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 MOP Up: Crash Force offers arena fun at a discount (July 16, 2017)
The MMO industry moves along at the speed of information, and sometimes we’re deluged with so much news here at Massively Overpowered that some...
One Shots: Man of Tungsten
Look there! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... Mysecretid!
Who among us hasn't played a video game at some point and...
The Stream Team: Beat the heat in Black Desert’s waterpark
The days are hot, and the sand is scorching in Black Desert. Massively OP's MJ hates the heat, but she's heard about a new...
How to find the right MMORPG as a couple
People seemed to quite like my piece last week about how my wife and I wound up married in no small part due to...
This week in survivalboxes: ROKH, Hellion, The Black Death, and Life is Feudal
ARK and Conan aren't the only survivalboxes in town -- in fact, several of the modern contenders in the subgenre have updates and videos...
Wild Terra adds auction halls, shops, and character stats
One of the benefits of dipping your toes into a gritty sandbox is that you may get to shape the game world according to...
Massively Overthinking: Consumer protections in the MMORPG industry
Veteran Massively OP reader Miol says he's exhausted by a recent string of stories in which MMO companies screw gamers over, one after another:...
Black Desert touts female Striker, Mystic, coming west in Q4
Kakao announced this morning that Black Desert's western version will be launching a female version of the Striker called the Mystic following its debut...
Star Citizen’s derelict ships offer dangerous excitement, plus new Lost & Found cinematic
Is it possible for one game to think of every little detail in a fictional universe? Star Citizen's various teams are certainly trying to...
7 Days to Die turns the electricity on and hits Steam’s 100 best-selling games of all time
If you don't already have a copy of 7 Days to Die in your Steam library, you may be part of a shrinking crowd...
Global Chat: Learning from Master X Master
We've certainly remarked several times on Massively OP how much like an MMO Master X Master is, even though it firmly checks the "MOBA"...
Here’s how magic in Citadel: Forged With Fire will work
This morning, we wrote about a new "massive online sandbox RPG," Citadel: Forged With Fire, built by Slender devhouse Blue Isle Studios and expected to...
The Survivalist: Osiris New Dawn is doing early access right even amid disappointments
A couple of weeks ago, when Osiris: New Dawn introduced new classes, I'd delved back into the sci-fi survival sandbox after a bit of...
EVE Online is killing off the last remnants of walking in stations
Hey remember EVE Online's walking in stations, the talk of the genre a decade ago? Remember when all we really got was a captain's...
Citadel: Forged With Fire is a brand-new ‘massive online sandbox RPG’ debuting this month
Well well, lookie what popped up on Steam: It's a new "massive online sandbox RPG," Citadel: Forged With Fire, and it came out of...
Black Desert opens up a waterpark for summer, reduces level XP requirements
Just in time for those dog days of summer is Black Desert, which is making a splash with its new Terrmian Waterpark. Today is...
Perfect Ten: EverQuest’s EverExpanding franchise
When Daybreak announced last year that it was cancelling the highly anticipated EverQuest Next project, the series' forward momentum lurched to a halt. This wasn't...
RuneScape developer Jagex is hiring for an unannounced free-to-play MMO
While sitting on top of the enormously successful RuneScape, Jagex has had a difficult go of it producing a follow-up MMORPG. Projects like Stellar...
The Daily Grind: What MMORPG would do better with a different business model?
When it comes to ArcheAge, it's generally accepted that this is a pretty great fantasy sandbox that was absolutely sunk by a terrible business...
Osiris New Dawn CEO to community grumping: ‘I will take these lashings and learn from them’
Fenix Fire CEO Brian McRae is "not having fun either," according to his latest dev blog on the Osiris: New Dawn Steam page. His...
