S&box plans to go free-to-play and embrace human curation saying “Netflix for games doesn’t work”

S&box, the spiritual successor to Garry’s Mod developed by Facepunch Studios, is undergoing major changes following a disappointing launch. Since its April release, the platform has struggled significantly, earning only 47% positive reviews on Steam and experiencing poor player retention and plummeting user numbers.

In a candid blog post titled “Rethinking,” studio founder Garry Newman acknowledged the platform’s struggles, stating “The platform is not well liked, it doesn’t have good retention” and admitting he was “embarrassed by our reviews” and “ashamed.” A key problem has been the flood of low-quality, AI-generated content filling the user-generated game collection.

Newman attributed some issues to the platform’s monetization model—charging players for access while also selling cosmetic skins created “a big turn off.” More fundamentally, he acknowledged that his original vision didn’t work. “My idea of a Netflix for games doesn’t work,” Newman wrote, noting that the studio had focused heavily on the engine and development experience rather than the games themselves. “We’re not selling an engine, we’re selling a game,” he explained.

To turn things around, Facepunch is implementing sweeping changes. The platform will transition to free-to-play by year’s end, removing the paywall that previously deterred players. More significantly, the studio is shifting its curation philosophy, moving away from promoting as many games as possible to instead highlighting only the best and most popular titles. This includes implementing a “greenlight type system” for user-generated games to maintain quality standards.

S&box plans to go free-to-play and embrace human curation saying “Netflix for games doesn’t work”

Sources