"My idea of a Netflix for games doesn’t work": Garry's Mod creator says struggling spiritual successor S&box will go free to play as part of major rethink

Earlier this year, Garry's Mod and Rust developers Facepunch Studios launched S&box, a mix of an open-source game development platform and a spiritual successor to their physics sandbox. Unfortunately, it has struggled to gain traction, receiving mixed reviews and being flooded with low-quality AI-generated games from the start.

Now, Facepunch founder Garry Newman has revealed plans for a major overhaul that will see S&box become free-to-play. Newman admitted that S&box has not been well-received and has poor retention, stating that he is embarrassed by the negative reviews. The focus has been on the engine and development experience, but now the team needs to shift its attention to the player's experience, not just the developers.

Part of this shift involves giving more attention to the Sandbox Game, giving it parity with and surpassing the Garry’s Mod version. While the team acknowledges that the Roblox-esque hub approach hasn't worked, they believe that game curation is the root cause of the problem rather than the proliferation of AI-generated games. Newman stated that the idea of a "Netflix for games" is not feasible and that people want to discover games through recommendations, multiplayer games, and content creators.

The team plans to make several changes, including swapping out the game's cartoony character models for standard human ones and making it free-to-play towards the end of the year. This move is not only a response to the poor reception but also a strategic decision to focus on attracting more players rather than making a profit upfront.