvP or free-for-all ruleset is sometimes pejoratively called a gankbox. Contrast with the themepark.
sandbox
Shroud of the Avatar added a potted plant, a cow spawner, and a fix for lava pools in Release 135
We admit that headline kind of sounds insane, but those are just a few of the highlights coming out of Release 135 for Shroud...
Massively OP Podcast Episode 509: Lord of the Transfers
Justin and Bree discuss the LOTRO transfer mess, the return of APB Reloaded and Fallen Earth, Throne and Liberty's Wilds of Talandre, Guild Wars 2's Repentance, Elder Scrolls Online's Fallen Banners, and Fractured's new owners, with adventures in LOTRO, WoW, Diablo 3, and Farm Together 2, plus a mailbag topic on gating story beats with raiding.
Sandbox MMORPG Pax Dei’s Market Square Part 3 update gets a launch date of March 13
The time is almost upon players of Pax Dei for compass-bearing, market-browsing, voice-chatting intensity in the third installment of the epic Market Square update...
Multiplayer sandbox Aloft launches its first big early access update, Critters & Wonders
When we previewed cozy co-op survivalbox Aloft back in January, we were surprised at how good it was - but already cognizant of the...
EVE Online details adjustments coming to ship fast travel in March 12’s Revenant update
CCP Rattati would like to talk to EVE Online players about adjustments coming to internet spaceship fast travel from his backyard while someone nearby...
Kickstarted Minecrafty sandbox Voxile embraces the transcendent blocky joy of early access
The Minecraft vibes are quite strong with the newly arrived Voxile, and that's most certainly intentional. The "fully destructible" multiplayer voxel sandbox arrived on...
Survival sandbox ASKA brings a new biome, village management features, and Tier 2 crafting stations March 13
Those who are enjoying the early access Viking-themed tribe survival sandbox of ASKA should mark Thursday, March 13th, on their calendars because that's when...
You can cosplay as Princess Leia in Stars Reach if it collects 5000 Kickstarter backers
While the major stretch goals of Stars Reach's Kickstarter have come thus far at predictable funding milestones, Playable Worlds is granting perks for smaller...
Jagex’s new CEO discusses the legacy of RuneScape and OSRS, managing its devs, and microtransaction concerns
Last week saw a pretty significant shakeup for RuneScape and Old School RuneScape fans when Jagex CEO Phil Mansell announced he stepped down as...
SWG Legends confirms Jedi Themepark 2.0 is coming this year as devs consider apartment tweaks
Star Wars Galaxies rogue server SWG Legends has released its winter newsletter this past week as the server celebrates its ninth birthday. But the...
Blockchain MMO EVE Frontier hires a real-world economist to help refine its in-game economy
EVE Frontier, the "hardcore" survival space MMO that CCP says can't possibly do what it does without being on the blockchain, is apparently taking...
Brighter Shores launches the first phase of its combat rework
I don't think anyone was going to argue that Brighter Shores had the most engaging and thrilling combat system in the MMO space. In...
APB Reloaded is fully online after a month in the void as Little Orbit calls Fallen Earth its ‘next big priority’
After a month offline, APB Reloaded is fully back - and we don't just mean the test server.
At the beginning of February, both Little...
Stars Reach passes $550K on Kickstarter and unlocks a detailed guild alliance system
The Stars Reach Kickstarter continues to climb since its debut last week, as Playable Worlds has now pulled in over $550,000 from players eager...
Massively Overthinking: What should MMO corpse runs look like in 2025?
A couple of years ago - yeah, I save weird things in my "ideas bin" folder - MMO designer Damion Schubert tweeted about a...
PlanetSide 2 patches in a new base and a new related assault game mode
If you've been itching for server merges in PlanetSide 2, well, we still don't know what's happening on that front since Daybreak/Toadman's aka ToadBreak's...
Black Desert adds ship crew management to PC, class updates to console, new Black Shrine difficulty to mobile
This week in Black Desert can be summed up thusly: managing a ship's crew, wondering what things were done to your favorite class, and...
Fractured Online and its dev team have been bought out by a new studio – and it’s not a crypto scheme
Kickstarted MMORPG sandbox Fractured has been teasing something big coming for the last month, punctuated by a promise from Dynamight's Jacopo Gallelli earlier this...
‘I think we’ve cooked’: MMO sandbox BitCraft prepares for a Steam early access beta
Way back in 2021, we started following an up-and-coming MMORPG sandbox sim called BitCraft that - despite its perhaps inauspicious name - was not...
Star Citizen outlines progress on base building, crafting, and mission updates in February report
Like clockwork, Star Citizen has pulled together another monthly progress report to recount development steps made for the previous month, and so that means...
