The best sandbox games on PC 2025

What are the best sandbox games? Sandbox games are difficult to nail down, as the sandbox style is spread across countless genres with disparate mechanics and settings. But all sandboxes share a common trait: freedom. Whether it’s creating a whole world or building up a gang of criminals across a city, sandbox games leave most of the agency up to the player. They are universes to be experienced at a pace not dictated by developers.

Some of the best PC games of all time are those that allow total player freedom, but there needs to be a bit of clarity when looking at what makes a great sandbox game. They have, since the days of Elite and Ultima, referred to open-world games filled with choice and diversions. But revisionist history would describe them as “games like Minecraft”. For the purposes of this exploration of the best of the bunch, we're taking a look at them all. We support sandbox egalitarianism. So, from the mean streets of Los Santos through the ruthless missions of Agent 47 and the stunning expanse of Eve’s universe, these are the very best sandbox games on PC.