Sign up on Steam today to experience the first playtest when it drops this summer!
SEATTLE – May 21, 2024 – Calling all scavengers! Publisher tinyBuild and indie developers Hologryph and TowerHaus have debuted the first gameplay trailer for the open-world PvPvE extraction shooter SAND at today’s tinyBuild Connect showcase. Get your first look at the gigantic diesel-punk mechs, action, looting and surprises that await in SAND’s vast desert world.
More details on SAND’s upcoming first playtest will be shared soon, and players can sign up now on Steam to be notified when it begins later this summer!
SAND is set in an alternate-history universe, where the Austro-Hungarian Empire leads space colonization in the 19th century, humanity travels the stars, and the fallen planet of Sophie lays in ruins after an ecological disaster evaporated the world’s oceans. Now only the bravest and most reckless treasure hunters, working alone or in teams, scavenge and battle across Sophie’s deadly deserts, abandoned settlements and beyond in search of hidden riches.
Operate your own massive walking Trampler mech to explore, loot valuables, take down hostile enemies, and escape with your fortune and life. SAND’s combination of high-stakes PvPvE combat and emergent extraction gameplay will keep you on your toes, delivering a thrilling experience that’s accessible but challenging and rewarding as you play.
Key Features:
- Master the Tramplers: Traverse and fight across a huge, hostile world with Tramplers, gigantic walking mechs that act as your main base for exploration, assaulting enemies and guarding loot. Customize your Trampler, upgrading its power, armor, weapons and more. Team up with other players to create and command the ultimate moving fortress!
- Intense PvPvE Combat: You’re not alone on this dangerous world! Other smugglers and creatures also roam the wastes. Engage in action-packed firefights on foot and on your Trampler with a range of powerful weaponry. SAND’s gunplay and combat mechanics are easy to pick up but challenging and rewarding to master for thrillingly immersive battles.
- Loot, Survive & Thrive: Sophie’s civilizations may have fallen, but their riches remain for those who can find them! Track down and extract valuable items and resources to make your fortune, but watch out for other players hunting to take what’s yours.
- Emergent Extraction Gameplay: No two games of SAND are ever the same. Your adventures and experiences will change based on the loot you find, other players’ actions and in-game world events. Adapt your strategies on the fly with the tools you have at hand and be ready for memorable surprises at every turn.
- Explore a Vast, Dynamic Open World: Venture across a massive, ever-changing, semi-procedurally generated world transformed into desert by ecological disaster. Discover loot, secrets, and mysterious anomalies scattered throughout this once-prosperous land.
- Made Proudly in Ukraine: Created by a team of Ukrainian devs in the heart of Lviv, SAND’s look, feel and story are a celebration of Ukraine’s rich cultural heritage and people, with an alt-history, diesel-punk world based on the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Players can wishlist SAND and sign up for the game’s upcoming first playtest now on Steam. For more information, visit the game’s website, and follow along with the latest updates on Twitter.
About TowerHaus
TowerHaus is a game development and outsourcing studio based in Kyiv, Ukraine. It was founded in 2013 as Velcro Games and rebranded on August 3, 2023. They are co-developers of SAND and worked next to Hologryph on Secret Neighbor.
About Hologryph
Hologryph is a studio based in Lviv, Ukraine. They have worked closely with tinyBuild to expand on and develop the publisher's flagship franchises. With successful titles released in the Party Hard and Hello Neighbor series, their most recent game was the asymmetric multiplayer hit Secret Neighbor.
About tinyBuild
tinyBuild started as an indie game developer and morphed into a developer-publisher you can't miss. The company’s dedication to creating long-term partnerships and elevating recognizable franchises has resulted in many successful collaborations with talented developers from all over the world. The company has released dozens of games, including Hello Neighbor, Graveyard Keeper, SpeedRunners, and more. Although headquartered in the Seattle Area, USA, the company has established a strong global presence with studios across the US, Netherlands, and Eastern Europe. https://www.tinybuild.com
Media Contact
Elena Christensen
Sandbox Strategies for tinyBuild
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