Facepunch Studios Promises a Bright Future for s&box Developers

Exciting news, gamers! Facepunch Studios is gearing up to launch their latest game creation platform, s&box, next week on April 28, exclusively on Steam. This platform is touted as the spiritual successor to the beloved Garry’s Mod, allowing users to dive into a physics sandbox where they can build their own exciting games.

As the launch date approaches, Facepunch is doubling down on its commitment to supporting game developers. They’ve introduced a variety of features designed to benefit creators, including direct payments to developers and the freedom to export their games to Steam without any cuts going to Facepunch. They have a clear vision: “We’re not just chasing profits and IPOs,” they stated. “What we really care about is providing our community with the same chances we had, and doing so in a fair and generous way—no corporate nonsense here!”

What’s really impressive is that Facepunch has already dished out over $500,000 to developers using the s&box platform. They believe that their model is sustainable and don’t plan on slashing jobs to keep things afloat. As they put it, “We don’t need to fire 1000 people to make this work.”

This funding comes from what they call “The Play Fund,” which is currently sustained by the profits from Garry’s Mod. Facepunch hopes that one day s&box will thrive independently, allowing the fund to grow alongside its success. Developers who create games for s&box will be rewarded based on the popularity of their games and levels, ensuring that the most successful are compensated fairly.

Even more enticing is that developers maintain complete control over their creations and can choose to remove them from the platform whenever they wish. Thanks to a special arrangement with Valve, games created on s&box can be transformed into standalone titles on Steam, with no hidden fees or royalties taken by Facepunch. This means if you craft a hit game, you have the freedom to take it wherever you want!

Garry Newman, CEO of Facepunch Studios, emphasizes their mission: “Our goal is to uplift the community, not just ourselves. By helping others succeed, we succeed too. We believe in this approach because it’s how we got to where we are today—everyone can win!”