20 Best Sandbox Video Games of All Time for Windows PC

Sandbox is a wide term so we included various games, some of them are 100% sandbox and others are just 50% so kindly do not fixate on the term itself.

And also in this list, we tend to avoid MMOs (Massively multiplayer online). Not a rule, but just for you to know.

List of 20 Best Sandbox Video Games for PC:

1. Garry’s Mod:

Let’s start with the true star in the sandbox universe. This game is just a giant toy box. Absent of objectives and rules, it provides players with various props, character models, and a whole load of tools from which you can create all manner of weird and strange stuff.

The Garry’s Mod community is a tremendous source of content and has added hundreds of unique modes to the game. I think everyone will agree with me when we say, that the best part of this game is the creature creation process. You can make a flying giraffe or a giant for glittering gibberish.

So, anyway it’s up to you what or who you create. After a creative process, you have to dominate the world by killing weaker stuff than you are or you can just go back to the creation screen over and over again and commit some more crimes against nature.

Developed by: Facepunch Studios
Release Date: 2004
Platform: Windows PC, Mac, and Linux

2. Prison Architect:

Here you can create your prison but not a prison of the mind, where most of you already live, but real prison with real inmates, real guards, walls, and prison staff in general.

This whole game lets your imagination fly, but first, you have to learn how to connect electricity to the electric chairs, because no matter what you stand in real life about the death penalty, here you’re executing some unkind inmates just because you can.

Developed by: Introversion Software
Release Date: 2015
Platform: Windows Mac, Linux, PS4, XBOX, and Android

3. Minecraft:

This game has no age restrictions doesn’t matter if you are 10 or 50 years old, Minecraft can bring you lots of joy. Just like The Elder Scrolls, Witcher, and Starcraft are some of the similar games created for mature players.

But we ensure you will enjoy building giants in the Minecraft game. Please write in the comment what is your craziest creation in the game.

Developed by: Mojang Studios
Release Date: 2011
Platform: Windows Mac, Linux, PS4, XBOX, and Android

4. Universe Sandbox 2:

Universe Sandbox 2 is not a game, but a serious physics and astronomy simulator. The first version of Universe Sandbox was only available for Microsoft Windows PCs, but later the Developers of the Universe Sandbox release the updated version known as Universe Sandbox 2 in 2017 for Windows PC, Mac OSX, and Linux.

Developed by: Giant Army
Release Date: 2015
Platform: Windows PC, Mac, and Linux

5. Kerbal Space Program:

It’s an ambitious simulator that tasks players with sending rockets into space. Although it’s fun, also it is hard when you have to create your spaceship, it’s rocket science by the way.

Building a spaceship here reminds you of creating an abomination in Spore – every detail can be scaled, turned, and attached to another detail. So, you have to do everything right to take a space flight.

Developed by: Squad
Release Date: 2011
Platform: Windows PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox, and PlayStation 4

6. Factorio:

The game is in early access, but actually, it kind of feels like a finished product already. It has an overwhelmingly positive review on Steam, so we can ensure you that you can download and enjoy this game on your Windows PC or Mac.

Factorio is a game about building and creating automated factories to produce items of increasing complexity, within an infinite 2D world.

You can use your imagination to design your factory, combine simple elements into an amazing structure, and finally protect it from the creatures like bitter and worms who don’t really like you.

Developed by: Wube Software
Release Date: 2016
Platform: Windows PC, Mac, and Linux

7. The Forest:

If you love to be alone in a scary forest then this game is for you. Alongside the sandbox part, where you cut the trees, build a house, lay traps, and freeroam.

In the whole world, there is a cannibal part of the game, where you have to defend yourself against a clan of genetic mutant enemies that have beliefs, families, and morals, and that appear almost human.

Developed by: Endnight Games
Release Date: 2014
Platform: Windows PC and PlayStation 4

8. Besiege:

This is a strategy-based building game in which you construct medieval siege engines and lay waste to immense fortresses and peaceful villages.

Build a machine that can crush windmills, wipe out battalions of brave soldiers and transport valuable resources, defending your creation against cannons, archers, and everything else.

The game is amazing about 95% of people who played liked this video game. Besiege video game has a 10/10 rating on Steam.

Developed by: Spiderling Studios
Release Date: 2015
Platform: Windows PC, Mac, and Linux

9. Terraria:

Terraria is a sandbox game created by the Re-Logic. Dig, explore, and fight nothing is impossible in this adventure-action-packed game. The world is your canvas and the earth itself is your painting.

It has features such as exploration, crafting, building structures, and fighting monsters. It is a game that mixes action and adventure in an open world.

Create weapons to get rid of a wide variety of enemies in numerous ecosystems. Dig deep underground to find accessories, money, and other very useful things.

Gather resources to create everything you need to shape your world. Build a house, a fort, or even a castle. People will move to live there and they may even sell you different merchandise to help you on your journey.

Developed by: Re-Logic
Release Date: 2011
Platform: Windows OS

10. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim:

Epic fantasy, impressive details, and the winner of more than 200 “Game of the Year” awards. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is one of the best sandbox games you have ever played on your Xbox, PS4, or PC.

In addition to the acclaimed gameplay and add-ons, Skyrim Special Edition offers new features such as remastered graphics and effects, dynamic depth of field, real-time reflections, volumetric twilight rays, and many more.

Additionally, Skyrim Special Edition brings PC mods to Xbox and PS4. Now, console players will be able to access new missions, environments, characters, dialogues, armor, and weapons, among other things.

Developed by: Bethesda Game Studios
Release Date: 2011
Platform: PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, 360, Windows OS

11. No Man’s Sky:

No Man’s Sky PC game allows us to know beyond our sky, we will be able to navigate the universe; The exact number of planets that can be generated is 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 and to spend a second in each one would take 585 billion years.

The vast majority of planets are lifeless. As everything is created by procedures, it is very unlikely to find two planets, stars, or life (either animal or plant), the same. No Man’s Sky is the new sandbox game that allows us to play in third-person and multiplayer mode.

It’s a research survival game published by Hello Games. It was released back in 2016 for Microsoft Windows and PS 4. The gameplay is built around 4 pillars one is exploration, the second is survival, 3rd is combat, and the 4th is trading.

Developed by: Hello Games
Release Date: 2016
Platform: Windows OS, PS4, Xbox One

12. Elite Dangerous:

Few games convey the emotion of piloting a spaceship through the ends of the universe in such a spectacular way as Elite Dangerous does. Download Elite: Dangerous a recommendable game to play.

If you spaceship games then Elite is the best, bold, brave, and beautiful game you have played. Explore the galaxy, choose your allies, earn your wings, and blaze your trail.

Developed by: Frontier Developments
Release Date: 2014
Platform: Windows OS, Mac, PS4, Xbox One

13. ARMA 3:

ARMA 3 is the 3rd installment of Bohemia Interactive’s action game for PC, in which our fully customizable soldier can climb into air, land, and naval vehicles to overcome different missions.

Realism reaches a new level with the latest Arma 3 mod, where we will have to stand up and face all the war crimes we commit. Play Arma 3 for free on Steam for a limited time with great offers.

Developed by: Bohemia Interactive
Release Date: 2013
Platform: Microsoft Windows OS

14. Dwarf Fortress:

Dwarf Fortress is a sandbox strategy game released back in 2006 published by Bay 12 Games. It became the most incredible and impressive video game of all time.

Play Dwarf Fortress haunted desert make your fortress isolated from the outside world and protect yourself from evil sieges and dangerous wildlife. Download this fantasy game free for Windows PC and Mac.

Developed by: Bay 12 Games
Release Date: 2006
Platform: Windows OS, Linux, macOS

15. Hitman: Codename 47:

Hitman: Codename 47, was released back in 2000, and became the first game in the very popular Hitman series by IO Interactive.

Is Codename 47 worth playing? Hitman is a very interesting game, although it does have its drawbacks. If you like the game series with the genre of stealth missions Hitman is better than any game in this mode.

Developed by: IO Interactive
Release Date: 2000
Platform: Microsoft Windows OS

16. Grand Theft Auto V:

GTA (Grand Theft Auto) V is one of the best action and adventure games that have captured millions of players worldwide. You can have fun playing new and endless game modes. You can download the demo version of Grand Theft Auto V Online.

Developed by: Rockstar Games
Release Date: 2013
Platform: Microsoft Windows OS, PS 3 & 4, Xbox One & 360

17. EVE Online:

Lay 21,000 years in the future, EVE online takes place in a distant cluster of over 7,000 star systems known as New Eden.

It is a rich and manifold universe, featuring densely-populated havens of relative safety governed by 4 great Empires.

You play as a capsule, a revered breed of a highly-trained pilot, having achieved immortality through the use of cloning technology.

You navigate the universe encased in an armored capsule deep within your ship, where you have complete neural control and function as one.

There are 100s of ships to fly in EVE online. Everything from small nimble craft and versatile mid-range vessels, to formidable warships and colossal freighters.

While every action and decision has consequences for the universe and its hundreds of thousands of players, the game remains very much about your unique adventure and story.

Developed by: CCP Games
Release Date: 2003
Platform: Windows OS, Linux, macOS

18. Red Dead Redemption 2:

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the sequel to the action-adventure Red Dead Redemption by Rockstar Games for PS 4, Xbox One, Statia, and PC that brings us an epic story.

The story takes place in 1899 in a fictional depiction of the western, midwest, and southern United States and follows the outlaw Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van der Linde gang.

As federal agents and the nation’s best bounty hunters on their heels, the gang must fight their way through the rugged territory of the heart.

Red Dead Redemption 2 game for PC is one of the best that Rockstar has in the sandbox game series. Get ready to download and play the action game on your PC or console.

Developed by: Rockstar Games
Release Date: 2018
Platform: Windows OS, PS4, Xbox1, Google Stadia

19. Fallout 4:

Developed by: Bethesda Game Studios

Release Date: 2015

Platform: Windows OS, PS4, Xbox One

20. Don’t Starve:

Developed by: Klei Entertainment

Release Date: 2013

Platform: Windows OS, Linux, macOS