The Spiritual Successor to Garry's Mod Arrives This Month With Direct Steam Publishing
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Facepunch Studios is launching S and box on April 28, bringing a Source 2 powered spiritual successor to Garry's Mod with a groundbreaking Valve partnership that lets creators publish standalone games on Steam fee free.
Facepunch Studios is finally ready to launch S and box, the long awaited spiritual successor to Garry's Mod, built on a modified Source 2 engine. Developed by Garry Newman's team, the open source creation platform arrives on April 28, bringing visual scripting, open world terrain tools, shader creation, and VR support to community creators. Originally in the works since 2015, the project aims to recreate the sandbox magic that defined an entire era of PC gaming and influenced countless modern titles.
In a massive win for independent developers, Facepunch has secured a licensing deal with Valve that allows creators to export their S and box projects as standalone games directly on Steam without paying a fee to Facepunch. Newman confirmed the agreement on the project's blog, noting that while the team still needs to finalize legal frameworks and run pilot programs, the infrastructure is officially locked in. The first major project slated to release through this pipeline is My Summer Cottage, a chaotic Finnish life simulator developed by Small Fish.
For players and aspiring developers, this release bridges the gap between modding tools and commercial publishing in a very practical way. While the creator economy is crowded with engines and user generated content platforms today, the legacy of Garry's Mod combined with frictionless Steam publishing gives S and box a distinct advantage. You can check out the official roadmap and wishlist the platform on Steam as the April launch approaches, as reported by Edwin Evans-Thirlwell over at Rock Paper Shotgun.
Tags: Garry's Mod, S&box, Facepunch Studios, Steam, PC Gaming
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun