S&box (Sandbox) Game Server Hosting

S&box (Sandbox) launches into Steam Early Access on April 28, 2026 at $20 on Steam. We pre-configure servers ahead of launch so your S&box instance is running within minutes of release — just place your order and you are playing the moment the game goes live.

The fastest way is to rent a hosted Sandbox (S&box) server from SurvivalServers — click Order Now above, choose your slot count and datacenter, and we provision it instantly. The DIY path requires installing the S&box Dedicated Server tool via Steam or SteamCMD, picking a game package from sbox.game, forwarding UDP 27015 plus query port 27016 on your router, and launching with sbox-server.exe +hostname "My Server" +port 27015 +net_query_port 27016 +game facepunch.walker. Full walkthrough is in our Sandbox server setup guide above.

If you host with SurvivalServers, no — we handle all networking, DDoS protection, and firewall configuration for you. Self-hosting on your own hardware requires forwarding UDP port 27015 (the default) on your router and adding a Windows Firewall rule allowing the S&box server executable. Some setups also use TCP/UDP 27015–27030 for RCON and Steam authentication traffic.

Small communities under 12 players need a 64-bit OS (Windows Server 2019/2022 or Ubuntu 22.04 LTS), 4 GB RAM, a 2+ GHz CPU, and roughly 10 GB of free disk space. Larger lobbies or asset-heavy custom gamemodes benefit from 8 GB or more of RAM plus NVMe SSD storage for fast asset streaming. All SurvivalServers S&box plans run on enterprise NVMe hardware with high single-thread CPU performance so you never have to size up yourself.

Player limits depend entirely on the gamemode. Most community gamemodes support 4 to 64+ players, with some sandbox modes and shooters scaling even higher. Multiplayer is built directly into the Source 2 engine and players connect through your server's Steam ID, so there is no extra networking configuration required.

S&box (pronounced "Sandbox") is Facepunch Studios' spiritual successor to Garry's Mod, rebuilt on Valve's Source 2 engine with a modern C# scripting toolchain. It is a full game creation platform — you can build, publish, and play community-made games ranging from shooters to sandbox sims, and creators can export their projects as standalone Steam titles royalty-free.

Yes. S&box has extensive modding support built directly into the engine — you can install any public game package from sbox.game or upload your own custom content through your Facepunch developer account. Our control panel makes switching packages a one-click operation, and developers can build brand-new creations with the in-editor C# toolchain.

Yes, you can host dedicated servers for gamemodes that are not published on sbox.game. This keeps your gamemode private and prevents it from appearing in the public games list. Passwording plus Steam-based authentication gives you full control over exactly who can join your server.

S&box launches into Steam Early Access on April 28, 2026, with regular updates from Facepunch Studios as the platform evolves. Our hosting platform keeps your server files current with the latest version automatically. Just restart your server through our control panel to apply the newest update.