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
The Game Archaeologist: A brief history of Multi-User Dungeons
You know that sinking feeling when you get into something that's way, waaaay over your head and you have no choice but to swim...
EVE Online brings out its Halloween horrors for the spooky season
It's time for EVE Online to get spooky. You may wonder how scary a game can really make itself when being blown up for no reason...
Citadel: Forged with Fire offers a rough plan for post-launch updates and goes free-to-play this weekend
Curious about Citadel: Forged with Fire but not willing to pull the trigger on a pre-order or purchase? This weekend is your chance to...
MMO Business Roundup: Ubisoft’s stock drop, Skull & Bones’ delay, Google games
Welcome back to another depressing super fun roundup of business news from the MMO industry and adjacent climes.
Ubisoft
We don't cover a lot of Ubisoft...
EVE Vegas 2019: CCP and Hadean announce a third EVE Aether Wars event for November
Ahead of EVE Vegas today, CCP Games has announced a third go-round of EVE Aether Wars. Gamers will recall that's the tech partnership with...
Inside Star Citizen shows off its procedurally generated space stations and food courts
In order to populate the universe of Star Citizen with various rest stops and space stations, the devs are going to have to put...
Gamigo has temporarily disabled ArcheAge’s ArchePass for a rework
So, how much did you hate ArcheAge Unchained's ArchePass? Because it's gone - or at least it's gone for now.
MMO gamers will recall that...
The Daily Grind: What other MMOs need the ‘Archeage Unchained’ treatment?
Last year, it seemed like the trend was legacy servers for everyone. This year, the anti-pay-to-win push has been big, with ArcheAge Unchained at...
Massively Overthinking: Niche MMOs vs. everythingboxes
Earlier this month, veteran MMORPG designer Raph Koster announced that he's finally making a new MMORPG, with a suite of top devs and a...
Voidspace promises a survival MMO where players control the narrative, created items, and even inventions
In the vast majority of survival sandbox titles, creating items means you have to follow a pre-determined path or tree in order to unlock...
Star Citizen brings the interdiction-fixing alpha 3.7.1 online and shares the schedule for CitizenCon
With the newest update to Star Citizen, the game has hopefully fixed its little space rock vs. face problem (spoiler: space rock wins). Alpha...
RuneScape’s new Executive Producer talks monetization as Halloween arrives to Old School
It's a transition week for RuneScape as Jagex has appointed a new Executive Producer for the game: Ryan "Mod Warden" Ward. It's a comfort,...
Pearl Abyss preps standalone Shadow Arena battle royale plucked from Black Desert
Remember Shadow Arena, Black Desert's short-lived PvP battle royale mode? It was announced just before 2019, released a few weeks later, and immediately devolved...
EVE Online’s NetEase-backed mobile EVE Echoes enters beta in December
EVE Online mobile MMO EVE Echoes is swooping past its summer alpha into a winter beta, according to an announcement from CCP Games and NetEase...
Trove’s Halloween events begin on PC and console as Shadow’s Eve arrives
If you thought the voxel sandbox Trove couldn't possibly get weirder than it normally is, then you've clearly never seen it during the Halloween...
Make your own online game with Playcraft’s incredible toybox, launching today
Sure, you talk big about making games if you only knew how to code, but would you actually make good on that boast if...
Desert Oasis: First impressions of Black Desert’s Great Expedition
One of the most difficult things I've had to deal with in my time with Black Desert is sailing and boating. I've never been...
Miniature Desert Oasis: Hands-on with the upcoming Black Desert Mobile
Five years ago, if you'd asked me about any mobile game, I wouldn't have even considered it a real game. I'd have considered it...
The Daily Grind: What are the odds that Daybreak can turn itself around?
I've had... severe concerns about Daybreak Games over the last several years, and I'm sure that I am not alone in this. The multiple...
Massively OP Podcast Episode 243: ArcheAge goes ‘queue queue’
Justin and Bree discuss ArcheAge Unchained, the Daybreak EverQuest and PlanetSide 3 situation, Riot's big reveals, Fallout 76's expansion delay, plus chat on gaming routines, gamers' breaking point with studios, and the problems with RvR.
