Sandbox gameplay
Every paid Steam game tagged Sandbox, ranked by our estimated lifetime revenue. 11,100 games in the catalog, 5,980 with a sales estimate.
Games
11,100
Active paid titles tagged
Total Gross
$31.5B
Sum of estimated lifetime revenue
Median
$10.7K
Half earn less, half more
Hit Rate
33.2%
1,987 games earned $100K+
Revenue share - top 5 vs rest
- Grand Theft Auto V Legacy 5.6%
- 7 Days to Die 4.3%
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered 4.0%
- Hearts of Iron IV 3.8%
- Red Dead Redemption 2 2.8%
- Other (5975 games) 79.5%
Top 25 earners
The highest-earning Sandbox games by our estimator.
| # | Game | Released | Reviews | Peak CCU | Est. Units | Est. Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Grand Theft Auto V Legacy Rockstar North | 2015-04-13 | 2,083,712 | 360,761 | 29,171,968 | $1,750,026,360 |
| 2 |  7 Days to Die The Fun Pimps | 2024-07-25 | 403,084 | 124,449 | 29,828,216 | $1,341,971,438 |
| 3 |  The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered CD PROJEKT RED | 2015-05-18 | 908,247 | 137,600 | 25,304,394 | $1,264,966,656 |
| 4 |  Hearts of Iron IV Paradox Development Studio | 2016-06-06 | 363,397 | 93,196 | 23,984,202 | $1,198,970,258 |
| 5 |  Red Dead Redemption 2 Rockstar Games | 2019-12-05 | 934,056 | 99,759 | 14,944,896 | $896,544,311 |
| 6 |  BeamNG.drive BeamNG | 2015-05-29 | 428,778 | 47,248 | 33,119,404 | $827,653,906 |
| 7 |  Rust Facepunch Studios | 2018-02-08 | 1,411,703 | 259,646 | 19,763,842 | $790,356,042 |
| 8 |  Sons Of The Forest Endnight Games Ltd | 2024-02-22 | 325,034 | 198,477 | 24,052,516 | $721,334,955 |
| 9 |  DayZ Bohemia Interactive | 2018-12-13 | 473,070 | 78,739 | 13,208,222 | $660,279,018 |
| 10 |  Battlefield™ 6 Battlefield Studios | 2025-10-10 | 378,290 | 741,263 | 8,387,425 | $586,952,002 |
| 11 |  Valheim Iron Gate AB | 2026-09-09 | 563,944 | 498,478 | 16,241,587 | $487,085,194 |
| 12 |  Stellaris Paradox Development Studio | 2016-05-09 | 197,422 | 68,517 | 9,291,866 | $464,500,381 |
| 13 |  Europa Universalis IV Paradox Development Studio, Paradox Tinto | 2013-08-13 | 135,165 | 47,844 | 9,161,713 | $457,994,033 |
| 14 |  New World: Aeternum Amazon Game Studios | 2021-09-28 | 297,630 | 913,027 | 7,304,216 | $438,179,918 |
| 15 |  Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord TaleWorlds Entertainment | 2022-10-25 | 300,581 | 248,034 | 8,477,926 | $423,811,521 |
| 16 |  Stardew Valley ConcernedApe | 2016-02-26 | 1,048,787 | 236,614 | 28,146,360 | $421,913,936 |
| 17 |  Raft Redbeet Interactive | 2022-06-20 | 380,691 | 100,474 | 20,938,005 | $418,550,720 |
| 18 |  Palworld Pocketpair | 2026-07-09 | 495,087 | 2,101,535 | 11,882,088 | $356,343,819 |
| 19 |  Project Zomboid The Indie Stone | 2013-11-08 | 492,968 | 124,972 | 14,197,478 | $354,794,975 |
| 20 |  V Rising Stunlock Studios | 2024-05-08 | 138,081 | 150,645 | 9,791,925 | $342,619,456 |
| 21 |  Don't Starve Together Klei Entertainment | 2016-04-21 | 545,879 | 122,568 | 22,381,039 | $335,491,775 |
| 22 |  Satisfactory Coffee Stain Studios | 2024-09-10 | 282,201 | 185,957 | 8,332,121 | $333,201,519 |
| 23 |  ARK: Survival Ascended Studio Wildcard, Grove Street Games, Instinct Games | 2023-10-25 | 120,618 | 98,047 | 6,373,055 | $286,723,744 |
| 24 |  Terraria Re-Logic | 2011-05-16 | 1,566,852 | 486,918 | 28,203,336 | $281,751,327 |
| 25 |  No Man's Sky Hello Games | 2016-08-12 | 424,652 | 212,321 | 4,671,172 | $280,153,541 |
Releases per year
Is Sandbox trending up or fading? Bars show new paid Steam releases with this tag each year. Green flecks are hits (≥$100K est. lifetime).
19
2010
28
2011
20
2012
38
2013
88
2014
137
2015
316
2016
153
2017
210
2018
251
2019
316
2020
501
2021
501
2022
668
2023
846
2024
1,167
2025
1,746
2026
Top upcoming
Highest-wishlist unreleased Sandbox games.
| # | Game | WL Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Light No Fire Hello Games | 3 |
| 2 |  Kingmakers Redemption Road | 8 |
| 3 |  Witchbrook Chucklefish, Robotality | 9 |
| 4 |  ARK 2 Studio Wildcard, Grove Street Games | 11 |
| 5 |  Chronicles: Medieval Raw Power Games | 26 |
| 6 |  Railborn Washbear Studio | 27 |
| 7 |  Falling Frontier Stutter Fox Studios | 35 |
| 8 |  Family Time sgthale | 36 |
| 9 |  Ardem Techtive Games | 37 |
| 10 |  The Bustling World FireWo Games | 41 |
Top recent (12 months)
Highest-earning Sandbox games released in the past year.
| # | Game | Est. Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | | $487,085,194 |
| 2 | | $356,343,819 |
| 3 |  | $208,289,997 |
| 4 |  | $159,735,237 |
| 5 |  | $134,415,034 |
| 6 |  | $112,634,704 |
| 7 |  | $88,818,024 |
| 8 |  | $70,649,367 |
| 9 |  | $68,732,305 |
| 10 |  | $67,035,637 |