It was only a decade ago that many of us were lamenting the decline of the space game genre. Fortunately, the scene has since turned around. While most new space fighters, traders, and simulations are retail releases, there’s a large free selection to choose from as well.

As technology has grown, so have constraints on what the limits of video games can be. Nowhere is this any more evident than the ever-expansive sandbox genre of video games. With a surge of popularity due to the likes of Minecraft, games in this category focus on providing the player with unlimited agency, hence the name being based off the concept of a kid in a sandbox.

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The genre of “space” is an all-encompassing one. Here you’ll find games that let you pilot fighter ships, as well as chart new planets and explore new systems. You can also buddy up with other players online, or build your empire as a trader or pirate. This laissez-faire approach to space sims has been ingrained in the genre since the original Elite.

The Sandbox is a creative game that comes with a pixelated design and offers you the possibility to create your own pixel art. Within the game universe, you get to build structures using basic elements and see how all the components interact with each other.
Technically speaking, the game is a realistic two-dimensional particle system, which uses mass-spring networks to simulate rigid bodies (such as ships) floating in water. You can punch holes in an object, slice it, apply forces and heat to it, set it on fire, melt it, and smash it with bomb explosions.

Today we’ll take a look at the best free examples of this classic sci-fi sub-genre.

Free Games

The following are either entirely free, open source 20 Best Open Source Video GamesTired of spending $60 on every new game release? Want to take a peek at the internal code of games? Enter the world of open source video games. Read More , or currently offer a significant free option (often as a result of being in the early stages of development). They are free of microtransactions or similarly aggravating free-to-play models.

1. FreeSpace 2: Open/FSO Installer (Windows, Mac, Linux)

FreeSpace 2 is a space combat simulation released in 1999, and many fondly remember it as the best example of its kind. In 2002, developer Volition released the source code for the engine under a non-commercial license. Thus, the FreeSpace 2 Open Source Project (or FSOpen for short) was born. Game assets (like textures, sound and so on) were not included in this release.

The result is a game engine that’s been continually improved and maintained over the years, in cahoots with other projects designed to bring FreeSpace 2 into the 21st Century. You can use FSOpen to play the original FreeSpace 2 with upgraded graphics and compatibility, but you’ll need a copy of the game in order to do that.

Instead, why not check out one of the many free mods and total conversions that do not require a copy of FreeSpace 2? The game engine has been used time and time again to bring the worlds of popular sci-fi series like Battlestar Galactica to life via fan-made projects.

Here’s a few of the best:

Diaspora: Shattered Armistice: A Battlestar Galactica total conversion, with an emphasis on space combat.
The Babylon Project: A Babylon 5 mod, last updated in 2010.
Inferno: A FreeSpace 2 mod, for fans of the original game!
Wing Commander Saga: Unsurprisingly, a Wing Commander themed-mod that uses FSOpen as its engine.
Exile: Another FreeSpace 2 mod, designed as a continuation of the official storyline.

Check out Hard-Light for additional projects, a thriving community, and more!

2. Allegiance (Windows)

Allegiance began life as a Microsoft Research Games project, and released in 2000 to a warm reception. Unfortunately, a lack of widespread high-speed internet crippled the game at the time, leading to Microsoft shutting it down and later releasing the source code under a shared license in 2004.

The community picked up the slack and continued to develop Allegiance. In 2017, the game was further open sourced under an MIT license. Existing solely as a community project, Allegiance is a truly free online space sim that blends team-based, human versus human combat and real-time strategy (RTS) elements.

You can play the role of a commander, giving orders to your teammates from a familiar RTS viewpoint. Or, take on the role of a fighter unit (in first-person view) and carry out those orders. The scene behind Allegiance is still very much active today, and development is ongoing. It should run on “any Windows PC from the last 10 years” too.

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3. Pioneer (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Pioneer is an open source project that you can download for free, with the option to contribute your own time to the project or simply donate if you really love it. It’s a wholly single-player space adventure game, with no plans to introduce any multiplayer elements.

You’re free to explore the galaxy at your own pace. You can’t leave your ship, walk around space stations, or wander on a planet’s surface. Visually, the game looks a bit spartan at times, but it’s still in active development so it’s likely to improve over time.

While the presentation is a little flat, you’ll see some particular moments of beauty in the lighting effects. The game is set at the turn of the 31st Century, and describes itself as an open-ended adventure game:

“You are free to eke out whatever kind of space-faring existence you can think of. Look for fame or fortune by exploring the millions of star systems. Turn to a life of crime as a pirate, smuggler or bounty hunter. Forge and break alliances with the various factions fighting for power, freedom or self-determination. The universe is whatever you make of it.”

4. StarMade (Windows, Mac, Linux/SteamOS)

StarMade is like Minecraft in space, with an emphasis on building and exploration. Like Minecraft, it too uses voxels to achieve that blocky, minimalist 3D look that suits the genre so well. Also in line with Minecraft, StarMade uses procedural generation to populate much of the sandbox.

The game is currently in alpha, and at this stage a free-to-play game. According to developers, “there are plans to transfer to a paid model some time in the future,” but it looks like some free-to-play aspect will remain. If you want to jump in early, you can pay $15 to help fund development through the early access program.

StarMade is an online or offline experience. You’re free to create your own single-player worlds, but there’s also scope for vast multiplayer servers in which you and your friends can mine and build to your heart’s content. The game includes some really advanced building tools already, which makes building starships and bases a more satisfying experience.

For all its blocky visuals, StarMade manages to look rather good with some rather stunning lighting effects (assuming your hardware is up to snuff 5 Things You Have to Know Before Buying a Graphics CardHere are five key points to keep in mind before you buy your next graphics card, otherwise you may regret your purchase. Read More ).

5. SpaceEngine (Windows)

As the name may suggest, SpaceEngine is a literal space simulator. It allows you to explore the universe at your own leisure, without being bogged down by narrative, quests, or Newtonian physics. It’s not a spa

Sandbox Games For Mac