At the heart of the open metaverse is user-generated content, and our Creator community continues to redefine what’s possible. Game Maker 0.12 builds on the momentum of the past year, delivering the most powerful creation tool yet, making it easier than ever to create interactive games, foster social spaces, and bring bold ideas to life. From expanded multiplayer systems to upgraded design tools and a more responsive editor, this release empowers Creators of all skill levels to develop Experiences that are bigger, smarter, and more social.

Download 0.12 to start creating, and purchase LAND today to publish your Experience!

Curious to see how these new features affect players in the Game Client? Read the full updates in Part 1: Game Client 0.12.

TL;DR

• Redesigned Game Maker allows you to choose between single and multiplayer Experience design and offers improved Asset Libraries.
• Saved Data for deeper progression and long-term play.
• Smarter NPCs with new behaviors.
• Avatar Abilities like Dash and Glide, plus expanded animation and camera tools.
• Advanced audio system powered by WWise for immersive, dynamic sound design.
• Multiplayer upgrades with easier setup, matchmaking lobbies, and quickplay.
• Custom collision editing and HUD design for precise control and player feedback.
• New Game Type Templates like Shooter, Action RPG, & Business Tycoon, and four new Asset Libraries

Enhanced Tools for Smarter Game Design

Game Maker 0.12 introduces a brand-new creation flow that sets the foundation for everything you build. Right after the new sign-in screen, by choosing to start an Experience from scratch, you can now select whether your project is single-player or multiplayer. This selection shapes the available options in your workspace, streamlining the toolset and surfacing only what’s relevant for the type of game you're building.

Once you’ve chosen which type of Experience you want to build, you’ll notice that the Top Menu has completely changed to reorganize the Game Maker into two newly organized sections: Scene and Gameplay. Inside each of these sections, you’ll have access to a different set of menus. This new arrangement aims to shorten production times by displaying only the tools you need and decluttering your workspace.

Experiences built in previous versions of Game Maker will now open in Legacy Mode. They’ll remain fully functional and editable, benefitting from all the new features in 0.12, but won’t have the previously mentioned new streamlined creation flow.

Smarter Tools for Smoother Builds

As you build, you can take solace in knowing your work is being backed up. AutoSave is now available to protect your progress without interrupting your focus. Simply turn on the feature in your settings and select the frequency of saves. Saves will be organized into a Version History to prevent extensive version lists. Your settings will apply only to the Experience you’re working on, allowing you to have different AutoSave settings across your Experiences. A small cloud icon in the top right corner of your screen will notify you that AutoSave is enabled, providing you with peace of mind as you build.

AutoSave isn’t the only new addition to your HUD. The new HUD Editor introduces a visual way to customize players’ on-screen interface; no need to build and test your entire Experience just to check the HUD placement. The HUD Preview Mode in the new HUD Editor Tab lets you instantly review and adjust your in-game layout in real-time.

You can now assign percentage-based values to variable states in your Experience. For example, if the variable drops to 20% or below, you can automatically change its color to red to signal that it’s reached critical levels, similar to progress bars.

We’ve also added more customization, allowing you to choose from different widget styles, decide whether to include a progress bar, create custom names, and design an interface that fits seamlessly into your gameplay.

Smaller improvements under the hood streamline the system’s look and feel and improve performance. UI components have been standardized across Game Maker and Game Client. We’ve improved prefabs, reorganized the folder structure, added support for ultrawide monitors, addressed bugs, and improved overall stability.

Multiplayer, Made Easy

Multiplayer just got an upgrade. With the new Multiplayer Setup, you can now easily configure multiplayer games and take advantage of the improved player queuing in the Matchmaking System, which ensures players are placed into your Experiences faster, more reliably, and with their friends.

From the new Gameplay tab, you can select Multiplayer Settings and choose custom Game Sizes like Small, Medium, Large, or a custom size, where you set the minimum and maximum number of players. You can turn Join in Progress On or Off, depending on whether you want to allow players to join your game after it begins.

Players can team up with friends by using the Friend Integration to join directly from the Friends Tab with automatic lobby or game placement, joining their queue, or using Quickplay to jump into a game in seconds. While waiting, players can hang out in the brand-new Matchmaking Lobby, where they can socialize and connect with up to 20 people while waiting for your Experience to begin.

Persistent Progress, Deeper Gameplay

Game Maker 0.12’s Saved Data update gives you the tools to build more than just a one-off Experience. With new Progression-Saving systems, players can pick up right where they left off, even between Experience updates.

Imagine your Player’s character, with all their gear, skills, and current location, ready and waiting for them when they return for a second playthrough. With this update, you can more simply create:

• In-game stores with persistent currencies
• Level systems that track and reward growth
• Progression trees and unlockable content
• Save states that persist across gaming sessions and version updates

You can also test how these systems behave directly in Game Maker’s Play Mode, simulating different player states to ensure a smooth progression experience before going live. Plus, you can define which items are single-use only. Suppose a player collects a powerful sword and returns to the game later. If you choose, that item will no longer be available, keeping them from becoming too strong and adding another layer of control to how your Experience morphs over time. You can show that saved data is supported with “Checkpoints” in experiences, acting as a visual queue to players.

These features, available for both Multiplayer and Singleplayer modes, open the door to Experiences that evolve, reward commitment, and keep players coming back for more, all while their data remains safely stored across every version of your Experience.

Build Better Gameplay

The Experiences you build can now provide clearer visual cues for players. Color-coded outlines and new icons for Power-Ups and debuffs make interactable items harder to miss. Green is for Power-Ups (buffs), red is for debuffs, white for collectibles, yellow for pickable items, and blue for all other interactions. Icons will float around Assets to indicate which Power-Up, Debuff, or collectible applies. These icons can be applied to everything from buildings to small collectible items that players might come across. You can also add these visual cues manually to any item you need, especially if you're creating a special preset.

The updated UI displays active effects as Power-Up Icons below the Player’s health bar and adds a countdown timer so they know how long a Power-Up or debuff will last.

Auto Equip lets players instantly equip items the moment they pick them up during gameplay, keeping the action flowing. There's no need to open the inventory. Gear such as weapons or Ability-enabled items can be set to Auto Equip.

Additionally, items that players are using can now be aligned with the camera’s direction. When a player turns while holding a flashlight, the direction they face will be illuminated, allowing for the creation of terrifying Experiences in horror games.

For the Avatar teleport, we introduced a destination range, so Creators can decide where the Avatar will be teleported. This applies to individuals and teams, reinforcing collaboration and ensuring everyone moves together.

Updates have also been made to Avatar animations. Characters now transition more naturally between sitting, sprinting, and jumping, while subtle camera shakes add extra impact to every leap and landing. These subtle changes make your Experiences more immersive for everyone who plays.

You’ll also notice smoother animation blending across actions like sitting, sprinting, and jumping. Subtle camera effects enhance each movement, making every leap and landing feel more responsive and impactful.

In competitive Experiences with action-packed gameplay where players frequently die, you’ll be able to reduce the visual presentation of the death sequence to streamline and optimize the respawn.

And, for multiplayer games where the position of other players is crucial to gameplay, you can now hide their indicators and names, deciding instead to show everyone, only your teammates, or hide all.

Enhance Your NPCs with New Modules

Game Maker 0.12 introduces a powerful new NPC behavior system built around modular, tag-driven logic. These modules can be mixed and matched to bring your worlds to life in more interactive and dynamic ways. Modules include:

• Walking: NPCs will casually wander around, perfect for creating ambient background characters.
• Heal: NPCs will approach and heal any tagged actor in the scene at a customizable speed and amount.
• Flee: NPCs will detect tagged actors within a specified range and flee using a distinct animation.
• Gather: This versatile module enables NPCs to collect tagged items by moving between them, destroying the original item upon collection. Alternatively, you can use messages in a clever way to spawn new items instead or activate any rule.
• Follow: Extremely useful for a wide range of mechanics, such as creating pets or other dynamic behaviors you can imagine.

Each module includes customizable animations, giving every NPC a unique personality. NPC behavior is prioritized through tags, creating emergent scenarios. A pet might follow the player—until a tagged food item draws its attention elsewhere. From villages of helpful companions to worlds filled with interactive fauna, new NPC modules let you customize exactly how NPCs react, move, and assist.

Legacy NPCs, including soldiers and enemies, are still supported in Legacy Mode and the new Single Player mode. However, all Legacy Friendly NPCs will gradually sunset to make room for this modular system, built for future expansion and improved multiplayer compatibility.

For the new Single Player Experience mode, only Legacy Soldier and Enemy NPC behaviors will be retained. We understand these are fundamental to many of your Experiences, so you'll be able to continue using them as you adapt to the new functionalities.

Customizable Colliders

Previously, importing an Asset from VoxEdit meant relying on automatically generated collision shapes, which often resulted in imprecise boundaries or invisible walls. With Game Maker 0.12, you can now override VoxEdit collisions and edit your own directly inside Game Maker. This lets you fine-tune collision shapes for puzzles, platforming, or combat mechanics. You can create smoother player movement, resolve edge cases like clipping, and eliminate performance issues caused by oversized or inefficient hitboxes, even eliminating the entire collision box.

New Game Type Templates & an Expanded Asset Library

You can enjoy creating with three new Game Type Templates and four new Asset Libraries. Whether you’re looking to kick-start creation with pre-made gameplay or a unique asset pack, or want to enhance your existing Experience, Game Maker 0.12 offers new content to keep creating fun and exciting games. Finding the right Asset to build with is easier than ever. The new Asset Inventory Endpoint allows you to more quickly search Assets by Name, Tag, Category, and Description.

Dynamic Libraries have also been updated to include pictures and descriptions.

Game Type Templates: Shooter, Action RPG & Business Tycoon

Ten new Game Type Templates help you jumpstart creation. Build action and combat games using the Shooter or Action RPG templates, or create management-focused experiences with the Business Tycoon template, where players manage their own business and optimize operations to maximize profits.

Deeper dives for each Game Type will be released in the upcoming weeks with tutorial content.

Asset Library Expansion: New IPs & Environments

On top of all existing Asset Libraries that have been ported to Game Maker 0.12, you can now access four new Asset Libraries, including:

• The British Museum: Kick-start your own museum with building modules, blocks, art pieces, historical artifacts, and characters.
• Architecture: A set of complete structures, doors, gates, windows, and columns.
• Interior Design: Decorate the interior of your buildings with this set of furniture and lights.
• Terrain Colors: Flat colored terrain blocks to build your experiences in The Sandbox's style.

These new Assets open the door to more creativity and dynamic environments.

New Abilities: Dash & Glide

Game Maker 0.12 introduces two powerful new movement options: Dash and Glide. These join Fly, Double Jump, and Air Dance, giving you more tools to craft Experiences that feel dynamic, fluid, and deeply interactive.

Dash allows players 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 players to glide down from tall structures, similar to Batman’s glide in the Arkham series or Link’s Paraglider in Tears of the Kingdom. Unlike Flight, Glide introduces new possibilities for exploration-based gameplay.

You’ll also notice smoother animation blending across actions like sitting, sprinting, and jumping. Subtle camera effects enhance each movement, making every leap and landing feel more responsive and impactful.

Industry-Standard Audio

Game Maker 0.12 includes a dynamic library of over 2,500 custom-made sound effects and music tracks, fully categorized and specifically designed for The Sandbox Game Maker. Users will have access to a wide selection of high-quality, ready-to-use audio assets that add polish, depth, and character to every aspect of their creations.

Game Maker's audio system has been upgraded to Wwise, the industry-standard audio engine used in many leading AAA games. This sets the foundation for building more immersive sound tools, enabling enhanced in-game mixing and spatialization, with upcoming support for multi-channel surround sound and Dolby Atmos in future updates. In addition to unlocking creative possibilities, Wwise is optimized for performance and runs efficiently with minimal CPU usage.

With Wwise, users will enjoy a more dynamic and polished audio experience, from UI transitions and ambient environments to player feedback. Every sound now feels smoother, richer, and more immersive, with better 3D positioning and spatial effects that bring in-game actions and environments to life with greater realism and clarity.

Avatar audio is also evolving, with upcoming support for surface detection, equipment-based sound triggers, and unique sound sets tailored to character types, including custom voices, emotes, and movement sounds that match each Avatar’s identity.

The Future of Game Creation

Game Maker 0.12 is one of the biggest and most comprehensive updates to Game Maker yet, representing a major leap forward in what you can create on our platform.

Whether you're crafting competitive multiplayer games, immersive narrative quests, or social hubs that span across seasons, every feature in this update gives you more power to create, share, and evolve. The tools are at your disposal, and the next great Experience is yours to build.

Download Game Maker 0.12 to get started.