Game Client 0.12 is our most refined update yet, designed to make discovering, playing, and connecting inside The Sandbox faster, smoother, and more immersive. From smarter matchmaking and upgraded Abilities to saved data and interactive NFT previews, Game Client 0.12 puts the spotlight on seamless gameplay and social connection, while giving Creators the tools to build even more dynamic, multiplayer-ready Experiences for you to explore. It’s never been easier to connect and play with your friends in The Sandbox.

Download Game Client 0.12 to start playing today!

Curious to see the updates to Game Maker that make all this possible? Read the full updates in Part 2: Game Maker 0.12.

TL;DR

• Matchmaking is now faster and more social with a new Quick Play option and Multiplayer Lobby.
• New Abilities, Dash and Glide, add more dynamic movement.
• Game progress can now be automatically saved in certain Experiences.
• UI and menus feel smoother and more cinematic, with improved onboarding for new players.
• Inventory and pickups are smarter, with auto-equip, color-coded items, and effect timers.
• Chat adapts to your game, switching between Metaverse-wide and local multiplayer channels.
• NFTs can be previewed in 3D galleries and directly on your Avatar.
• Jump into new Experiences right from the in-game dashboard or global map.
• In-game sound is now powered by WWise and better than ever.

Gaming With Friends Just Leveled Up

With the launch of Game Client 0.12, matchmaking in The Sandbox is smoother, more social, and accessible than ever. The matchmaking process is now automatic for any game that requires at least two players, so you can jump into the action faster and start playing with others instantly.

Start by joining a multiplayer Experience directly from the Game Client Gallery, the Game Client Dashboard, or The Sandbox Launcher. Simply find a game, press “Find Match,” and you’ll be placed in a queue. If the game isn’t full yet, you’ll enter the new Multiplayer Lobby where you can interact with other players waiting to start a game. Here, matchmaking becomes a shared experience where you can see who’s queued for what, chat with everyone waiting, join others’ games, or invite friends to yours.

In the new Multiplayer Lobby, you’ll see a Queue Card in the top center of your screen displaying the minimum and maximum number of players required to start the Experience. Once enough players have joined, the Experience launches automatically, and just like that, you're racing or battling alongside your new crew.

Similarly, when you approach other players in the Multiplayer Lobby, a Queue Card will display above their heads, showing you what game they’re waiting to join and the minimum and maximum number of players required.

See someone waiting in the Multiplayer Lobby to join an Experience you’ve been wanting to play? Simply approach them, click on their Queue Card, and press “Join Experience.” If the game only needs two players, you’ll instantly be transported to it together. If more players are needed, you can explore the Multiplayer Lobby to invite others to join you!

Prefer to keep it fast and simple? Use the “Quick Play” feature on the Play Menu to skip the lobby and be dropped directly into any game that’s ready to start.

If you’d rather play with your friends, join their live session from the Friends Tab. You’ll either meet them in the Multiplayer Lobby or be placed straight into their game, depending on how many players are present.

Dynamic Chat to Keep Connected as You Play

Communication is key, right? With Game Maker 0.12, chat now adapts to the type of Experience you’re playing, making it easier to connect and coordinate with your friends. You’ll have access to the Metaverse Chat, Local Chat, or both, depending on the Experience. The Metaverse Chat connects you to everyone currently playing in The Sandbox, and you’ll automatically be placed there during single-player or social Experiences so you can interact with the wider community.

But when you jump into a multiplayer Experience, you’ll switch to the Local Chat, where you can message exclusively with players in your current game. It's focused, functional, and perfect for strategy (or friendly trash talk).

Next-Level Gameplay

Progress That Sticks: New Saved Data

Creators will now be able to develop single-player and multiplayer Experiences that offer saved data. When supported, you’ll be able to retain your progress across multiple play sessions. This means your inventory collectibles, score, in-game currencies, resources, checkpoints, and more can stick around even after you log off. When you revisit an Experience with saved data enabled, as evidenced by the presence of Checkpoints, you can pick up right where you left off.

This feature is in its early stages, so stay tuned for more developments and be on the lookout for new Experiences from our Creator community that offer saved data.

Inventory, Consumables & Equipables

In Game Client 0.12, you’ll never miss a Power-Up again. Thanks to a more intuitive visual system, Power-Ups, debuffs, and pickups are now easier to recognize while playing.

To guide players more intuitively, new Power-Up icons below the health bar use color-coded feedback: green for Power-Ups, red for debuffs, white for collectibles, yellow for pickable items, and blue for all other interactions.

Active effects appear as icons below your health bar, each with a countdown timer so you always know how long a Power-Up or debuff will last.

Auto Equip lets players instantly equip items the moment they collect them during gameplay without the need to open the inventory.

Additional refinements include a smarter Emote Wheel that opens to the correct page during crowd events and a helpful hotkey reminder that appears the first time you collect a new type of consumable, so you know exactly how to use it. You’ll be able to quickly find your newest NFTs and collectibles with improved inventory sorting and the ability to save weapons and cosmetics as part of your outfits.

Expect More Dynamic Gameplay with New NPC Behaviors

NPCs are more dynamic, with Creators now able to add behaviors like Friendly NPC to bring game worlds to life in entirely new ways. NPCs might follow you as sidekicks, gather items to help you, heal you when you’re down, or flee from you or other enemies in horror.

More Realistic Water Effects

SAND always looks better next to a little water. With Game Client 0.12, you’ll see sun reflections, realistic shoreline rendering, and foamy shores that bring beaches and coastlines to life. Dive deeper and you’ll notice the depth-darkening effect and immersive caustic lighting, adding atmosphere beneath the surface.

New Abilities: Dash & Glide

With 0.12, we’re continuing to improve character controls, animations, and camera effects. In addition to Fly, Double Jump, and Air Dance, which were implemented in 0.11, we’re now adding two new movements, Dash and Glide.

Dash allows you to dash forward, even in mid-air, to cover greater distances and clear gaps. We expect this Ability to open up the development of more Metroidvanian-style games inside The Sandbox.

Glide allows you to glide down from tall structures, similar to Batman’s glide in the Arkham series or Link’s paraglider in Tears of the Kingdom. Different than Flight, Glide creates new types of exploration-based gameplay.

Updates have also been made to Avatar animations. Characters now transition more naturally between sitting, sprinting, jumping, and landing, while subtle camera shake adds extra impact to every leap and landing.

Better Looks, Better Feel

Game Client 0.12 introduces a more polished, cinematic interface, with new dynamic 3D backgrounds, fluid camera transitions, and snappy submenu animations that make exploring the UI feel smoother and more immersive.

Onboarding has been upgraded with smarter first-time-user experience (FTUE) pop-ups and handy shortcut hints in the HUD, so new players can jump in with confidence.

Session endings for parkour and racing games have been enhanced with new Victory and Defeat reactions for your Avatar, making them react to winning or losing in a realistic way.

Together, these upgrades create a more seamless and visually engaging experience.

Find More to Love

As part of Game Client 0.12’s focus on immersion and discovery, you can now explore an Experience’s NFTs in a fully interactive 3D gallery and preview them directly on your Avatar. This can also be done with Battle Pass rewards during Seasons, letting you check out how your Avatar will look in featured items.

Additionally, you can now browse and launch Experiences directly from the in-game Dashboard, making it easier to discover new content without leaving the Game Client. Scroll through featured Experiences, click the one you want to play, and you’ll seamlessly transition from your current game to the new one. You can also access The Sandbox Map without exiting your current session; just find the Experience you want and jump right in.

Industry-Standard Sound

Sound just got a massive upgrade. Game Client 0.12 introduces a major upgrade to in-game audio with the integration of the WWise Audio Engine, the powerful system behind many of today’s top AAA titles. With WWise, The Sandbox now offers immersive, high-quality audio tools that bring Experiences to life like never before.

Creators can use the WWise audio engine to bring dynamic in-game mixing, spatial audio, and Dolby Atmos support to elevate sound design across gameplay, concerts, and immersive worlds, all while maintaining strong performance.

The Future of Play

We continue to develop The Sandbox to support a vibrant world of diverse, Player-driven experiences, and this is only the beginning. The Sandbox Map keeps expanding, with thousands of unique creations waiting to be explored. Game Client 0.12 marks a significant advancement in how players experience and connect within the metaverse. Whether you're a seasoned explorer or trying it out for the first time, there's never been a better moment to dive in.

Download Game Client 0.12 and get ready to uncover your next favorite Experience.

Please note that features introduced in Game Client 0.12 depend on what each Creator chooses to include in their Experience. Not every game will support every update, so keep exploring to see everything this release has to offer.