s&box

s&box is a game platform and toolkit from Facepunch Studios. Instead of a fixed campaign, the app offers community-developed games. The range extends from shooters and racing games to role-playing worlds and sandbox experiments of your own.

The platform brings together playable projects, a built-in editor based on Source 2 and shared multiplayer sessions. The rules and goals depend on the chosen community game.

s&box launched on April 28, 2026 for Windows via Steam. On October 13, Facepunch announced plans to make access free toward the end of 2026. No specific date has been set, and the change has not yet taken place.

Existing buyers are to receive exclusive items in their Steam inventory as compensation. The planned switch to free-to-play is not a standalone release on another platform.

s&box launched on April 28, 2026 for Windows PC via Steam. On September 1, 2026, Facepunch also released a native Linux client and a Linux editor via Steam. According to the studio, some Valve tools such as Hammer, ModelDoc and Animgraph are still missing from the editor on Linux.

The Steam system requirements document OpenXR VR support. This does not mean a standalone release for VR headsets or consoles. A macOS editor version has been announced, but a release has not been confirmed. Windows and Linux belong to the same native PC platform.

The user library contains community games with different rules, such as racing, shooters, role-playing games and freely designed sandbox worlds. Selection and launching take place directly within s&box.

Facepunch also runs a sandbox mode with physics objects and building tools. Further development plans include additional non-player characters, vehicles, customization options and better shared play sessions. These plans should not be equated with features that have already shipped.

Steam lists Windows 10 (64-bit), an Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB RAM, GeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 580 with 6 GB VRAM, and 12 GB of free storage as the minimum configuration. Recommended are Windows 11, a Core i7-10700F or Ryzen 7 5700, 32 GB RAM, RTX 2060 or Radeon RX 6600 XT with 8 GB VRAM, and 50 GB of storage.

A broadband connection is required for both profiles. The load can vary depending on the community game.

In the built-in editor, users create their own scenes and game mechanics. Facepunch provides a C# interface and hotloading so changes can be tested quickly during development.

Projects can be published within s&box. According to the studio, developers can also publish their games independently on Steam without engine license fees.

Steam lists single-player, online and LAN PvP, as well as online and LAN co-op, as supported features. Friends can form groups and start community games together.

Whether a particular game offers co-op, competition or a single-player experience is decided by its developers. Facepunch wants to keep improving the multiplayer experience in its own sandbox mode.

Since October 2026, newly published maps also use the Steam Workshop as file storage. Players can subscribe to maps and filter the map selection by downloaded content.

For now, search still runs through Facepunch infrastructure. A full switch to Workshop search has been announced. Existing maps are to be republished via the Workshop so they can be found later.

Facepunch wants to curate access to interesting community games more closely, rather than letting the library grow on size alone. The studio is responding to difficulties in finding suitable content.

Which projects are highlighted remains part of an ongoing selection process. A specific level of quality or support for all user games is therefore not guaranteed.

According to Facepunch, the Play Fund enables earnings from the use of selected community games; it is funded through the sale of cosmetic content. Since October 2026, an application followed by acceptance is required. Free sign-up is no longer enough.

Facepunch wants to curb abuse and poorly developed projects with this. The selection criteria are to be developed further; not every published game is automatically accepted.

Human character models have been the default choice for s&box since October 2026. The older, stylized Citizen model can no longer be selected from the avatar menu, but it remains technically in place so existing games can keep working with it.

Facepunch is overhauling the animations as well as the design and customization of the human characters.

The Steam store page lists English as a supported language for the interface and audio. Community games can use their own text and voice content independently of this.

Because users create their own games, the content and age suitability of the individual offers vary. Facepunch explicitly points out that community content may include depictions of violence or coarse language.