In Sand, players are thrust into the desolate deserts of the fallen planet Sophie, and they embark on a quest to uncover resources and treasures. To navigate this harsh terrain efficiently, players are provided with the ability to design and modify their own Trampler, a walking mech capable of traversing the islands that were once submerged beneath a vast sea. Your Trampler is your base.

The Trampler serves as the player's main base, both as a means of exploration and loot storage. Players are able to customize their tramplers, from interior design, to upgrading its power, armor, and weapons. Team up with other players to pool your resources together to create the ultimate movable base in a large open world.

In an alternate history version of 1910, humanity had made significant advancements in space exploration thanks to the discovery of new energy sources. The Austro-Hungarian Empire led the way in conquering other planets, but a mysterious ecological disaster struck planet Sophie, forcing its settlers to hastily leave behind a once-resource-rich world. Motivated by desperation, the bravest and most impoverished individuals from the empire now journey to planet Sophie, seeking to test their fate, uncover hidden riches in the barren wastelands, and profoundly change their lives.

In the last Steam Next Fest, Sand was one of the most played demos of the event and saw over 200,000 players take their first steps onto the desert planet of Sophie.

Publisher tinyBuild and indie developers Hologryph and TowerHaus are excited to share that a second playtest will take place later this Winter.

Players can sign up now on the Sand steam page.

In addition to this announcement, a new gameplay trailer was released, showing off some of the new content, features and changes made since the last playtest that you can expect to see first-hand later this winter!

The characters originate from Galicia, a region within the Austro-Hungarian Empire predominantly inhabited by Ukrainians and Poles. During the early stages of colonization, the Kaiser promised the Galicians a significant portion of the planet Sophie, enticing them to volunteer as the primary labor force for constructing the cities that would eventually belong to them. Despite the ecological disaster, the allure of owning their own space territories proves difficult to abandon. The most resilient and desperate Galicians, who have little to lose, resort to semi-legal means of reaching the planet, driven by their determination to rectify historical injustices and claim what they believe is rightfully theirs.

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 the 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.

Sand is coming to the PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.