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
Nightingale patches in Halloween and confirms layoffs at Inflexion’s UK subsidiary
It's patch day over in co-op sandbox Nightingale, and it's a good patch too as it includes the game's Halloween event.
"Head on over to...
Perfect Ten: 2024’s MMO soundtrack themes ranked from worst to best
Try not to whip your head around all suspicious-like to check out the past 10 months, but 2024 has been a bonanza for MMO...
Trove launches Shadow’s Eve, revamps the newbie tutorial, and Releases the Kraken on console
Gamigo's voxel sandbox MMORPG Trove is trundling into the Halloween spirit with the release of Shadow's Eve today.
"It’s time for some ooky spooky goodness...
Massively OP Podcast Episode 490: What’s old is new again
Justin and Bree discuss New World, Wayfinder, Pax Dei, Tarisland, DDO, and Ultima Online, with adventures in Guild Wars 2, New World, WoW, and LOTRO, with a mailbag topic on solo vs. group MMO play.
Rumor: Nintendo is running a 10K player test for its secret Switch MMO
A huge test for a not-so-secret Nintendo Switch playtest is underway by the company itself -- and this could have significant implications for the...
DayZ brings a frosty new map with related new dangers in its Frostline DLC
Life in DayZ can arguably be pretty rough, but it could also always be much worse. For example, players could find themselves in a...
RuneScape provides information about Gate of Elidinis drop rates as it prepares for Halloween
Have you been running through RuneScape's Gate of Elidinis skilling boss fight over and over again, wondering why you can't get that one freakin'...
Stick and Rudder: On CitizenCon day two, Star Citizen talked MMO design and full 1.0 release
Sure, we've had one day of CitizenCon, but what about second day? The weekend event for the 12 year-old sci-fi sandbox Star Citizen has...
Stick and Rudder: Star Citizen talks tools, gear, social features, and Squadron 42 at CitizenCon day one
It's that time of year again for fans and followers of Star Citizen to come together in-person and digitally to see what's next in...
Black Desert brings Halloween to PC, gives console players a guild manor, opens a guild promo chat on mobile
This week is once more full of goodies for Black Desert players of all stripes and platforms, with new events starting on PC, the...
Old School RuneScape invites you to carve your head into a pumpkin face
If you're going to wear a Jack O' Lantern as a mask, we strongly suggest that you carve it before it's resting on your...
Pax Dei confirms its next big update, Proving Grounds, will arrive on November 5 – alongside server merges
For the past couple of weeks, Pax Dei has been talking up its next major content update, which is set to bring things like...
Elite Dangerous delays this month’s Mandalay ship and powerplay rework by a week
If you were looking forward to flying a swish new internet spaceship or trying out "Powerplay 2.0" in Elite: Dangerous' big October update, we've...
Design Mockument: How might we build a Stormlight Archive MMORPG?
So when I was talking with MOP editor Bree a while back, I mentioned how one of my early ideas for the most recent...
PlanetSide 2 fans seek to draw in new players to the shooter with the Bring Your Friends PlanetSide event
We would say that it has been pretty tough to be a fan of PlanetSide 2 following the IP being sold off by Daybreak...
Star Citizen devs report drying funds, micromanagement, overspending, and episodic release for Squadron 42
The news that Star Citizen studio CIG forced developers to give up two weekends in order to make CitizenCon happen - followed by a...
EVE Online outlines Revenant’s upcoming corporation tools and tests damage output code
Tuesday, November 12th, brings the latest update to EVE Online, which naturally means that CCP Games is going to start shoveling out information about...
Ultima Online details New Legacy’s skill progression in a new video
With Ultima Online's first annual New Legacy server underway earlier this week, Broadsword has begun releasing new videos explaining the game to newcomers. Might...
Ghibli-esque co-op sandbox Aloft delays early access from fall to January 2025
Co-op sandbox fans have been eagerly awaiting the Funcom-published title Aloft all year as the Ghibli-inspired game trekked through a demo and con season....
Vague Patch Notes: MMOs rely on other people – but what does that really mean?
Now that we're done with Leveling Month in Vague Patch Notes, is there another topic I can turn into a month-and-change of column topics?...
