Best Sandbox Games on Steam

Unlike generic lists, our strategy game recommendations use a rigorous analysis of Steam user reviews to identify and feature only the best, community-validated sandbox games.

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APB Reloaded The world’s first and premier Action MMO Third Person Shooter allows you to choose between two sides of the law. Play as Enforcer or Criminal, customize your gear for the task at hand and hit the streets and play how you want in a city filled with more action this side of a Hollywood blockbuster.

Price Free to play
Rating 6.3
Release 06 Dec 2011
Galactic Civilizations® II: Ultimate Edition Get the complete GalCiv II saga including Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords, the expansion pack Dark Avatar, and the newest expansion pack Twilight of the Arnor!

Price 9.49€
Rating 7.4
Release 02 Dec 2011
Assassin's Creed® Revelations Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of the legendary mentor Altair, on a dangerous journey of discovery and revelation.

Price 14.99€
Rating 8.3
Release 30 Nov 2011
Saints Row: The Third Get ready for the most out-landish gameplay scenarios ever seen as the Third Street Saints take on the Syndicate!

Price -91% 0.98€
Rating 9.4
Release 17 Nov 2011
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim EPIC FANTASY REBORN The next chapter in the highly anticipated Elder Scrolls saga arrives from the makers of the 2006 and 2008 Games of the Year, Bethesda Game Studios. Skyrim reimagines and revolutionizes the open-world fantasy epic, bringing to life a complete virtual world open for you to explore any way you choose.

Price -70% 4.59€
Rating 9.4
Release 10 Nov 2011
Tropico 4 The world is changing and Tropico is moving with the times - geographical powers rise and fall and the world market is dominated by new players with new demands and offers - and you, as El Presidente, face a whole new set of challenges.

Price -97% 0.46€
Rating 8.9
Release 27 Oct 2011
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record You are Frank West – photojournalist and original hero of the Dead Rising Willamette incident – taking center stage experiencing the re-imagined Fortune City outbreak.

Price -98% 0.54€
Rating 7.5
Release 11 Oct 2011
From Dust Immerse yourself in a world as exotically beautiful as it is dangerous in this modern God-Game where Nature is the Star!

Price 9.99€
Rating 6.6
Release 17 Aug 2011
Space Pirates and Zombies Explore a randomly generated Galaxy populated with factions, enemies, missions, and items providing you with a unique experience each time you play.

Price -59% 4.11€
Rating 8.7
Release 15 Aug 2011
ARMA: Cold War Assault Bohemia Interactive's debut game published by Codemasters as Operation Flashpoint in 2001, became genre-defining combat military simulation and the No. 1 bestselling PC game around the world and has won many international awards, including “Game of The Year” and “Best Action Game”. Over 2 million copies have been sold since its release.

Price -68% 1.61€
Rating 7.8
Release 08 Aug 2011
ARMA: Gold Edition ARMA: Gold is pack of ARMA: Armed Assault and an expansion pack ARMA: Queen's Gambit. ARMA is a first person tactical military shooter with large elements of realism and simulation. This game features a blend of large-scale military conflict spread over large areas alongside the more closed quarters battle.

Price -83% 1.42€
Rating 7.3
Release 13 Jul 2011
Solar 2 Dynamic abstract sandbox universe. Changes and evolves as you do.

Price -87% 1.20€
Rating 8.7
Release 17 Jun 2011
Trainz™ Simulator 12 Released 2011. See also Trainz A New Era and TRS19.

Price -80% 1.95€
Rating 7.2
Release 08 Jun 2011
Terraria Dig, fight, explore, build! Nothing is impossible in this action-packed adventure game. Four Pack also available!

Price -52% 4.74€
Rating 9.7
Release 16 May 2011
Dwarfs!? Dig! Dig! Dig! Manage the small underground Dwarf base and make it as rich as possible before they meet their inevitable doom. Purchase before May 11th and save!

Price -97% 0.25€
Rating 7.4
Release 04 May 2011
Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword The standalone expansion for Mount & Blade! With Fire & Sword builds and expands upon the highly regarded combat system from Mount & Blade: Warband. Firearms have been introduced to the battlefield.

Price -81% 1.99€
Rating 8.6
Release 03 May 2011
Cargo! The Quest for Gravity Create crazy, yet functional, custom vehicles to solve missions with your own unique style!

Price -91% 0.91€
Rating 7.6
Release 21 Apr 2011
Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game Developed by a team of experienced modders from the Paradox forum, Darkest Hour is a stand-alone Hearts of Iron game. The game features a mixture of short and in-depth campaigns set across the darkest chapters of the 20th century. Play from the outbreak of the Great War up until the onset of the Cold War.

Price -80% 2.06€
Rating 8.6
Release 08 Apr 2011
Mafia II (Classic) Vito Scaletta has started to make a name for himself on the streets of Empire Bay as someone who can be trusted to get a job done. Together with his buddy Joe, he is working to prove himself to the Mafia, quickly escalating up the family ladder with crimes of larger reward, status and consequence… the life as a wise guy isn’t quite as...

Price 29.99€
Rating 9.3
Release 22 Mar 2011
Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood It’s time to join the Brotherhood.

Price 14.99€
Rating 8.7
Release 17 Mar 2011
Revenge of the Titans The ultimate mash-up of Real-time Strategy and Tower Defense!

Price -62% 5.65€
Rating 7.8
Release 16 Mar 2011
Atom Zombie Smasher The zombie apocalypse is upon us and it's up to you to evacuate everyone before they fall prey to the undead. Conduct massive rescue operations with a helping hand from snipers, artillery crews, orbital bombardments, and more.

Price -52% 4.83€
Rating 8.6
Release 14 Mar 2011
Men of War: Assault Squad Men of War: Assault Squad delivers a deeply tactical WWII experience, blending large-scale strategy with intense, hands-on combat. Fight across multiple fronts – from European countryside to Pacific jungles and command every unit and every bullet on the battlefield.

Price -96% 0.48€
Rating 8.5
Release 24 Feb 2011
Cities in Motion Manage transportation for commuters in four of the world's greatest cities - Vienna, Helsinki, Berlin, and Amsterdam

Price -96% 0.99€
Rating 7.4
Release 22 Feb 2011
Two Worlds II HD Check out the new Velvet Edition bundle including both Two Worlds II and Pirates of the Flying Fortress DLC.

Price -99% 0.27€
Rating 6.2
Release 03 Feb 2011
The Sims™ 3 The Sims 3: Create the perfect world with full customization at your fingertips. Refine personalities and help fulfill destinies.

Price 19.99€
Rating 8.5
Release 27 Jan 2011
EVE Online Over 20 years of legendary space battles! Explore a massive living universe of danger and opportunity in a challenging and highly rewarding space adventure. Fight, trade, build, and connect with a universe driven and shaped directly by players.

Price Free to play
Rating 7.3
Release 15 Dec 2010
Fallout: New Vegas Welcome to Vegas. New Vegas. Enjoy your stay!

Price -81% 1.96€
Rating 9.5
Release 21 Oct 2010
Lugaru HD Follow Turner, a rebel bunny rabbit with impressive combat skills in his quest to find those responsible for slaughtering his village. Uncover a far-reaching conspiracy involving the corrupt leaders of the rabbit republic and the wolves of the nearby lands. Streamlined Combat: Gone are the days of combo memorization and button mashing.

Price 9.75€
Rating 7.5
Release 08 Oct 2010
X: Beyond the Frontier The Human Race had advanced to the point where we could travel among the stars, we developed giant automated machines to help us colonise other worlds, but there was a fault in their programming and they turned and attacked. Forcing us to lay a trap to protect Earth and exiling the Human race to stay on Earth once again.

Price -92% 0.40€
Rating 7.0
Release 08 Oct 2010
Dead Rising® 2 The sequel to the million-plus selling Dead Rising, Dead Rising 2 takes the zombie survival horror to Fortune City, America’s latest and greatest entertainment playground.

Price 19.99€
Rating 7.6
Release 27 Sep 2010
Victoria II Carefully guide your nation from the era of absolute monarchies in the early 19th century, through expansion and colonization, to finally become a truly great power by the dawn of the 20th century. Victoria II is a grand strategy game played during the colonial era of the 19th century, where the player takes control of a country, guiding...

Price -95% 1.12€
Rating 9.0
Release 30 Aug 2010
The Guild II Renaissance For centuries Europe has been dominated by the church and nobility. On the shoulders of ordinary people the servants of god and the noble families justified their power and wealth. This was the incontrovertible, divine world order. A truly dark era… In the 14th Century the world order is beginning to transform itself.

Price -80% 1.99€
Rating 8.0
Release 28 Jul 2010
SimCity™ 4 Deluxe Edition SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition includes the bestselling SimCity 4 and the all-new SimCity 4 Rush Hour Expansion Pack. Create the most massive region of cities ever, with a farming town, bedroom community, high-tech commercial center, and industrial backbone.

Price -87% 2.64€
Rating 8.0
Release 20 Jul 2010
Moonbase Alpha NASA has once again landed on the lunar surface with the goal of colonization, research, and further exploration. Shortly after the return to the Moon, NASA has established a small outpost on the south pole of the moon called Moonbase Alpha.

Price Free to play
Rating 8.8
Release 06 Jul 2010
Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead Three years after the conflict in Chernarus, portrayed in the original Arma 2, a new flashpoint explodes in the Green Sea Region. Coalition forces led by the US Army are deployed to Takistan to quickly restore peace and prevent further civilian casualties.

Price -95% 0.87€
Rating 9.0
Release 29 Jun 2010

Most played sandbox games


108,999 players

1,373,979
35,494
Rating 9.7

21,164 players

206,216
4,301
Rating 9.7

17,664 players

1,122,546
37,161
Rating 9.6

15,027 players

208,770
6,439
Rating 9.6

7,606 players

66,735
3,925
Rating 9.3

7,058 players

65,583
17,491
Rating 7.8

4,490 players

93,712
4,423
Rating 9.4

3,003 players

117,204
15,143
Rating 8.8

2,785 players

30,266
1,412
Rating 9.4

2,784 players

51,042
3,937
Rating 9.1