11-Year Steam Launch Anniversary

The 11th anniversary of Universe Sandbox’s Early Access launch on Steam is Monday, August 24, 2026!

To celebrate this milestone, Universe Sandbox is on sale now through August 31.

This year, we’ve already released the first part of our multi-year physics architecture overhaul , and added winds sweeping gases across planet atmospheres, atmospheric drag to simulate meteors, a simulation of the Artemis II mission , and more.

We have a packed roadmap for the rest of the year and beyond. Our team is actively building:

• True-shape object collisions with rigid-body physics

• The first version will only support basic shapes, like cubes and cylinders, but future versions will support all kinds of shapes and objects.

• Foundational life simulation where life grows, dies, and can be eaten

• Surface simulation performance enhancements powered by Unity's Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS)

• Mobile version of Universe Sandbox for your iOS & Android phones and tablets

Our long-term goals stretch years into the future and include:

• Detailed planet surface so you can fly over mountains and through canyons.

• More planet customization with custom maps or images, like a picture of your dog.

• Constructing (and destroying) structures from small spacecraft to Dyson spheres with simulated parts and soft-body physics.

• And so much more

Learn more about what we’re currently working on in our 2026 Roadmap post .

Being able to continue developing and improving Universe Sandbox for 11 years (and counting) has been a privilege, and all of the support we get from our community is humbling. Thank you all.

Universe Sandbox was first released on Steam in Early Access 11 years ago, and while we’re incredibly proud of our accomplishments so far, there are still so many exciting things to add, and we can’t wait to share them with you.

• The Universe Sandbox Team