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
Ascent Infinite Realm teases its solo dungeons with new screenshots
Bluehole's Ascent Infinite Realm goes through these flurries of activity and then silence over here in the west as eastern testing continues. And today,...
Elite: Dangerous raises big money for charity with a 24-hour stream
The team at Frontier Developments put on quite a show on December 17th with a bit of livestreaming. But the Elite: Dangerous crew wasn't just...
Black Desert: The Archer awakens, Grandpa Cron arrives, and Xbox One preorders are set for January 7
Life is moving fast for the new archer of Black Desert Online. It feels like only yesterday that the new class was sniping its way...
Perfect Ten: The MMOs with the best value going into 2019
Here we go, here we go, here we go again. This one is always an interesting column to write because there's a certain amount...
Daybreak’s offering a $300 lifetime sub for its stable of MMOs, and it’ll probably sell out
You had to figure Daybreak was gearing up for some sort of big sub thing, what with SSG doing it for LOTRO and DDO...
The day twinkle trees killed Ultima Online’s Christmas
In a pretty amusing Twitter thread in which game designers admit to goofy and horrible mistakes, Ultima Online creator Raph Koster owned up to...
‘Apocalyptic sandbox MMO’ Fear the Night is Snail Games’ new zombie survival title
Remember back when zombies were all the rage? Now even H1Z1 has decided zombies are passe, but here we are with the launch of...
Fallen Earth’s Grunch event gives way to the First Night event
Events! Fallen Earth is actually getting events! That alone is a good thing when the game has sadly quietly languished for years; it's almost like...
Massively OP Podcast Episode 201: Under siege from new content
Justin and Bree discuss holiday events across the MMO world, PlanetSide Arena, SWTOR's Jedi Under Siege, Elite Dangerous, EverQuest, LOTRO, and Pantheon, with mailbag questions on MMO-like communities and ditching MMO quests.
The Stream Team: A first look at Prosperous Universe
Massively OP's MJ has long talked about her plans to set up a family business is a sandbox MMORPG. With Prosperous Universe, a business...
Massively OP’s 2018 MMO Video Game Music Awards
We have been talking a lot about what we've been playing this year and what we're looking forward to in 2019 and beyond, but...
Leaderboard: What was the most overrated MMO of 2018?
Every year for the last many years, we've done some sort of award for the most underrated MMO, or even the year's sleeper hit....
Choose My Adventure: I am not good at drug running in Star Citizen
There's a rather popular quote in military circles that goes "no plan survives contact with the enemy." This quote springs to my mind as...
Fallout 76 may be flipping on its no-lockboxes vow
With only days to go until New Year's Eve, Bethesda has to redouble its efforts to run Fallout 76 right into the ground. So...
The Daily Grind: What was the most painful MMO sunset of 2018?
I have a feeling I know what the answer to this question is going to be for a lot of folks - WildStar is...
Star Wars Galaxies’ Wookiee Life Day returns on the Legends emu – nobody can sunset the Holiday Special
If for some reason you're angling to check out an MMO holiday inspired by a television special so terrible that George Lucas has spent...
The Repopulation’s long-awaited update is arriving December 18
Yes, you're getting an update to game mechanics in The Repopulation for this holiday season. And that's the true meaning of Christmas, patches for The Repopulation....
MMO Business Roundup: Stardew, Curse, Epic, Niantic, unionization, and HOTS’ wrecked esports scene
Welcome back to another catch-all post of gaming business stuff that might otherwise slip through the cracks!
Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, who recently took...
Trove’s Crystal Combat update arrives on PC tomorrow, delays on consoles
For a moment, at least, Trove players can put aside the fears of the past couple months with the Gamigo acquisition to enjoy a...
Mortal Online devs will launch Mortal Royale to Steam early access today
So here's a thing that did not exactly make my list of favorite trends this year: MMOs transparently courting the battle royale market with...
