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 Stream team: Land yourself a Landmark permanent beta key
There is no denying that MassivelOP's MJ is amazed by all the talent and creativity by builders in Landmark. From the simple to the...
Gamescom 2015: Star Citizen gets a monthly report and a big Gamescom presentation
It's a big day for fans of Star Citizen, as Cloud Imperium has put out a typically massive monthly report. Oh, and there's that...
Shards Online: Proposing the ‘persistent online world’ game
Last week, our comments erupted over some game studios' haphazard use of the term "MMO" -- and how that overuse and misuse has possibly tainted the...
Perfect Ten: Clever features that should be in more MMOs
MMOs are built on the backs of many interlocking systems, some more crucial to the experience than others. While I have great appreciation for...
Heimburg: Project Gorgon is ‘the most ambitious thing I’ve ever attempted’
It seems like half the Massively staff has been playing Project Gorgon here lately, so we figured it was time to seek out the...
Star Citizen deploys a new patch and kills its old launcher
Star Citizen players have a new patch to contend with today, as Alpha 1.1.6 has been pushed live with a brand-new launcher. The previous...
Massively Overthinking: The first VR MMO
In this edition of Massively Overthinking, Kickstarter backer Yinta wants to talk about virtual reality.
"When will we see the first VR MMO?"
So let's tackle...
Black Desert’s western community manager is interviewed, doesn’t say much
Are you interested in Black Desert? If so, a new interview with the game's western community manager might be worth a read. Or it might...
Gamescom 2015: Trion talks upcoming ‘significant’ ArcheAge updates
Trion just took an info dump at Gamescom, with "major" updates scheduled for all of the firm's MMOs. ArcheAge is getting something called Heroes...
EverQuesting: (Almost) everything we know about EverQuest Next
In a perfect world, we'd have the mana of EverQuest Next news raining down from the sky, enough to satiate our hunger for information...
League of Legends adds defensive items in patch, rejects sandbox mode
An upcoming League of Legends patch will be giving players more options for defense while smoothing out power levels of items across the board.
"We'll...
Gamescom 2015: Star Citizen’s Chris Roberts dismisses Derek Smart
Line of Defense's Derek Smart has made it quite clear what he thinks about Star Citizen and its creator, Chris Roberts, by calling for...
Gamescom 2015: ARK gets a brief new trailer
ARK: Survival Evolved got a new trailer at this week's Gamescom. It's super short, but it also manages to capture just about all that's awesome...
Reddit revolt erupts over Elite: Dangerous expansion price
Not everyone was thrilled at today's news that Elite: Dangerous would be expanding to allow for planetary touchdowns with its upcoming Horizons expansion. One...
Project Gorgon unveils musical stretch goals
The Project Gorgon Kickstarter is humming along nicely this time around, and the developers have already passed the $25,000 stretch goal. So what's next...
Gamescom 2015: Elite Dangerous: Horizons is kicking off with planetary landing
The Elite: Dangerous gameplay is expanding downward. To the extent that "down" is a relevant direction in space, anyhow; the important part is that...
ARK: Survival Evolved is coming to Xbox One early access this winter
If you want to play ARKÂ on a console for whatever reason, you've only got to wait a few more months. We've known for a...
Massively OP Podcast Episode 24: WoW speculation
Justin and Bree discuss WoW's next expansion, Trove, Project Gorgon, DDO, NCsoft's quarterly report, and Neverwinter, with mailbag questions on emotional investment and the state of the site.
A Tale in the Desert reboots into Tale 7 on September 11th
We've known for a little while that A Tale in the Desert's next "telling" was on its way, but now we have firmer details...
The Stream Team: Seeking the secrets of shapeshifting in Project Gorgon
MassivelyOP's MJ took her first steps in Project Gorgon yesterday at the request of Patreon donor Linaea, exploring the tutorial cave, picking up spoons,...