When will s&box be released?
After all this time, nobody seems to have an answer. When will s&box release?
![When will s&box be released?](/content/images/size/w2000/2022/06/20220623172853_1.jpg)
Throughout the years, s&box has had its ups and downs.
Cancelled Facepunch projects and uncertainties in what lies ahead gave fans whiplash. But, after Facepunch announced that s&box would be developed based off Source 2, the community was excited for what was to come.
Developer preview started in April 2021, with hopes that s&box would launch in some form by the end of the year. The infamous queue came and went. In July 2021, the s&box website was updated to state the goal was to release in "6-12 months".
Nearly a year has passed, and s&box is still in developer preview. And we seem no closer to a release date. When will s&box release?
The Short Answer
![](https://sboxcommunity.com/content/images/2022/06/image.png)
Nobody knows.
Not Facepunch. Not even Garry. There are no public estimates.
Developing a game is hard work. Developing an engine for people to make games is even more hard work. Even when s&box is finally released, the engine will by no means be complete. It just needs to be "ready enough".
Our Best Guess
While s&box has its moments, the dirty underbelly of the engine rears its head regularly to those who experiment with it. Things break constantly, and often take considerable time to fix.
![](https://sboxcommunity.com/content/images/2022/06/20220623171729_1.jpg)
But, s&box has charm. The tooling is constantly improving, and awesome new features are added regularly. The engine has gone through multiple so-called "pain days", which are breaking changes to the API, that ultimately improve the code in the long run.
Given the steady pace, we predict s&box will release around mid-late 2023. However, if Garry decides to take access in a different direction (perhaps an open beta?), the true release date is difficult to predict.
How can I play s&box now?
You can't. But you can join the official s&box Discord to follow updates. Furthermore, follow us on Twitter for the quickest updates on s&box access and release information.