Promotions
Seven-Year Steam Launch Anniversary
Aug 24th
Today, August 24, 2022, marks the seventh anniversary of Universe Sandbox’s Early Access launch on Steam!
To celebrate, Universe Sandbox is on sale for another 120 hours (that’s until August 29, 2022). Pick up a copy for yourself or a friend today.
Over the last seven years, we’ve added tons of new features to make Universe Sandbox better than ever, and we’re still going strong. Our current development plans include
- Adding more materials to simulate planetary features lakes of liquid methane on Saturn’s moon Titan
- New rigid body physics for more realistic interactions between objects like bowling pins and satellites
- More realistic planetary collisions
Learn about what we’re working on in our 2022 Roadmap.
All of this would not be possible without the support of our community. You all use Universe Sandbox in ways we could never have imagined, and we are so grateful for all of you. Here’s to another amazing seven years.
Universe Sandbox is 33% Off — Best Deal Before Price Increase
Oct 19th
Universe Sandbox is now 33% off on Steam!
This is your last chance to get Universe Sandbox on sale before we raise the price on Tuesday, October 22 to USD $29.99 (localized prices will be raised accordingly). We’ll definitely be on sale again after we raise the price, but this will likely be the best deal for a while.
We announced our plans to raise the price earlier in the summer. This is slightly different than the original plan of raising it once we released Surface Grids & Lasers, but it still fits into the October timeline we mentioned. And while Surface Grids & Lasers aren’t available in any official releases yet, you can try them now in the experimental build!
What is Surface Grids?
It’s the next big, complex feature that is coming to Universe Sandbox. It simulates the surfaces of planets, moons, and other objects, adding much more detailed, dynamic, and accurate visuals.
And as a bonus, it makes it possible to add tools like lasers, which are essentially just a fun way of heating up localized areas of a surface.
Learn more about Surface Grids & Lasers in our latest DevLogs
GIF Contest Winners!
Dec 24th
Thank you to everyone who submitted to our Universe Sandbox ² GIF contest! There were a lot of great submissions, and we loved seeing all the different ways our fans use Universe Sandbox ² to explore and experiment with the universe. If you’re a winner, we’ll be reaching out to you soon to send you your prize. If you’re not a winner, there’s always next time! And without further ado…
Grand Prize
Earth being eaten by a neutron star. What’s not to like? Great framing, a great sample of simulation features in Universe Sandbox ², and an overall impressive and tasteful display of destruction. This gets the grand prize of a $50 Steam gift card!
Submitted by astalemarshmallow:
Runner-Up
A near-miss between Mars and Earth makes the oceans boil away. A very unique experiment that deserves a $25 Steam gift card.
Submitted by @Valareos:
#UniverseSandbox Anyone can make planets hit. But this is a near miss that boils away oceans. Imagine the fireball in the sky from THAT one pic.twitter.com/GYsrKopxg0
— Bryan Bartlett (@Valareos) December 5, 2016
Honorable Mentions
The following GIFs may not have won the top prizes, but we enjoyed them too much to not mention them. These users will be getting a couple Universe Sandbox ² codes for their friends and family.
Best Pandering
We love when our fans love Universe Sandbox ².
Submitted by DashingElektron:
Submitted by @robloxiscool191:
@UniverseSandbox #UniverseSandbox I love Universe Sandbox 🙂 pic.twitter.com/FjuYaBfpu8
— EfficientEngine (@EffEngine) December 4, 2016
Best What-If
So that’s what would happen if Jupiter had Saturn’s rings and Saturn came back for revenge. The more you know…
Submitted by @Goldenknight_01:
https://twitter.com/Goldenknight_01/status/805506373790351361
Best Trip Around the Drain
Turns out there’s a lot in common between space and your sink.
Submitted by @BestPotatoGamin:
3 Saturn's (with rings) orbiting a black hole #UniverseSandbox pic.twitter.com/5UsudFneDu
— SpacePotato(Pluto) (@BestPotatoGamin) December 6, 2016
Submitted by No. 60 Neodymium:
Submitted by DirtyKaya:
Most Artistic
A beautiful and abstract cosmic dance. Submitted by Flingdagger:
Most Terrifying
This surface-cam perspective of a slowly expanding supernova is making us anxious. In a good way! Submitted by DeadpanGod3:
Thanks again to everyone who submitted! Stay tuned for future contests.
For the latest Universe Sandbox ² news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Universe Sandbox ² GIF Contest
Dec 3rd
Update December 16: Contest Closed!
Thanks everyone for your submissions! We will be announcing the winner in the next couple of weeks.
So it’s clear at this point that you all love blowing up planets. But now we want to see exactly how you blow up planets.
Which is why we’re having a Universe Sandbox ² GIF contest!
Submit your GIF before midnight PST, Thursday, December 15, and you’ll be considered for the Grand Prize: a $50 Steam gift card and shoutouts on our social media. Please see below for full instructions on how to submit a GIF.
Of course, you don’t have to show us exploding planets. We love to see how our fans explore and utilize all of the tools and features in Universe Sandbox ². Be creative. So how do you submit a GIF for the contest? Easy!
How to Submit a GIF via Facebook or Twitter
- Open Universe Sandbox ² and start colliding planets (or delicately balancing orbits)
- Record your GIF (press F9 to Start/Stop, or click Video > Start/Stop Video Capture)
- Click Share once the GIF is processed
- After it’s done uploading, select either Share on Facebook or Tweet (alternatively, select Copy URL to Clipboard and manually share on Facebook or Twitter)
- Your Tweet/Facebook post MUST be public and MUST include the #UniverseSandbox hashtag in order to be considered for the contest! (If you’re sharing on Facebook, you will have to add #UniverseSandbox yourself; it is automatically included in Tweets)
How to Submit a GIF via Steam
- Open Universe Sandbox ² and start colliding planets (or delicately balancing orbits)
- Record your GIF (press F9 to Start/Stop, or click Video > Start/Stop Video Capture)
- Click Video > Open Video Folder to show where the GIFs are stored on your computer
- Upload your GIF to the Universe Sandbox ² Artwork page, no Facebook or Twitter necessary
- Visibility MUST be set to Public and it MUST be uploaded to the Community Hub, not your profile
Happy GIFing!
Universe Sandbox ² Alpha Now Available
Aug 26th
After nearly three years in development, Universe Sandbox ² is now available for purchase.
Buy now for instant access to the Universe Sandbox ² Alpha on Steam for Windows, Mac, and Linux and pre-order the finished game.
Featuring climate simulation, improved physics, material properties, terraforming, and awesome collisions, Universe Sandbox ² blows away the original version.
We have many updates and improvements planned. We welcome you to join us on this journey toward the final release.
Watch a trailer and learn more: universesandbox.com/2
Humble Weekly Bundle: Simulators 2
Jul 17th
This week’s Humble Bundle features Universe Sandbox and 5 other great simulators.
And it also features an amazing trailer by Nerd³:
Name your price here: humblebundle.com/weekly
Universe Sandbox 75% off at Huge Seal
Nov 20th
The Huge Seal Steam coupon giveaway continues for 5 more days!
Head on over to hugeseal.com to get Universe Sandbox for 75% off.
Use two more coupons and you’ll get another game completely free.
From their site: Huge Seal is a Steam Discount Coupon giveaway where you get to choose 5 Steam Discount Coupons from a list of over 30 indie games by logging on to hugeseal.com with your Steam account. And when you purchase 3 games with the coupons, you get one random Steam key for free!
The campaign ends on November 24th, so be sure to get going while the going is good!
And while you’re busy clicking links, be sure to Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @UniverseSandbox.
