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
Massively on the Go: Pokemon GO’s Might and Mastery Season is looking weak for March
Pokemon Go's still in the middle of its Unova's Global Tour this weekend, but we've also been warned of the March 4th start of...
RuneFest 2025: Old School RuneScape’s new Sailing skill enters open alpha later this month
The revivified RuneFest event brought Old School RuneScape fans a 2025 update plan of its own, and as one might expect, there was a...
RuneFest 2025: RuneScape gets Leagues and new profession level caps in 2025, new vampiric region in 2026
Are you ready to deal with vampires in RuneScape? You'd better be because the major reveal from this year's returning RuneFest event is the...
Whatever happened to Minecraft-esque multiplayer sandbox Hytale?
Who here recalls Hytale? We first started reporting on this one back in 2018 and have seen it pop up on the wider radar...
The Stream Team: The great crashed ship salvaging operation in Planet Crafter
Last time Massively OP's MJ was in Planet Crafter, she discovered a very large crashed ship while zooming about enjoying her new vehicle. That...
MMO Hype Train: What can Dune Awakening’s character creator teach us about the MMO?
Sometimes when it rains, it really pours around these here MMO parts. To demonstrate this, last week we not only got the official release...
ArcheAge Chronicles luminary Jake Song leaves XLGames, the company he founded, to ‘recharge’
Jake Song, a name that many MMORPG fans are familiar with for his involvement with the ArcheAge and Lineage series and his founding of...
Here’s how to watch RuneScape’s Runefest this morning from the comfort of your couch
We're lucky to be getting a RuneFest this year: Readers will recall that we haven't seen Jagex hold its annual RuneScape event since 2019,...
Black Desert begins celebrating nine years on PC, opens new tales and boss fight on mobile
We are not ones to argue over when the PC version of Black Desert gets to celebrate a milestone, especially if it means we...
EVE Online elaborates on planned tweaks to mining as Fanfest tickets have officially sold out
To hear it from CCP Games itself - and likely from its playerbase - mining in EVE Online isn't in a really good place...
Pax Dei’s team is ‘confident’ that the sandbox MMORPG will launch in 2025
Pax Dei has big plans for its future that it can't wait to share -- which is why the developers sat down to answer...
Star Citizen discusses its latest narrative twist and what it means for alpha 4.0.2’s story missions
"This was a false flag operation," say the narrative team members of Star Citizen, "and you fell for it." And they're doing it with...
The Daily Grind: Does EVE Online need an EVE Classic version?
We've asked many times in the past about MMOs that could use a classic version, and we often get the same responses. Guild Wars...
Life is Feudal Arden, the F2P second resurrection of the medieval MMO, enters open beta on Steam
If you get a second chance to make a first impression but that second chance makes the exact same impression as the first, did...
Albion Online looks ahead to its next updates, including a better new player experience
With Rogue Frontier out in the wild and a "success" for the MMO, Albion Online and its team at Sandbox Interactive are turning their...
Elite Dangerous plans four more ships, an update for squadrons, and a new feature in 2025 roadmap
The current year looks to be another one where Elite: Dangerous is stepping on the gas. Or considering we're talking about internet spaceships, is...
Gaijin’s sci-fi voxelbox Cubic Odyssey brings a planet to explore, fight on, and mine for Steam Next Fest
Last month was when we all learned about Cubic Odyssey, a sci-fi voxel sandbox in development from Atypical Games and published by Gaijin Entertainment...
Stars Reach crosses $400,000 pledged and unlocks waterworld Hansian species
The absolute juggernaut of Stars Reach's Kickstarter continues to barrel forward, with the fundraising campaign already doubling its starting $200K target and unlocking its...
The Stream Team: Checking out character creation in Dune Awakening
It has been joked that Massively OP's MJ could make character creation a game in itself. With over 17 GB to install, Dune Awakening...
CipSoft’s PvPvE zombie shooter MMO Persist Online has ‘all core mechanics now implemented’ as it plots its testing course
Last year we heard about Tibia developer CipSoft entering the PvPvE sub-genre with Persist Online, which the studio classed as "a true, old-school MMORPG...
