Universe Sandbox News

[p][/p][p]Learn about the recently discovered sednoid 2023 KQ14 and why it challenges the Planet Nine hypothesis. Enjoy a handful of bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements like the ability to quickly fly to planets just by selecting an already selected object. We’ve also updated our game engine and improved support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) displays.[/p][p][/p][h3]A New Sednoid In the Outer Solar System[/h3][p]The recently discovered sednoid 2023 KQ14 orbits way out in the Oort Cloud with Sedna, and its position challenges the current predictions of a hypothetical Planet Nine in our Solar System. Check it out in our new simulation Sednoid 2023 KQ14.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Updating Our Engine[/h3][p]We’ve updated Unity, the game engine we use to build Universe Sandbox, to version 6.1. This update allows us to further improve our visuals with more accurate lighting, better support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) displays, and more.
[/p][p][/p][h3]More Highlights[/h3][p]Clicking on a selected object now flies you to the object.
[/p][p][/p][p]We’ve improved HDR (High Dynamic Range) support for those with HDR-compatible monitors. Playing Universe Sandbox with HDR on adds higher contrast and more vibrant colors. HDR support is still a work in progress, but you can try it out by enabling it under Home > Settings > Graphics > Display.
[/p][p][/p][p]Check out the full list of What's New in Update 35.4.[/p][p]
As of this update, Universe Sandbox on Windows now requires a graphics card that works with DirectX 12, which has been a stated minimum graphics requirement since March 2025. Learn more.[/p][p]
Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.[/p]

[p][/p][p]The 10-year anniversary of Universe Sandbox’s Early Access launch on Steam is this Sunday, August 24, 2025!
[/p][p]To celebrate this milestone, Universe Sandbox will be on sale now until August 28.
[/p][p]Over the last 10 years, we’ve added so many new features to make Universe Sandbox better than ever, from simulating liquids and gases flowing over planet surfaces and lasers in 2019, to realistically simulating planet atmospheres and accurately terraforming planets in 2023, and our major graphics update just a few months ago.[/p][p][/p][p]And we have so much planned. We’re currently working on[/p]

• [p]Improving collisions with more realistic friction and craters and simulating atmospheric drag, which allows meteors to burn up in the atmosphere.[/p]
• [p]Adding basic life simulation where life grows, dies, and can be eaten.[/p]
• [p]Bringing Universe Sandbox to phones and tablets (iOS & Android).
  [/p]

[p]Our long-term goals stretch years into the future and include[/p]

• [p]Detailed planet surface so you can fly over mountains and through canyons.[/p]
• [p]More planet customization with custom maps or images, like a picture of your dog.[/p]
• [p]Colliding everyday objects, including simple shapes like dice and complex shapes like spacecraft, according to their unique forms instead of as spheres, also called rigid-body physics.[/p]
• [p]And so much more!
  [/p]

[p]Learn about what we’re currently working on in our 2025 Roadmap post.[/p][p][/p][p]We’re incredibly grateful that we’ve been able to continue developing and improving Universe Sandbox over the last decade, and we're humbled by the ongoing support of our community. Thank you all for giving us the opportunity to make this crazy game.[/p][p][/p][p]We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished since Universe Sandbox was first released on Steam in Early Access 10 years ago, and we’re so excited about everything that’s still to come.[/p][p][/p][p]- The Universe Sandbox Team[/p]

[p][/p][p]Watch the third-ever discovered visitor from outside our Solar System, 3I/ATLAS, fly past the Sun and see how it compares it to other known interstellar interlopers. We’ve also improved the view that shows what parts of the surface of a planet are illuminated, updated our scientific notation, and more![/p][p] [/p][h3]In the Light of Day[/h3][p]The Daylight view now shows surface illumination of a planet in real-time as the object rotates and orbits within the simulation. Previously it was a static snapshot of the daylight on a planet.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Comets from Beyond the Solar System[/h3][p]Watch the comet 3I/ATLAS, the third-ever discovered interstellar visitor to our Solar System, pass by on its journey through space and compare the trajectories of all three known interstellar visitors. Find them under[/p][p]Home > Open > Interstellar Comet 31/ATLAS[/p][p]Home > Open > Interstellar Object Trajectory Comparison[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Scientific Notation[/h3][p]Astronomically large (and small) numbers are already hard to understand, so we’ve updated our scientific notation to be friendlier: “1 × 10^#" (previously we used “1E+#”). Try changing Earth’s mass to 1x10^6 Earth masses and see what happens to the Solar System.[/p][p][/p][h3]More Highlights[/h3][p]Watch what would happen to Earth if the Moon were replaced with a black hole of the same mass or the same radius. Which simulation do you think will be more destructive? Check them out under
Home > Open > Earth with a Black Hole Moon | Same Mass
Home > Open > Earth with a Black Hole Moon | Same Radius
[/p][p][/p][p]See small objects in your simulation even faster by turning on Markers by pressing “m” (previously “i”) on your keyboard. No need to go all the way to View > Markers.
[/p][p][/p][p]You can once again add custom colors to your human scale objects to make purple cows and pigeon rainbow.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Check out the full list of What's New in Update 35.3.[/p][p][/p][p]Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Watch the boiling surface of a star, then set off a supernova and light up your worlds (before your planets are vaporized anyways). Massive stars now leave behind a neutron star or black hole when they end their life with a bang, and much more![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Super(nova) Lighting[/h3][p]Supernovas now brilliantly light up space as they explode and boil away your planets. Be careful looking at them without your Space Goggles, they’re extremely bright before they realistically fade as they expand and cool down.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]See Stellar Surfaces[/h3][p]Examine the boiling surface of a star. Cells called stellar granules are created when currents of plasma bring bubbles of superheated materials from the interior to the surface. Star surfaces are too bright for the human eye to see any detail, so we’ve used false colors to make these granules visible. Find it under[/p][p]View > Perception > Star Surface Detail[/p][p][/p][h3]
Zombie Stars[/h3][p]Massive stars that go supernova now leave behind a remnant. For stars between 8 and 20 times the mass of the Sun, the remnant is a neutron star. Stars over 20 times the mass of the Sun leave behind a black hole.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]More Highlights[/h3][p]NASA’s Lucy spacecraft, named after the Lucy fossil, passed nearby asteroid Donaldjohanson, named after the fossil’s discoverer, on April 20, 2025. This flyby was a test run before Lucy begins its main mission studying the Trojan asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit. Check out our simulation of the encounter under[/p][p]Home > Open > Lucy Spacecraft Encounter with Asteroid Donaldjohanson in 2025[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]You can now smoothly undo the deletion of a large number of objects at once with Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac), and they’ll even have their trails regenerated. You can also undo launching objects.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Exoplanet system simulations now include the inclination of known exoplanets around their host stars.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]3D data views no longer color points on the object surface that have a value of zero.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Check out the full list of What's New in Update 35.2.[/p][p][/p][p]Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.[/p]

[h4]Describe Your Worlds[/h4]
Add rich details to any object and the simulation itself with the new description properties. Include your favorite facts about each planet in the Solar System, or give a detailed backstory to your custom Tatooine! Add them under
Object Properties > Overview > Description Simulation > Description

[h4]Choose Your Startup Simulation[/h4]
Pick up where you left off and have Universe Sandbox open your most recent save, your own custom work in progress, or any of our included simulations when it starts up. Set this under
Home > Settings > General > Experience > Startup Simulation
This feature was added in Space in a New Light | Update 35, but wanted to highlight it again in case you missed it.


[h4]Visualizing Planet Data[/h4]
See information about your planets, like the Surface Temperature or Elevation, projected on their surfaces in 3D. This view is now shown in the object preview and on the objects in the simulation. Check it out under
Object Properties > Visuals > Surface

[h4]More Highlights[/h4]
Use the new actions in the View panel to Fly, Land, reset the camera position, and more.



Controls to show and hide an object's atmosphere, clouds, and dust clouds are now simulation-wide view settings instead of only applying when zoomed in on an object. Find them in the View panel.



The simulation of exoplanet K2-18 b has been updated to reflect the recent evidence of specific molecules in K2-18 b's atmosphere that are known to be produced by biological processes on Earth. However, some scientists have argued these molecules may be produced without life, and more data is needed to confirm these molecules are really present in K2-18 b's atmosphere.


Check out the full list of What's New in Update 35.1.

Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.