Universe Sandbox News

[p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Our first planned major release of 2026 is our physics architecture overhaul that will simulate meteors (atmospheric drag) and improve lasers. We’re also continuing development on life simulation, bringing Universe Sandbox to mobile devices, and other grand plans. But before we get into those projects, let’s look back at some highlights from last year.
[/p][p]Work in Progress: Objects changing color based on their relative heating rate, heating up when blasted with the laser or crashing into each other.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]A supernova lights up, then boils away Earth in the Solar System. [/p][p]Our first big release in 2025 included a major graphics overhaul, a new dynamic user interface, and multi-object editing. We also released four other updates throughout the year, with new simulations, supernova lighting, and object descriptions. Some of our biggest accomplishments include[/p]

• [p]Replacing our 10-year-old graphics technology with a state-of-the-art system for a more awe-inspiring and realistic universe, a project that took about 2 years. (Update 35, March 2025)[/p]
• [p]Implementing a new interface system that automatically positions, resizes, and closes panels so you can focus on the simulation instead of managing the interface (Update 35, March 2025)[/p]
• [p]Supernovas light up your simulation and leave behind a remnant if the exploding star is massive enough. (Update 35.2, June 2025)[/p]
• [p]Releasing a preview version of our physics architecture overhaul, including improved lasers, atmospheric drag, and more! Try it now (Update 36 Preview, December 2025)
  [/p]

[p]Our major graphics overhaul and interface improvements were both major milestones from our 2024 Roadmap, and our next physics update has been a major milestone for the last few years.[/p][p][/p]

• [p]Finish our major physics overhaul. [/p]
  • [p]The preview of this update is now available and is receiving updates as development progresses.[/p]
• [p]Add planet-scale life simulation where vegetation and animals grow, die, get eaten, and more.[/p]
• [p]More simulation improvements, including[/p]
  • [p]Overhauling the tech behind our surface simulation to make it more efficient.[/p]
  • [p]Updating our heating and cooling systems.[/p]
  • [p]Lay the groundwork for constructing and simulating spacecraft and megastructures with improvements to our collision simulation and detection systems.[/p]
• [p]Bring Universe Sandbox to phones and tablets (iOS & Android).[/p]

[p]We’re planning these projects for 2026, but additional challenges may arise that delay features, and our priorities may change.[/p][p][/p][h2]Blast, Crash, & Smash - Physics[/h2][p][/p][p]Many small moons bombard our Moon, heating up the surface as rocks and dust shoot into space as they collide.
[/p][p]At the end of last year, we put out a preview of our major physics simulation architecture changes, including improved lasers, atmospheric drag, and simulated visual stretching and flattening of fast-rotating objects. This year, we plan to release this update and begin improving the rest of our simulation.[/p]

• [p]Overhauling our Simulation Architecture[/p]
  • [p]We’ve been working on rewriting large portions of Universe Sandbox using the Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS) from Unity, the game engine we use to build Universe Sandbox, to improve performance, make our code easier to maintain, and provide a new foundation for features such as spaceships and megastructures.
    [/p]
  • [p]Our next update applies the DOTS framework to our gravity, collisions, and fragmentation systems and includes[/p]
    • [p]Objects burning up as they travel through planet atmospheres with our new atmospheric drag force to simulate meteors.
      Work in Progress
      [/p]
    • [p]Improving lasers to blast multiple objects at once (instead of just one object at a time) and pushing objects around by increasing light’s radiative pressure. Work in Progress
      [/p]
    • [p]Simulating the stretching and flattening of objects in real life due to gravity or fast rotation. However, collisions and surface simulation will continue to simulate as perfect spheres even on stretched objects until this is improved in a future update.
      Work in Progress
      [/p]
  • [p]Future updates will incorporate the DOTS framework into other simulation systems, including[/p]
    • [p]Surface simulation, which simulates temperature, liquid, and gas flow, and all parts of the surface.[/p]
    • [p]The graphics rendering system, to eventually enable us to smoothly simulate visual transitions between object types, such as rocky planets becoming gas giants.[/p]
      • [p]These improvements will not change our overall visuals.[/p]
    • [p]Our composition and heating systems, which manage the internal structure of objects, phase changes, and sources of heating and cooling.
      [/p]
• [p]Gravity Simulation Optimizations
  We’re looking into adding an additional method of N-body gravity simulation, called Barnes-Hut simulation, that can allow more simulated objects at the cost of slightly reduced accuracy. This will enhance our ability to simulate rock fragments and dust clouds attracting and merging to form planets & moons.
  Work in Progress: The red boxes show how the Barnes-Hut gravity tree dynamically divides space into groups of particles to more efficiently simulate the interactions between thousands of particles, avoiding the need to brute-force compute the gravitational interactions between all objects. You can see the groupings change as fragments are created and spread out in space.
  [/p]
• [p]Detailed Dynamic Collisions[/p]
  • [p]Adding spin to fragments as they fly through space and roll across planets. Right now, fragments do not rotate when created.
    Work in Progress
    [/p]
  • [p]Simulating collisions of objects with their true shape (called rigid-body physics). Currently, all objects, from dice to celestial objects deformed by spin or tidal forces, are always simulated as spheres. [/p]
  • [p]Unifying celestial and non-celestial object collisions, including rigid body physics, into a single system.[/p][p][/p]

[h2]It’s Alive! - Life Simulation[/h2][p]Work in Progress: Creating a habitable planet and filling it with life in just a few clicks.[/p][p][/p][p]Make worlds habitable with the click of a button, create custom species, and watch populations rise and fall across dynamic planet surfaces. Simulating life is a big focus this year, and we're making good progress.[/p]

• [p]Growth & Death[/p]
  • [p]Vegetation will grow, spread, and die based on local surface conditions, such as surface temperature and concentrations of gases and liquids.
    Work in Progress: Life grows and spreads after being added to the surface of a habitable planet.
    [/p]
  • [p]Herbivores can also be simulated on planetary surfaces, and their populations depend on their food sources. If you kill all the grass the cows eat, they won’t live very long.
    Work in Progress: The cow population decreases quickly when all the grass they eat dies.
    [/p]
  • [p]Life is simulated on the same planetary scale as surface materials (like water and oxygen), so while you’ll see growth from space, you won’t see individual organisms on the surface.
    [/p]
• [p]Creature Creation[/p]
  • [p]Species will be customizable, so you can set the conditions required for any life you can imagine. Make your own custom methane-based life on Titan!
    Work in Progress: Simulating a custom methane-based microbe that can live in the cold, hostile environment of Saturn's moon Titan.
    [/p]
  • [p]In addition to preset species, like grass, cows, and dinosaurs, you’ll be able to save and share your custom species and add them to any simulation.
    Work in Progress: Loading a preset dinosaur species to live on Earth. Custom saved species will also be settable here.
    [/p]
• [p]Let There Be Life (and Death)[/p]
  • [p]Creating a habitable planet is hard, but we’re making it easier. You’ll be able to make any planet habitable for a specific species with the click of a button (or two).
    Work in Progress: Quickly making the conditions on the planet habitable for our grass and cow species.
    [/p]
  • [p]Life can take a long time to grow and spread, but if you’re impatient, Stabilize Life will instantly populate your species on a planet based on local conditions.
    Work in Progress: Stabilize Life on the planet based on the local surface habitability conditions to set population levels.
    [/p]
  • [p]Because life varies across the surface of an object, we’ll determine the maximum possible population of a species on each part of the surface based on local habitability conditions, rather than with the old planet-wide Life Likelihood value. More vegetation will grow in forests than in deserts, for example.[/p]
    • [p]New data views will help you monitor habitability, population, and more.
      Work in Progress: New Data Views will show the mass or population density of a species at each point on an object's surface, along with the habitability of that point for that species.
      [/p]
    • [p]You’ll even be able to see the specific population, in individual count, of each species alive on each planet.
      Work in Progress
      [/p]
• [p]Future Plans[/p]
  • [p]Increase the complexity of the food chain by adding carnivores.[/p]
  • [p]Simulating two distinct species per planet instead of having only two species in the simulation. Earth could have grass and cows, while the Moon could have fungus and beetles.
    [/p]

[h2]Looking Good - Graphics[/h2][p]Work in Progress: A purple star and a very large, very bright pigeon illuminate a planet. [/p][p]Customizing objects to emit light with any brightness and color, improving object selection to use shape conforming outlines, and implementing upscaling to improve frame rates (especially on slower computers) are all in active development.[/p]

• [p]Your Light, Your Way[/p]
  • [p]Any object, from stars to pyramids, can be set to emit light no matter its temperature. Customize the light color and luminosity under the object’s Heat Glow, and make a whale as bright as the Sun. Previously, only hot objects could emit light.
    Work in Progress: A very bright pyramid illuminates Earth.
    [/p]
  • [p]Check it out in the latest preview version of our physics simulation architecture changes.
    [/p]
• [p]Selecting Objects[/p]
  • [p]Objects will have stylized outlines that conform to their on-screen shapes, rather than always being circles, even for human-scale objects like teapots.[/p]
    [p]Current[/p]

    [p]Work in Progress[/p]
    [p][/p]
• [p]Behind the Scenes[/p]
  • [p]Adding more efficient upscaling methods (like DLSS and FSR) that resize lower-resolution images to higher resolutions will help increase performance across all platforms.[/p]
  • [p]Experimenting with different anti-aliasing methods, which smooth out jagged lines and images, will help make Universe Sandbox look even better without sacrificing performance.
    [/p]

[h2]A Universe on the Go - Mobile[/h2][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Work in Progress: Loading the Earth & 100 Colliding Moons simulation, then watching chaos ensue on an iPhone 14 Pro.[/p][p][/p][p]We’re still polishing our user interface and improving performance, but we’re closer than ever to bringing Universe Sandbox to mobile devices (iOS and Android). This has been a major focus for a few years, and we’re continuing to prioritize it and the required features this year.[/p]

• [p]Big Simulation, Little Computer[/p]
  • [p]Boosting performance across all platforms is a major mobile requirement for us. Our physics simulation architecture overhaul (currently available as a preview) will deliver necessary performance gains for both mobile devices and desktops.[/p]
  • [p]We’ve been scouring our codebase to identify and implement performance improvements, including better caching for textures and the user interface.[/p]
  • [p]Internal graphics improvements, such as new upscaling methods, will enhance performance on mobile devices.
    [/p]
• [p]How to Control the Universe[/p]
  • [p]We’re continuing to improve our interface system that automatically positions, resizes, and closes panels so you can spend less time moving the interface around and more time interacting with the simulation.
    [/p]
• [p]More Information[/p]
  • [p]Universe Sandbox on mobile is built from the same codebase as the desktop version and will have the same features.[/p]
  • [p]The mobile release date is still to be determined.[/p]
  • [p]We expect to release the mobile version as  a one-time paid app with no ads or in-game purchases. We haven’t yet finalized pricing.[/p]
  • [p]While we want to support as many devices as possible, the minimum hardware requirements are not finalized.[/p]
  • [p]Sign up for our mobile mailing list to receive updates about mobile development
    http://universesandbox.com/mobile/[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Behind-the-Scenes Changes[/h2][p]Work in Progress: An early version of our new development tool for comparing screenshots from different versions of Universe Sandbox to identify changes and possible issues.
[/p][p]Flashy new features are always fun to share, but we’re also constantly improving our development process. These under-the-hood changes may not be obvious, but they can make a big difference over time.[/p]

• [p]Save Files[/p]
  • [p]Simulation and object save files are now more versatile and capable in our physics simulation architecture changes preview. In the future, this will allow you to save and share custom presets (such as individual species of life).
    [/p]
• [p]Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3[/p]
  • [p]We’re continuing to improve and standardize our suite of automated testing tools for quantifying and comparing collision physics, simulation performance, and graphical changes.[/p]
  • [p]Continued improvements to the system we use to build, test, and distribute new versions of Universe Sandbox have made it even easier to release updates, patches, and preview versions. What used to take one person a few hours is now as simple as a couple of clicks.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]And Beyond![/h2][p]Experimental Test: An exploratory mock-up of how different tools could look in Universe Sandbox when using a gamepad.[/p][p][/p][p]Our plans extend beyond 2026 and include adding detailed planet surfaces, simulating stellar life cycles, and adding gamepad support. Some features are in early development, while others are still in the planning phase, and we don’t yet know when they will be released.[/p]

• [p]Spaceships & Megastructures[/p]
  • [p]From small spacecraft to Dyson spheres, we want you to be able to construct (and destroy) structures with simulated parts and physics. Adding rigid-body physics is the next major step toward making that happen.
    [/p]
• [p]Detailed Planet Surfaces[/p]
  • [p]Imagine flying over mountains and through canyons on planet surfaces in Universe Sandbox. We’re still experimenting with adding procedural detail and terrain to planet surfaces.
    [/p]
• [p]Planet Customization[/p]
  • [p]Satisfy your world-building desires and create a planet using custom maps or images (like a picture of your dog).
    [/p]
• [p]Stellar Lifecycles[/p]
  • [p]Realistically simulating how stars burn hydrogen into helium (and heavier elements) and die violent deaths is complex, but we’re thinking about how to rebuild our star simulation so we can bring stellar evolution to Universe Sandbox.
    [/p]
• [p]Gamepad, Steam Deck, and Home Consoles[/p]
  • [p]What could be better than playing Universe Sandbox from the comfort of your couch? We want to add gamepad support so you can control your universe in more ways. This will improve our Steam Deck support and could enable support for other gamepad-based consoles in the future.[/p]

[p]We’re excited to bring so much to Universe Sandbox this year, and we can’t wait to share it with you![/p]

[p][/p][p]For the last four years, we’ve been working on a major overhaul of Universe Sandbox to utilize the Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS) from Unity, the game engine we use to build Universe Sandbox, to[/p]

• [p]Improve performance now and in the future.[/p]
• [p]Add new physics simulation, like visually deformed objects and atmospheric drag to simulate meteors.[/p]
• [p]Make our game code easier to maintain and build on.[/p]
• [p]Provide a foundation for big features in the future, like building and flying spacecraft, and constructing megastructures like Dyson spheres.[/p]

[p]For this preview version we’ve only overhauled our physics simulation architecture, but we also plan to convert surface simulation, temperature and composition simulation, graphics simulation, and more over to DOTS in the future.

This physics update, like our graphics overhaul from March 2025, is part of our plan to rewrite Universe Sandbox piece by piece with cutting-edge systems so we can continue to improve it for years to come. It’s like we’re gradually replacing every part of a spaceship out from under you while you’re actively piloting it.[/p][p][/p][p]You can learn more about all the additions and improvements that are part of this preview version in our preview What’s New.[/p][p][/p][h3]Try the preview of Pale Blue DOTS | Update 36 right now![/h3][p]Learn how to opt-in to this preview version on Steam, now available for testing and feedback on the !preview-version Steam beta branch.[/p][p]https://universesandbox.com/support/previewversion[/p][p] [/p][h2]How does this make Universe Sandbox better?[/h2][p][/p][h3]New Features[/h3][p]Most of this update focuses on rewriting existing features, like gravity and Roche fragmentation, so you may not notice any immediate differences at first glance. But don’t worry, we’ve added a few new things to check out.
[/p][p]Simulate Meteors
Objects now burn up as they travel through planet atmospheres with our new drag force. Check it out in our new Meteor Shower from Earth’s Surface simulation.
[/p][p][/p][p]Improved Lasers!
Blast multiple objects at once with the updated laser! Objects will now block the beam from hitting hidden objects. Increase the force from radiation pressure to push planets and their rings.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Objects Stretching & Squishing
The stretching and flattening of fast-rotating objects and extreme gravitational forces are now simulated. Until we release our planned collision shape update, surface simulation and collisions will continue to simulate all objects as spheres, even if they do not appear spherical.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Non-spherical Gravitational Fields
Similar to visually flattening objects, we’re now fully simulating how an object's gravitational field changes when it's no longer a sphere by simulating its oblateness factor (also called J2). Previously, these factors, used to simulate the orbits of sun-synchronous satellites, had to be manually entered.
[/p][p][/p][p]Tidal Locking
Gravitational interactions that change an orbiting object’s rotational period until the same side of one object always faces the other, as the Earth has done to the Moon, are now simulated. Visualize tidal locking by turning on Tidal Lag in the View panel to see the difference between the object’s orbital and rotational periods.
[/p][p][/p][p]Predicted Paths
See the path an object will follow as we project its motion into the future. Checking for collisions along the way, this path will turn from yellow to red, showing the amount of predicted overlap. Turn on predicted paths under
View > Overlays > Predicted Paths
[/p][p][/p][p]Lagrange Points
Mark the location of Lagrange points, points where the gravitational forces between all objects in the system are equal, with the press of a button. You can also quickly place objects at a Lagrange point with the Place Object at Lagrange Point option.
[/p][p][/p][h3]Future Plans[/h3][p]There are many more features we’re planning to build on top of this new framework, including[/p][p][/p][p]Gravity Simulation Optimizations[/p][p]We’re looking into an alternative method of gravity simulation, called Barnes-Hut simulation, that can improve performance and allow more simulated objects, at the cost of slightly reduced accuracy. This will improve our ability to simulate rock fragments and dust clouds attracting and merging to form planets & moons.
[/p][p][/p][p]Everyday Object Collisions
From dice to spacecraft, non-celestial objects will eventually collide according to their true shapes instead of simplified spheres, using rigid-body physics.[/p][p][/p][h3]Maintenance & Performance[/h3][p]The structure of Unity’s Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS) simplifies our code by breaking it into smaller parts while maintaining the complexity required to simulate the universe. This restructuring makes it easier to maintain, build on, and identify and address issues as we add new features.[/p][p][/p][p]Moving as much of our simulation as possible to this new structure will let your computer perform calculations faster. Eventually, these performance improvements will allow us to simulate more objects, collisions, and fragments at once on desktop computers and mobile devices alike.
[/p][p][/p][p]The code we previously used to determine the phases of a material on an object in Universe Sandbox. It utilized references to other functions and determined output based on multiple “if” statements.
[/p][p][/p][p]The new method for determining the phases of a material on an object in Universe Sandbox. This code is streamlined with half as many lines and is easier to maintain and follow with no “if” statements.
[/p][h2]What is DOTS?[/h2][p][/p][p]DOTS (Data-Oriented Technology Stack) is essentially Unity’s version of a data-oriented design for game development within the Unity game engine. Okay, so what’s a data-oriented game design?[/p][p][/p][p]A data-oriented design means focusing on operating directly on the data within the game. This optimizes the main thing a game does: take some input data, do something to it, and then output the transformed data.[/p][p][/p][p]This might sound obvious, but it’s different from traditional object-oriented game design, which is what Universe Sandbox previously used.[/p][p][/p][p]Object-oriented game design focuses on game objects, like Earth in Universe Sandbox. With an object-oriented approach, you take data from an object, like Earth, do something with it, like determine its position and velocity as it orbits the Sun in the next frame, and then apply the data to the object. Typically, this approach works on one object at a time and takes longer when there are more objects.[/p][p][/p][p]In contrast, data-oriented design focuses on how we transform the data on each object. For example, we know that all objects in the Solar System have a position and velocity, and they’re all influenced by gravity. Each object has different properties, but the math used to find each object's position and velocity is the same. 
[/p][p]Since the math is the same, instead of computing the position and velocity of each object in the Solar System one at a time every frame, our data-oriented design lets us compute them all at once. Then we apply that transformed data back to each object whenever the data is requested. This design optimizes the data calculations and uses fewer computational resources.[/p][p][/p][h3]How Does DOTS Work?[/h3][p]DOTS is really made up of three pieces: the Entity Component System, the Burst compiler, and the Job system. The most important things to know are[/p]

• [p]Unity’s Entity Component System makes us strictly structure our code so that all of our data is laid out in a specific way in the computer memory.[/p]
• [p]Because data is stored in a fixed layout in the computer memory, we don’t waste any computing time finding it since we know where it all is.[/p]
• [p]Unity’s Burst compiler optimizes how our code accesses and processes data after we make a new version of Universe Sandbox, since we know where it is in memory, making our computations faster.[/p]
• [p]With all our data laid out in a specific way, Unity’s Job system determines which computations can run simultaneously, enabling us to perform more computations in less time.[/p]

[h3]How is DOTS Different?[/h3][p]Previously, there was no specified layout for where data was stored in computer memory, so it took extra computation power to locate the data before we could use it for our computations. The Entity Component System forces us to structure our code in a specific way so that data is stored in a specific layout in computer memory. Rewriting our simulation code in this format took a lot of time and effort, but it not only allows us to improve computation performance but also makes our code more uniform, easier to maintain, fix, and build on. [/p][p][/p][p]DOTS also makes it easier to run our simulation across all available CPU cores. Unity’s Job system determines which computations can run simultaneously so we can perform the most computations in the least time without introducing errors in the simulation. And the Burst compiler enables these computations to be run in the most efficient way, leading to more performance gains.[/p][p][/p][h3]Why Move to DOTS Now?[/h3][p]In short, the technology is now ready and mature enough to use.[/p][p][/p][p]Unity didn’t start working on DOTS until 2019, 8 years after we started development on Universe Sandbox, so building Universe Sandbox with this technology wasn’t even an option. Unity also didn’t officially release the last pieces of the DOTS until June 2023 (though we’d been looking into making this transition since 2021). With that last release, we were finally able to begin our restructuring of Universe Sandbox in earnest.[/p][p][/p][h2]What’s Next?[/h2][p][/p][p]Our core physics simulation has now been migrated to the DOTS framework, including our gravity simulation, collision physics, and spin and Roche fragmentation. This transition really is a complete restructure of our entire physics simulation, and we’re in the final stages of testing and bug fixes.[/p][p][/p][p]And this is just the beginning. So far, we’ve only moved our physics simulation to take advantage of all that DOTS has to offer. We’re also planning to move our other simulation systems, including our surface simulation, material composition system, and graphics rendering, over to Unity’s DOTS system. With each piece, Universe Sandbox will get more and more efficient so that you can simulate more with the same computational power.[/p][p][/p][p]For now, we want to do a thorough job testing our physics simulation. After all, we simulate the universe, and it would be bad if we broke physics.[/p][p][/p][p]And, like any new feature, there may be issues we haven't yet found or fixed – and you can help![/p][p][/p][h3]Try the preview of Pale Blue DOTS | Update 36 right now![/h3][p]Learn how to opt-in to this preview version on Steam, now available for testing and feedback on the !preview-version Steam beta branch.[/p][p]https://universesandbox.com/support/previewversion[/p][p][/p][h2]And Beyond…[/h2][p]Future updates will unify our collision simulation to allow for more realistic collisions of celestial objects like planets and everyday objects like pigeons, colliding according to their unique forms instead of as spheres, also called rigid-body physics.[/p][p][/p][p]This transition also lays the groundwork for us to eventually allow you to build and fly spacecraft, and construct megastructures like Dyson spheres. We’re excited for what’s already here and for what this will let us bring to Universe Sandbox in the years to come![/p][p][/p][p]Join our community discussions on our Steam Forum and our official Discord community.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Every year, Steam gives the “Labor of Love” award to games that have been out for a while and continue to receive new content and support year after year. If you feel we are worthy, please nominate Universe Sandbox for the "Labor of Love" award![/p][p]This year, we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Universe Sandbox’s Early Access launch on Steam. We're proud of what we've accomplished in the last decade and are excited about the future. [/p][p]Features we’re actively working on include:[/p]

• [p]Improving collisions with more realistic friction, craters, and simulating atmospheric drag, which allows meteors to burn up in the atmosphere. (A preview version with these features is coming soon)[/p]
• [p]Adding basic life simulation where life responds to the environment, spreads, dies, and can be eaten.[/p]
• [p]Better collisions of objects, from simple shapes like dice to complex shapes like spacecraft, according to their unique shape, using rigid-body physics.[/p]

[p]Learn more about what we’re currently working on in our 2025 Roadmap post.[/p][p]We're so grateful that we've been able to continue improving and developing Universe Sandbox for over 10 years. Thank you all for the amazing support and the opportunity to make this crazy game.[/p][p]- The Universe Sandbox Team[/p]

[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]